Ebook Free Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman
Do you believe that reading is a crucial task? Locate your reasons why including is necessary. Reviewing a book Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman is one component of satisfying tasks that will make your life high quality better. It is not regarding just exactly what type of publication Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman you check out, it is not just concerning how lots of e-books you review, it has to do with the habit. Checking out practice will certainly be a method to make e-book Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman as her or his pal. It will certainly regardless of if they spend cash as well as invest even more publications to complete reading, so does this book Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman
Ebook Free Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman. It is the moment to enhance as well as refresh your ability, expertise and experience consisted of some home entertainment for you after long period of time with monotone things. Operating in the office, visiting study, learning from exam as well as even more activities may be finished and you have to begin brand-new things. If you feel so worn down, why don't you attempt new thing? A quite simple thing? Reviewing Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman is just what we provide to you will recognize. And the book with the title Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman is the reference currently.
Definitely, to enhance your life quality, every publication Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman will certainly have their particular driving lesson. Nonetheless, having particular understanding will make you really feel a lot more confident. When you feel something occur to your life, often, reviewing publication Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman can aid you to make calm. Is that your genuine hobby? Often yes, yet often will certainly be unsure. Your option to check out Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman as one of your reading publications, could be your correct publication to check out now.
This is not around just how much this publication Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman prices; it is not additionally for exactly what kind of publication you truly like to read. It has to do with what you could take and also receive from reading this Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman You could like to choose other e-book; however, it doesn't matter if you attempt to make this book Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman as your reading selection. You will certainly not regret it. This soft documents publication Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman can be your good friend in any case.
By downloading this soft documents e-book Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman in the on-line link download, you are in the initial step right to do. This site truly provides you ease of the best ways to obtain the very best publication, from ideal seller to the new released e-book. You can find more publications in this website by checking out every link that we provide. One of the collections, Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman is one of the very best collections to sell. So, the first you obtain it, the initial you will certainly obtain all good regarding this e-book Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians Of The 1950s And 1960s, By Gerald Nachman
The comedians of the 1950s and 1960s were a totally different breed of relevant, revolutionary performer from any that came before or after, comics whose humor did much more than pry guffaws out of audiences. Gerald Nachman presents the stories of the groundbreaking comedy stars of those years, each one a cultural harbinger:
• Mort Sahl, of a new political cynicism
• Lenny Bruce, of the sexual, drug, and language revolution
• Dick Gregory, of racial unrest
• Bill Cosby and Godfrey Cambridge, of racial harmony
• Phyllis Diller, of housewifely complaint
• Mike Nichols & Elaine May and Woody Allen, of self-analytical angst and a rearrangement of male-female relations
• Stan Freberg and Bob Newhart, of encroaching, pervasive pop media manipulation and, in the case of Bob Elliott & Ray Goulding, of the banalities of broadcasting
• Mel Brooks, of the Yiddishization of American comedy
• Sid Caesar, of a new awareness of the satirical possibilities of television
• Joan Rivers, of the obsessive craving for celebrity gossip and of a latent bitchy sensibility
• Tom Lehrer, of the inane, hypocritical, mawkishly sentimental nature of hallowed American folkways and, in the case of the Smothers Brothers, of overly revered folk songs and folklore
• Steve Allen, of the late-night talk show as a force in American comedy
• David Frye and Vaughn Meader, of the merger of showbiz and politics and, along with Will Jordan, of stretching the boundaries of mimicry
• Shelley Berman, of a generation of obsessively self-confessional humor
• Jonathan Winters and Jean Shepherd, of the daring new free-form improvisational comedy and of a sardonically updated view of Midwestern archetypes
• Ernie Kovacs, of surreal visual effects and the unbounded vistas of video
Taken together, they made up the faculty of a new school of vigorous, socially aware satire, a vibrant group of voices that reigned from approximately 1953 to 1965.
Nachman shines a flashlight into the corners of these comedians’ chaotic and often troubled lives, illuminating their genius as well as their demons, damaged souls, and desperate drive. His exhaustive research and intimate interviews reveal characters that are intriguing and all too human, full of rich stories, confessions, regrets, and traumas. Seriously Funny is at once a dazzling cultural history and a joyous celebration of an extraordinary era in American comedy.
