"Make 'Em Laugh" is a song first featured in the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain, frenetically performed by Donald O'Connor. Written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, the song is closely based on Cole Porter's "Be a Clown".[1]
"Make 'Em Laugh" was later performed by Tim Curry, Kathy Najimy, and Mara Wilson at the 67th Annual Academy Awards in 1995.
A parody of this song was featured on an episode of the TV series Family Guy titled "Peterotica". It was sung by Glen Quagmire while visiting a sex shop with Peter, Cleveland, and Joe.
The song title was used for a six-hour documentary, Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America, which aired on PBS in January, 2009.[2]
The song was performed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Saturday Night Live on November 21, 2009.
It was also performed by Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) on the Glee episode "The Substitute" on November 16, 2010.[3]