Make 'Em Laugh, page 47
Yet for all the unstable elements in the future of American comedy, Jerry Seinfeld pointed to some eternally relevant pioneers:
There’s a periodic chart of comedy: Woody, Carlin, Chaplin, Keaton, Groucho, you know, Carson, “Who’s on First?” These are pure elements—you can’t break them down any further, do you know what I mean? You can’t take a piece off them, it’s like [they’ve] already been broken down to what’s essential.
Perhaps the really big finish is that a comedian’s work is never finished—at least not if comic genius is hotwired into your DNA. Chris Rock has the last, best word on the subject:
I’m almost never comfortable. Like, literally, in my whole life, I can count on maybe two hands, the moments in life where I felt comfortable. I’m never comfortable. And I think most comedians have this thing where we’re just not comfortable. We’re just kinda too aware of things. They always say, “Ignorance is bliss.” So what’s the opposite? To be aware of every little thing, to notice everything? It’s Hell.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There are many joke books, but there are not too many book jokes. Here’s one, courtesy of Professor Irwin Corey:
A guy goes to the library and he wants to buy a book on suicide. The librarian says, “You’ll find it in aisle one under the letter S.” He goes and looks and looks. He says, “There’s nothing here.” She says, “I know, they never bring ’em back.”
What follows is a list of books certainly worth keeping. A particular nod of appreciation must go to three authors, each of whom, coincidentally, has a name beginning with Ma. Leonard Maltin was interested in the great comedians and cartoons of the past long before it became fashionable; I was lucky enough to meet him at a Sons of the Desert convention when I was a teenager, and I was hooked. His books are exemplary history and his enthusiasm is infectious. Steve Martin’s latest book, Born Standing Up, is the best account of being a comedian in the modern world, elegantly written and moving, as well. For an account of being a comedian in the not-so-modern world, Groucho Marx’s reminiscences in The Marx Brothers Scrapbook can’t be beat. The book took a lot of heat when it came out in 1973 because it was unexpurgated and some dreary litigation ensued. Too bad; thirty-five years later, I can still recall some of Groucho’s on-target perceptions about the mendacity and crudity of show business and they always make me weep with laughter.
–LM
Adamson, Joe. Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A Celebration of the Marx Brothers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973.
Ajaye, Franklin. Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-Up Comedy. Los Angeles, CA: Silman-James Press, 2002.
Allen, Fred. “All The Sincerity in Hollywood …”: Selections from the Writings of Radio’s Legendary Comedian. Golden, Co,: Fulcrum Publishing, 2001.
—. Much Ado about Me. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1956.
Allen, Ralph. The Best Burlesque Sketches. New York: Applause Books, 1995.
Allen, Steve. Funny People. Briarcliff Manor, NY: Stein & Day, 1981.
Anobile, Richard J., with introduction by Groucho Marx. Why a Duck? Visual and Verbal Gems from the Marx Brothers Movies. New York: Darien House, 1971.
Arce, Hector. Groucho. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1979.
Baker, William F., and George Dessart. Down the Tube: An Inside Account of the Failure of American Television. New York: Basic Books, 1998.
Barber, Rowland. The Night They Raided Minsky’s. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960.
Barr, Roseanne. Roseanne: My Life as a Woman. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.
Beatts, Anne. Titters: The First Collection of Humor by Women. New York: Collier Books, 1976.
Beck, Jerry, ed. Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the History of Cartoon, Anime & CGI. New York: Harper Collins, 2004.
Benny, Jack, and Joan Benny. Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story. New York: Warner Books, 1990.
Berg, Gertrude. Molly and Me: The Memoirs of Gertrude Berg. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1961.
Berger, Phil. The Last Laugh: The World of the Stand-Up Comics. New York: Limelight Editions, 1985.
Bogle, Donald. Prime Time Blues: African Americans on Network Television. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001.
Bonney, Jo, ed. Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2000.
Brownlow, Kevin. The Parade’s Gone By.… Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1968.
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People: An Autobiography. New York: Fireside, 1963.
Burnett, Carol. One More Time: A Memoir. New York: Random House, 1986.
Burr, Lonnie. Two for the Show: Great 20th Century Comedy Teams. New York: J. Messner, 1979.
Byron, Stuart, and Elisabeth Weis. The National Society of Film Critics on Movie Comedy. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1977.
