Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s

by Gerald Nachman

Book Overview

From Mel Brooks and Tommy Smothers to Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce, Nachman tells the story of America's satiric revolution. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375410309
• ISBN13: 9780375410307
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 2.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Seriously entertaining

This book brings together more information about more comedians than any other book I've ever read. It is a collection of short biographies, not a comprehensive history of the 50s and 60s. Even so, the 50s and 60s came alive for me as I encountered in quick succession Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, Steve Allen, Bob Newhart, Woody Allen, Elaine May, Mike Nichols, and a score of other comedians who hit it big during that time.

Brilliant !

After reading this book, and RAISED ON RADIO I'm convinced... Nachman is a brilliant chronicaller of generations, passioniate and on such a mission his enthuisiasm gushes through with each Peabody Award waiting to happen phrase whether or not you share his enthuisiasm. - - Like RAISED ON RADIO, the book is neither definitive nor wishy-washy either. The chapters simply paint portraits of the people. In fact, the book goes a bit DEEPER into the subject manner than RAISED ON RADIO though not too deep. Further, though Nachman did interview subjects and did research, a lot of the information isn't exactly new (atleast if you're a nerdish comedy album collector and already into what the book is about.) - - And although yes, sometimes he goes on and on to make a point, especially in the way he breaks down the personalities of the comics he analyzes, I have to say, Nachman's writing is so delightful its forgivable (whether or not some of the chapters could have been cut in half.) Also what I like about this book is the choice of comedians go well beyond the obvious and really make you think... recognizing not just the Lenny Bruce's and Mort Sahls, but radio and TV comics that paved the way... (Bob and Ray, Ernie Kovacs and Steve Allen included !) All in all, this is a great book presented through the mind of a brilliant columnist... and yes NACHMAN definitely is a columnist... a master storyteller who can schpiel by the column inch and hold your attention all the way. The only danger of reading this book is that after each chapter you want to go out and get the CDs... but with so many comedians covered, that's a lot of bread ! Though I happen to be a fan of the topics covered in this and RAISED ON RADIO, I have to say, whatever Nachman decides to write about next, I'm fair game for it !

Pop-Culture Chronicle of an Era

In an age when [curse words] are a standard part of American entertainment, it may be hard to understand why this book is so important. It's less about comedy than it is about the era in which comedy in America changed. When we understand this we then are able to see, over the shoulder of each comedian, the beginnings of the social and political movements that, ironically, would lead to the leaden, anti-intellectual climate we have in our country today.If, as I do, you can remember the 50s and the 60s, you may also remember just how shocking much of the material spoken by these comedians was. Forget about the sour-grapes review posted above by an (obviously failed) comedian. Consider instead these tidbits in the book and see if they do not convince you of the power of the mike before the age of the Internet. Mort Sahl, who used as the basis of his routine the items in the daily newspaper, was punished for jokes he made about the Kennedys; when he refused to censor himself, Joe P. had the club in which he appeared closed for the owner's failure to pay back taxes. Sections about Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby and Godfrey Cambridge have each comedian addressing the question of whether their acts were either flagrant "Uncle Tomming" of white listeners or the opposite.Though the reporting does contain the occasional error--and a maddening typo or two (WHY can't the publisher pay for a copy editor, for crying out loud?)--the book is fresh in some of its points. For example, Nachman is one of the few writers NOT to deify Lenny Bruce. The story of our deification of him is as much a part of the biography as is the description of Bruce's rise and fall; my interpretation is that people made money off Bruce both before and after his death.Nachman does have his favorites, to be sure, and there's the rather bigoted insinuation that the best comics must be "ethnic" (whatever that means) but all in all, it's a great book.

For the curious, it's worth it!

I am not the most avid reader, and for the most part the size of this book is usually preclusive, but I came away from knowing more than I did when I started, which is not necessarily a bad thing.Other reviewers of this book seem to have points of reference with which to mark from in talking about Nachman's work. I had none--I was born too late for the peaks of many of these classic comedians, and at least one was already gone and passed by the time I was born, plus this is the first time I had heard of this author. I came upon this book by way of being a third-generation Smothers Brothers fan, so I was excited when this book came out. It is time-consuming to read, true, but being that each chapter represents a single comedian or comedy team, the pressure is off to try and digest it all at once (good for non-avid readers such as myself). And with the Smothers Brothers, a lot of names were dropped that I never knew were what I term "Smothers Others" (those with less than a degree of separation from Tom and/or Dick). And with Tom and Dick, more of their early history was given than I have seen just about anywhere else.My only beef in regards to the book is pretty incidental and cosmetic: the choice of pictures for each of the comedians. Some of the photos were representative of the comedians in the time frame the book covers, some were not (in the case of the Smothers Brothers, a pic from their 1988-89 run of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was used, not one from either their 1965-66 sitcom or 1967-69 variety show, for which they earned their right to be included in this book).This book may be less than spectular for the pros,...but for us amatuers, it's just right.

The ultimate comedy compendium of a golden era

Gerald Nachman is the ideal writer to capture the excitement of the ground-breaking satirical comedy of the 1950s and 1960s. A respected critic and a very funny man himself, he knows how to do his homework. Better yet, he writes crisply, with style and humor. Nachman began earning his spurs in the 1960s, reporting on, among other theatrical things, new voices in comedy for major newspapers on both coasts. He's an expert on funny. He even looks funny.Now he has put that golden era in perspective. "Seriously Funny" (Pantheon) is the definitive word on the comedy revolution that changed the way we laugh, at least for a few fantastic years. This book will please two audiences -- those who want to relive the euphoria they felt when the revolt happened, and the younger crowd that always wondered where these people came from, whether they were any good, and where they are now. Mort Sahl, Sid Caesar, Tom Lehrer, Steve Allen, Jonathan Winters, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Bob Newhart, Lenny Bruce, Shelley Berman, Godfrey Cambridge, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Joan Rivers are all there, among several others.Nachman's 30,000-word introduction, a sweeping overview that explains the roots of the revolt, acknowledges its ephemeral nature: "It's hard to find traces now of those brilliant, perceptive, funny comedians. The comics who came later mostly aimed for the gut and the groin, not the brain or the soul." And he laments: "The laughter they left behind in all of those little underground clubs is long gone, but their legacy still smiles brightly, warmly, and merrily." Nachman seems to have combed through all published sources available, adding personal interviews with the principals and their associates wherever possible. Some cranky characters such as Mort Sahl and Bill Cosby declined to cooperate in this project, but many others added fascinating detail on their career zigzags and what they're up to today. Sahl may be surprised to see that Nachman produces a 48-page profile of him, perhaps the strongest piece in the book, pieced together from Sahl's recorded material, Nachman's occasional encounters with him over the years, and a crystal-clear analysis of the man. Offstage, Nachman reports, some of these wits were prickly, some were grey and businesslike, some still had the comedy magic. Sadly, many of them are wasting away in retirement. You want to shout: "Shelley Berman, Jonathan Winters, come back. We need more of you." A deft touch with the language pulls the reader through this 659-page book. Some of Nachman's gems:-- Of Vaughn Meader's short-lived career as an impressionist specializing in the voice of John F. Kennedy, he writes: "One twist to the single-bullet theory that didn't make it into the Warren report: the same bullet that killed JFK also murdered Vaughn Meader's career."-- Of Woody Allen's lesser movie scripts: "If the actors were delivering the same lines in a club, they'd be drenched in flop sweat."-- Of Lenny Bruce: "Bruce gouged under the