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History of comedy
Jul. 2nd, 2004 09:21 amSeriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s by Gerald Nachman
Really interesting book, if you know the subjects. I learned much new to me about, for instance, how Bill Cosby made it big in the first place; and that Tom Lehrer has a lot more unrecorded songs than I knew about. Nor did I realize how many of the comedians are from the Bay Area. (Nachman is a San Francisco writer, so that may in part account for the selection.) Not only did many make their names at the hungry i and Purple Onion, but they came from here: Phyllis Diller was an Alameda housewife. Mort Sahl hung around UC Berkeley hangouts when his girlfriend was a student there. The Smothers Brothers were San Jose State students who got their start at an off-campus club. There should be plaques on some of these places.
But the book also shows the difficulty of writing about comedy in cold print. For the ones whose work I know, Nachman's words about it don't describe it so much as summon up my memories. For some of those I don't know, I feel kind of lost. Steve Allen's quips come off brilliantly on paper:
It could be worse. Humphrey Carpenter, once a good writer who's totally gone to seed, wrote A Great Silly Grin, an entire book about the 1960s British satire boom without a single good funny line or sketch quoted in it. (The book is mostly about the psychological problems of the satirists.)
But it could also have been better. The best book about comedy I've read is From Fringe to Flying Circus by Roger Wilmut (Methuen, 1980), o.p. but probably findable in the UK. The subject overlaps a lot with Carpenter's, but the treatment is totally different. Wilmut quotes great wads of sketches, so you get a good idea of the writing styles, and describes the comedians well as performers. He also manages to analyze the humor without getting stodgy, a really astonishing feat.
I'd also recommend Jim Harmon's old books The Great Radio Comedians and The Great Radio Heroes. The latter isn't about comedy but it's extremely funny itself.
Nachman's book could have overcome its vagueness, and taught its younger readers a lot more, if it had come with a CD. Why not? Licensing would have been the only barrier. The book has 24 subjects: an average of 3 minutes each would fit on a CD and would be enough for a sampler. Half of his subjects became nationally famous through making comedy records, and most of the rest made them too. I'd love to hear it.
Really interesting book, if you know the subjects. I learned much new to me about, for instance, how Bill Cosby made it big in the first place; and that Tom Lehrer has a lot more unrecorded songs than I knew about. Nor did I realize how many of the comedians are from the Bay Area. (Nachman is a San Francisco writer, so that may in part account for the selection.) Not only did many make their names at the hungry i and Purple Onion, but they came from here: Phyllis Diller was an Alameda housewife. Mort Sahl hung around UC Berkeley hangouts when his girlfriend was a student there. The Smothers Brothers were San Jose State students who got their start at an off-campus club. There should be plaques on some of these places.
But the book also shows the difficulty of writing about comedy in cold print. For the ones whose work I know, Nachman's words about it don't describe it so much as summon up my memories. For some of those I don't know, I feel kind of lost. Steve Allen's quips come off brilliantly on paper:
When doing an on-air commercial for a chair made from the new miracle product Fiberglas, he would hit it with a hammer to show its durability. One night the chair shattered, and Allen, without missing a beat, shouted, "That's right, ladies and gentlemen, this hammer is made of Fiberglas!"But comedians whose humor depends on their delivery don't come across so well. I finished the pieces on Jean Shepherd and Nichols & May without any idea of what was good about them, and I expect I'd feel the same way about Cosby or Bob & Ray if I didn't know their work.
A doctor on his show told Allen, "The only two really instinctive fears in man are the fear of loud noises and the fear of falling," to which Allen responded, "I have a great fear of making a loud noise while falling."
It could be worse. Humphrey Carpenter, once a good writer who's totally gone to seed, wrote A Great Silly Grin, an entire book about the 1960s British satire boom without a single good funny line or sketch quoted in it. (The book is mostly about the psychological problems of the satirists.)
But it could also have been better. The best book about comedy I've read is From Fringe to Flying Circus by Roger Wilmut (Methuen, 1980), o.p. but probably findable in the UK. The subject overlaps a lot with Carpenter's, but the treatment is totally different. Wilmut quotes great wads of sketches, so you get a good idea of the writing styles, and describes the comedians well as performers. He also manages to analyze the humor without getting stodgy, a really astonishing feat.
I'd also recommend Jim Harmon's old books The Great Radio Comedians and The Great Radio Heroes. The latter isn't about comedy but it's extremely funny itself.
Nachman's book could have overcome its vagueness, and taught its younger readers a lot more, if it had come with a CD. Why not? Licensing would have been the only barrier. The book has 24 subjects: an average of 3 minutes each would fit on a CD and would be enough for a sampler. Half of his subjects became nationally famous through making comedy records, and most of the rest made them too. I'd love to hear it.