- Sales Rank: #1113282 in Books
- Published on: 2003-04-15
- Released on: 2003-04-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.54" h x 1.43" w x 6.43" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 672 pages
Amazon.com Review
It's been said that analyzing comedy is a bit like dissecting a frog: you arrive at a greater understanding of the frog but the frog does tend to die in the process. The purpose of Gerald Nachman's Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s is not to provide a laugh riot of his subjects' best punch lines, but rather to explore their lives, careers, and influence. Nachman's scope is impressive. He provides detailed biographies not only of household names Sid Caesar, Lenny Bruce, Bob Newhart, and Woody Allen but also comics like Jean Shepherd, Shelley Berman, and Will Jordan whose legacies have far outpaced their name recognition. Nachman has done his research; the book profiles 26 comedians, each in exhaustive detail, and no fan of this era will feel cheated at the end of its 768 pages. There are plenty of entertaining show biz anecdotes (Sid Caesar throwing a lit cigar at young writer Mel Brooks, Bill Cosby punching out Tommy Smothers) along with tales of the darker sides of Mort Sahl, Jonathan Winters, and others whose private lives were far less amusing than their stage acts. But what makes Seriously Funny so compelling, and its dopey title at least partially forgivable, is the author's meticulous attention to each comedian's imprint on the landscape of comedy itself. And while the jokes cited often seem a bit stale and obvious, it bears noting that they were revolutionary when these comedians first made them. --John Moe
From Publishers Weekly
Something happened to comedy beginning in the late 1950s. Geniuses like Mort Sahl, Mel Brooks, Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen took a tired medium ("Take my wife-please" was about as good as it got) and transformed it into a sharper, meaner, more personal and more politicized art form than any comedy that had come before. It was, as Nachman notes in this broad survey, a "satirical revolution." Suddenly, police might arrest a comic for obscenity (Bruce). Or the American president might demand an explanation of a punch line (Sahl). Or network censors might freak out over politically charged TV scripts (the Smothers brothers). As a group, Nachman argues, these comedians changed the cultural landscape, pushing the boundaries of humor, art and good taste. But for many, genius had a price. Jonathan Winters spent time in a sanatorium; Bruce succumbed to drug addiction; and Sahl became paranoid and unbalanced, oddly obsessed with JFK's assassination. The list could go on-and does. Nachman (Raised on Radio) covers 26 comedians here. Necessarily, some details are lost. But whatever Nachman lacks in depth, he makes up for with his enthusiasm and firsthand knowledge (he interviewed many of his subjects himself, repeatedly, over decades). Even better, Nachman knows when to shut up and let the comics speak for themselves (Sahl on Barry Goldwater: "The fascist gun in the West"; Allen on the modern condition: "Not only is God dead but try getting a plumber on the weekends"). A must-have for comedy fans, this book is also a notable study of America as it shed its gray flannel suit and began, finally, to laugh.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Now that Lenny Bruce is lionized for freeing stand-up from most constraints on material and language, Nachman figures it is time other "rebel" comics of the 1950s and 1960s got some attention, and he certainly knows whom to attend to. Sid Caesar, Ernie Kovacs, and Jonathan Winters are arguably the standouts in the section on the '50s, but even Jean Shepherd, most famous today as creator of the classic Christmas flick A Christmas Story, gets his due, in the same chapter as absurdists extraordinaire Bob and Ray. In the '60s section, figures as diverse yet comparably insightful as Bob Newhart and Godfrey Cambridge are profiled. Lenny does, of course, get his chapter, and so do the Smothers brothers, Dick Gregory, and Mel Brooks, plus the now relatively unknown David Frye, Vaughan Meader, and Will Jordan. Rather like aesthetically pondering rock musicians' instrumental techniques, serious discussion of comedy is a chancy proposition. Nachman manages, however, to leaven his content analysis with sheer enjoyment. All entertainment scholarship should be this enjoyable and informative. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
The ultimate comedy compendium of a golden era
By M. R. Johnson
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 skin, creating jucier, Jewishier characters in his gallery of gargoyles and showbiz sharks, and made much more racket."
"Seriously Funny" is a brilliant combination of dense research and incisive interviews, presented through the eye of senior critic.
As a bonus, the narrative is sprinkled with some of the performers' best lines and how they came to be. For example, Woody Allen, in his early gag-writing days, was a veritable joke machine, writing easily and prolifically for other comics. Many of his weird one-liners still make me laugh today. Example: He first suspected his parents didn't love him when they put a live teddy bear in his crib. And Jonathan Winters, famous for being "always on", is said to have adlibbed to a lady who complained "You're not handicapped" when he parked his car in a spot reserved for the handicapped, "Madame, can you see inside my mind?"
This history of intelligent comedy is anything but a doorstop. It is a feast. No, it's more than a feast. It is a smorgasbord so big it threatens to collapse the table. It's hard to believe so much history, mirth and critical analysis can be squeezed between two covers.
END
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Brilliant !
By Eddie Landsberg
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 !
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
For the curious, it's worth it!
By Terrie
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.
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman PDF
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman EPub
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman Doc
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman iBooks
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman rtf
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman Mobipocket
Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, by Gerald Nachman Kindle
No comments:
Post a Comment