THE COMEDIANS: FUNNY FOREVER (book review)

Sad but true, most people today find humor to be something they think has only been around for as long as they’ve been alive and not before. Today’s young people when asked about a show like SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE recognize the program and stars of recent years but have no clue who people like John Belushi or Chevy Chase are. That being the case there is even less chance of them having the vaguest of notions who people like Sid Caesar of Milton Berle were let alone the Marx Brothers. This book tries to give some information for the current generation of where comedy actually came from.

Beginning with those who traveled the vaudeville circuit way back when each successive chapter moves the timeline forward offering not only the names of the most popular acts in the country at the time but the venues that they changed from with each time. Vaudeville led to radio, radio to television, television to clubs, clubs to colleges, etc. And with each change of venue there was a change in the styles and depth of material as well. In this collection of stories found in long lost trade newspaper and personal memories you get a glimpse of the history of comedy as we now know it.

Slow moving at times and captivating at others, the compilation of these stories is something that needed to be done. As I said far too often the current generation fails to realize that anything happened before their births. In discovering some of these classic comedians from the past via this book they might be inclined to rediscover the humor that came long before programs like THE DAILY SHOW. Maybe they’ll find that before there was George Carlin there was Lenny Bruce. Before SNL there was YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS. And before those there were radio programs that are still accessible with the click of a mouse. In knowing about the past, it gives you a guidepost to follow to discover these items.

Some may find the book dry, others captivating. It tells the stories straight as they come without replying simply on rehashing old skits in their entirety. Instead it gives us an insight into the world of comedy from the earliest places it was found to more current locations. In doing so it makes old items new for a younger generation and for those in the older generation like myself, it makes us want to revisit some of those classic folks that made us laugh so long ago.

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