Synopses & Reviews
Jokes change from generation to generation, but the experience of the comedian transcends the ages: the drive, jealousy, heartbreak, and triumph. From the Marx Brothers to Milton Berle to George Carlin to Eddie Murphy to Louis CKcomedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a centurys worth of rebels and groundbreakers, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts, forgotten stars and workaday plodders in this essential history of American comedy.
Beginning with the nationwide vaudeville circuits that dominated at turn of the twentieth century, Nesteroff describes the rise of the first true stand-up comediana variety show emcee who abandoned physical shtick for straight jokes. The end of Prohibition ushered in a surprising golden age of comedy, as funnymen were made into radio stars and the combination of the "Borscht Belt," the "Chitlin Circuit," and Mafia-run supperclubs furnished more jobs and money than ever before. Those were the days of the Copacabana, tuxedos, and smoking cigars onstage, when insulting the boss could result in a hit man at your door and obscenity charges could land you in jail. In the 1950s, late-night television cemented the status of the comedy establishment while young comics rebelled, arriving on the beatnik coffeehouse scene with cerebral jokes and social angst. They soon found their own way to fame through comedy records that vied with top musicians for Billboard spots. Then came the comedy clubs of the coke-fueled 1970s and 80s, Saturday Night Live and cable TV, and with the internet, a whole new generation of YouTube stars, podcast personalities, and Twitterati. Through the decades, Nesteroff reveals the contradictions between comedians public and private personas and illuminates the often-seedy underbelly of an industry built on laughs.
Based on over two hundred original interviews and extensive archival research, The Comedians is a sharply written and highly entertaining look at one hundred years of comedy, and a valuable exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture along the way.
Review
Praise for The Comedians and Kliph Nesteroff:If you think you know a lot about stand-up comedy, this book will expose you as the fraud you secretly reckoned you were. Remember Frank Fay? Exactly.”Norm MacDonald
Kliph Nesteroff and this book are devoted to what I truly lovethe art of comedy.”Mel Brooks
Kliph Nesteroff is a comedy nerd in the deepest sense of the word. He goes obsessively into the darkness that has been festering culturally, psychically, and personally behind the faces of funny going back almost a century. He is the preeminent historian of modern comedy.”Marc Maron
Comedy buffs and social historians will forever be in Kliph Nesteroffs debt for this book. A heady mixture of show-business anecdotes, gossip, and in-depth research on everything from vaudeville to podcasting. Whats more, its a great read: I couldnt put it down.”Leonard Maltin, noted film critic and scholar
Comedy tends to disappear, either into the boozy corners of a night club, or onto countless lost videotapes of TV variety shows that may never even make it to Netflix. That's what makes The Comedians so essential. No one charts the connections between the Jewy-old-masters of the TV age of comedy to the gay woman telling jokes into your ear right now on a podcast quite like [Kliph Nesteroff].”John Hodgman, contributor to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
An encyclopedia of American stand-up, sit-down, and every form of professional merriment you can imagine . . . I learned so much . . . Not to be missed if you love comedy and its origins. So flipping entertaining.”Cleveland Plain Dealer
A definitive volume. A lively, raucous, and immensely entertaining love letter to funny business.”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Both pop culture enthusiasts and entertainment scholars will relish this important history of American comedy.”Library Journal (starred review)
I became familiar with the work of Kliph Nesteroff several years ago. He is a writer of unique ability, producing, original material that stands far above the pack.”Zach Galifianakis
Nesteroffs ability to bring unknown and fascinating insights to the forefront is impressivewhile doing so in an extremely captivating and literate manner.”Mike Sacks, author of Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Todays Top Comedy Writers
Our favorite pop culture historian.”A.V. Club, The Onion
His writing, his researching, and his ability to tackle any topic are brilliant. I would venture to say he is a true American original, but as it turns out, he is Canadian.”Guy Nicolucci, Emmy and Writers Guild Award-winning comedy writer
Synopsis
In
The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Based on over two hundred original interviews and extensive archival research, Nesteroffs groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past one hundred years.
Starting with the vaudeville circuit at the turn of the last century, Nesteroff introduces the first stand-up comedianan emcee who abandoned physical shtick for straight jokes. After the repeal of Prohibition, Mafia-run supper clubs replaced speakeasies, and mobsters replaced vaudeville impresarios as the comedians primary employer. In the 1950s, the late-night talk show brought stand-up to a wide public, while Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Jonathan Winters attacked conformity and staged a comedy rebellion in coffeehouses. From comedys part in the Civil Rights movement and the social upheaval of the late 1960s, to the first comedy clubs of the 1970s and the cocaine-fueled comedy boom of the 1980s, The Comedians culminates with a new era of media-driven celebrity in the twenty-first century.
About the Author
Kliph Nesteroff is a former stand-up comic turned writer. A longtime contributor to WFMU, writing about the history of comedy, Nesteroffs latest project is hosting the Classic Showbiz Talk Show, a live series in Los Angeles that has welcomed comedy luminaries like Mel Brooks, Fred Willard and Laugh-In creator George Schlatter.