Cader, Michael. Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
Caesar, Sid, with Eddy Friedfeld. Caesar’s Hours: My Life in Comedy, with Love and Laughter. New York: PublicAffairs, 2003.
Cahn, William. The Laugh Makers: A Pictorial History of American Comedians. New York: Bramhall House, 1957.
Cantor, Eddie. My Life Is in Your Hands & Take My Life. Boulder, CO: Cooper Square Press, 2000.
Carlin, George. When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? New York: Hyperion, 2004.
Carter, Joseph. The Quotable Will Rogers. Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2005.
Chaplin, Charles. My Autobiography. New York: Penguin Books, 1964.
—. My Life in Pictures. London: The Bodley Head, 1974.
Cohen, John. The Essential Lenny Bruce. New York: Bell Publishing Company, 1967.
Coleman, Janet. The Compass: The Improvisational Theatre That Revolutionized American Comedy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.
Collins, Ronald K. L., and David M. Skover. The Trials of Lenny Bruce. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2002.
Comte, Michel, ed. Charlie Chaplin: A Photo Diary. Germany: Steidl, 2002.
Corio, Ann. This Was Burlesque. New York: Madison Square Press, 1968.
Cosby, Bill. Cosbyology: Essays and Observations from the Doctor of Comedy. New York: Hyperion, 2001.
Costello, Chris. Lou’s on First? New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981.
Cox, Stephen. Here’s Johnny: Thirty Years of America’s Favorite Late-Night Entertainer. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House, 2002.
Cox, Stephen John and Lofflin. The Abbott & Costello Story. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House, 1990.
Crichton, Kyle. The Marx Brothers. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1950.
Curtis, James. W. C. Fields, A Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.
Dale, Alan S. Comedy Is a Man in Trouble: Slapstick in American Movies. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000.
David, Jay. The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography. New York: Quill, 1999.
Davidson, Telly R. TV’s Grooviest Variety Shows of the ’60s and ’70s. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House, 2006.
Davis, Madelyn Pugh, with Bob Carroll Jr. Laughing with Lucy: My Life with America’s Leading Lady of Comedy. Cincinnati, OH: Emmis Books, 2005.
Dewey, Donald. The Art of Ill Will: The Story of American Political Cartoons. New York and London: New York University Press, 2007.
Diller, Phyllis. Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse: My Life in Comedy. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2005.
Dolan, Deirdre. Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Book. New York: Gotham Books, 2006.
Dougherty, Barry. A Hundred Years, a Million Laughs: A Centennial Celebration of the Friars Club. Cincinnati, OH: Emmis Books, 2004.
Edwards, Elisabeth. Lucy & Desi: A Real-Life Scrapbook of America’s Favorite TV Couple. Philadelphia: Running Press Book Publishers, 2004.
Ely, Melvin Patrick. The Adventures of Amos ’n’ Andy: A Social History of an American Phenomenon. New York: Free Press, 1991.
—. Mixed Nuts: America’s Love Affair with Comedy Teams from Burns and Allen to Belushi and Aykroyd. New York: PublicAffairs, 2004.
Epstein, Lawrence J. The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America. New York: Public Affairs, 2001.
Everson, William K. The Art of W. C. Fields. New York: Bonanza Books, 1967.
Faith, William Robert. Bob Hope: A Life in Comedy. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1982.
Fein, Irving A. Jack Benny: An Intimate Biography. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1976.
Florenski, Joe, and Steve Wilson. Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story. New York: Advocate Books, 2005.
Ford, Gerald R. Humor and the Presidency. New York: Arbor House, 1987.
Forrester, Jeff. The Three Stooges: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Most Popular Comedy Team of All Time. Los Angeles: Donaldson Books, 2002.
Foxx, Redd. The Redd Foxx Encyclopedia of Black Humor. Pasadena, CA: W. Ritchie Press, 1977.
Fretts, Bruce. The Entertainment Weekly Seinfeld Companion: Atomic Wedgies to Zipper Jobs, An Unofficial Guide to TV’s Funniest Show. New York: Warner Books, 1993.
Furmanek, Bob, and Palumbo, Ron. Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. New York: Perigee, 1991.
Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.
Gehring, Wes D. Groucho and W. C. Fields, Huckster Comedians. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1994.
Gelbart, Larry. Laughing Matters. New York: Random House, 1998.
Gelbart, Larry, et al. Stand-Up Comedians on Television. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.
Gregory, Dick. Nigger. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1964.
