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For years, comedians have made Michael Jackson a punch line. In deference to the beloved pop star’s family and fans, though, many treated his death differently. But for some, it wasn’t “too soon.”

Universal Pictures’ “Bruno” screened in Los Angeles on Thursday night with a scene involving Jackson’s sister La Toya cut from the movie. A spokesman for Universal said the decision was made by the filmmakers “out of respect for the Jackson family.”

The news of Jackson’s death broke just after or during the tapings of most of Thursday’s late-night shows. Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night” on NBC made a point of the timing, with a graphic at the top of the show saying that the show had been taped earlier.

Jay Leno, the comic who did the most to turn Jackson into a late-night staple, doesn’t return to the air until fall. His spokesman said he was unavailable for comment.

Comedian-magician Penn Jillette found himself in an awkward spot on Thursday. He was a guest on a radio program promoting the return of his Showtime series when the news of Jackson broke. Jillette found himself thinking back to John Lennon’s death.

“I was really upset by it — as upset as I could be by someone dying outside of my family and friends,” Jillette said. “And I remember the people who were flippant and joked about it in any way really kind of broke my heart.”

Jillette added, “I have a lot of respect for what music does for people and the connection you get with an artist.”

Jackson’s death was badly timed for CBS’ David Letterman and Craig Ferguson. Both taped their Friday show in advance and are dark next week.

On Friday’s “Tonight” show on NBC, Conan O’Brien didn’t specifically address Jackson in his monologue and instead deflected to a more current gift to comics: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.

“A lot of very sad news in the last 24 hours, but it is our job here at the ‘Tonight’ show to keep things light, to try to entertain you,” O’Brien said. “Which is why I’m particularly thrilled that Governor Sanford of South Carolina is keeping up his end of the bargain. If you’re looking for something to talk about, he’s your best friend right now.”

Jimmy Kimmel, who does his ABC show live, didn’t appear to be in the mood for a joke about Jackson on Thursday — until the punch line: “He was an extremely powerful symbol: a black performer who whites could relate to and then later in life, a white performer who blacks could relate to.”

Kimmel continued on Friday night with a monologue almost entirely of jokes related to Jackson’s death, though most weren’t actually about the star. He said the line to see Jackson’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star was longer than the line for the new iPhone.

On Friday, Fallon said the previous day had been “weird” for him and his show. He spoke admiringly about Jackson and said he felt like he was “punched in the gut” when he heard of Jackson’s death. As a tribute, his house band, the Roots — with Erykah Badu as a guest — dressed in Jackson’s style and played his music throughout the show.

Other comedians were more irreverent despite the news being so fresh.

Michael Ian Black, a comedian who rarely avoids sensitive material, wondered in a message on Twitter if the autopsy of Jackson would reveal Tinkerbell inside, alluding to his Peter Pan nature.

The Onion also didn’t lose any time. In a tweet Thursday, it reported: “BREAKING: Last Piece of Michael Jackson Dies.”

The satirical newspaper followed that up on Friday with a brief story on its Web site with the headline: “King of Pop Dead at 12.”

Megan Ganz, associate editor of the Onion, said the paper’s Manhattan office felt almost like a “real newsroom” on Friday, with its writing staff rushing around to produce copy on Jackson’s death.

Ganz acknowledged the Onion had received complaints from readers who said their Jackson stories were insensitive.

“It’s kind of funny to me that people are saying ‘too soon, too soon’ about these jokes because people have been making jokes about Michael Jackson for the last 20 years,” Ganz said. “We really tried to think of something that was somewhat meaningful about his life — that wasn’t just one more joke at the expense of Michael Jackson — because he’s weathered quite a few.”

The comedian widely acknowledged as being the first to joke about Jackson — Eddie Murphy — declined to comment on the singer’s death. It was Murphy who in his 1983 classic standup special “Delirious” famously said Jackson “ain’t the most masculine fellow in the world.”

Murphy reminisced about the joke recently as a guest on “Tonight”: “That was the very first of what turned into a tsunami of Michael jokes.” AP
Jimmy Fallon refrained from joking about Jackson’s death last week. Reuters Photo/Eric Thayer