Groening, Matt. Ray Richmond, ed. The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.
Hamilton, Marybeth. When I’m Bad I’m Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1995.
Hayes, Kevin J., ed. Charlie Chaplin Interviews. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2005.
Henderson, Amy. On the Air: Pioneers of American Broadcasting. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1988.
Hill, Doug, and Jeff Weingrad. Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live. New York: Vintage Books, 1987.
Hirsch, Foster. Love, Sex, Death, and the Meaning of Life: The Films of Woody Allen. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2001.
Hoberman, J., and Jeffrey Shandler. Entertaining America: Jews, Movies, and Broadcasting. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
Hope, Bob, with Melville Shavelson. Don’t Shoot, It’s Only Me: Bob Hope’s Comedy History of the United States. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1990.
Jacobs, Frank. The Mad World of Wiliam M. Gaines. New York: Bantam Books, 1973.
Jenkins, Henry. What Made Pistachio Nuts? Early Sound Comedy and the Vaudeville Aesthetic. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
Jones, Chuck. Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1989.
Jones, Gerard. Honey, I’m Home! Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992.
Kanfer, Stefan. Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.
—. Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.
Keaton, Buster, and Charles Samuels. Buster Keaton: My Wonderful World of Slapstick. New York: Doubleday, 1960.
Keaton, Eleanor, and Jeffrey Vance. Buster Keaton Remembered. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
Kercher, Stephen E. Revel with a Cause: Liberal Satire in Postwar America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.
Kerr, Walter. The Silent Clowns. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1975.
Klein, Robert. The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
Klugman, Jack. Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship. West Linn, OR: Good Hill Press, 2005.
Knelman, Martin. Jim Carrey: The Joker Is Wild: The Trials and Triumphs of Jim Carrey. Richmond Hill, ONT: Firefly Books, 2000.
Knopf, Robert. The Theater and Cinema of Buster Keaton. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.
Krassner, Paul. Impolite Interviews. New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999.
Lahr, John. Show and Tell: New Yorker Profiles. New York: Overlook Press, 2000.
Laurie, Joe. Vaudeville: From the Honky Tonks to the Palace. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1972.
Lax, Eric. Conversations with Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
—. Woody Allen: A Biography. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1991.
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Leider, Emily Wortis. Becoming Mae West. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1997.
Lenburg, Jeff, and Joan Howard Maurer, et al. The Three Stooges Scrapbook. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 1982.
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Levy, Shawn. King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996.
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—. The Great Movie Comedians: Updated Edition from Charlie Chaplin to Woody Allen. New York: Harmony Books, 1982.
—. Movie Comedy Teams. New York: New American Library, 1974.
—. Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
Marc, David. Comic Visions: Television Comedy and American Culture. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1997.
Marshall, Garry. Wake Me When It’s Funny: How To Break into Showbusiness and Stay There. New York: Newmarket Press, 1995.
Marshall, Peter, and Adrienne Armstrong. Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square. Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 2002.
Martin, Steve. Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life. New York: Scribner, 2007.
Marx, Bill. Son of Harpo Speaks! A Family Portrait. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media, 2007.
Marx, Groucho, and Richard Anobile. The Marx Bros. Scrapbook. New York: Darien House, 1973.
Marx, Groucho. The Groucho Phile: An Illustrated Life. New York: Pocket Books, 1976.
Marx, Harpo, with Rowland Barber. Harpo Speaks! NJ: Limelight Editions, 1962.
Mast, Gerald. The Comic Mind: Comedy and the Movies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.
McClay, Michael. I Love Lucy: The Complete Picture History of the Most Popular TV Show Ever. New York: Warner Books, 1995.
McCrohan, Donna. The Honeymooners’ Companion: The Kramdens and the Nortons Revisited. New York: Workman Publishing, 1978.
Meade, Marion. Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1997.
Meglin, Nick, and John Ficarra, ed. MAD about the Movies. New York: MAD Books, 1998.
Merton, Paul. Silent Comedy. London: Random House, 2007.
Minsky, Morton, and Milt Machlin. Minsky’s Burlesque. New York: Arbor House, 1986.
Mitchell, Glenn. The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia. London: B. T. Batsford, 1996.
Museum of Broadcasting, ed. The Many Worlds of Carol Burnett. New York: Museum of Broadcasting, 1995.
Nachman, Gerald. Raised on Radio. New York: Pantheon, 1998.
—. Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. New York: Back Stage Books, 2004.
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