The Comedians

November 9, 2015
Nesteroff, a former stand-up comic and the host of the Classic Showbiz Talk Show event series in Los Angeles, artfully charts the evolution of American comedy as an industry, from its beginnings in 1920s vaudeville to the podcasts of today. Nesteroff deftly interleaves the biographies of renowned comics, such as Abbot and Costello, Buddy Hackett, Joan Rivers, and Chris Rock, with those of lesser-known but equally influential performers such as Frank Fay, the first comedian to perform his routine standing in one place, in a narrative tracing changes in the industry such as the introduction of television. Though he doesn't dwell too long on any performer or subplotâthe mention of the influence of the Internet seems particularly briefâthis is still an informative and, above all else, entertaining study.

November 1, 2015
A former stand-up comedian himself, talk-show host Nesteroff adds an extra layer of professional insight to this absorbing and colorful history of joke tellers and their ilk from vaudeville to the new millennium. Beginning with stand-up comedy's roots during the 1880s through the 1930s, when comedians supplied laughs and pratfalls to burlesque and vaudeville variety acts, Nesteroff paints a grim picture of the ill treatment most performers received during this era. Even comedy greats such as W. C. Fields and the Marx Brothers endured meager wages and many nights in flophouses before their stars began to rise in radio and film. Nesteroff's chapter on radio recounts how the medium lifted some comedians, such as Jack Benny, to superstardom and killed others whose stage acts didn't translate well to a voice-only format. Other anecdote-filled chapters describe how stand-up comedy grew in popularity on late-night talk shows, in comedy clubs, and on Las Vegas stages. Must reading for entertainers and an essential acquisition for every library performing-arts collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

Starred review from July 15, 2015
A comprehensive history of American stand-up comedy, from vaudeville to Twitter. At the beginning, Nesteroff, a former stand-up comedian and host of Classic Showbiz Talk Show, makes two important assertions. First, he sets out to dispel the myth of the tragically flawed funnyman who uses comedy as a way of hiding his insecurities. While there is some truth to the trope, not all comedians fit the stereotype of the tragic clown figure. Second, Nesteroff states that comedy does not age particularly well. It is an art form very much of its time, one that is not typically designed for posterity. It's a worthwhile distinction, because while the author describes the acts of the comedians he profiles, clearly explaining their differences and similarities, he is careful not to excerpt too much of their actual acts. A good comedian is principally judged by his peers, and Nesteroff reclaims the legacy of many of the older, forgotten comedians. For instance, the name Shecky Greene has long been shorthand for out-of-touch and dated comedy, but Nesteroff restores some of Greene's credibility by showing how his contemporaries considered him "one of comedy's great nonconformists" and a "genuine comedian's comedian." Developing out of vaudeville, stand-up comedy was officially created by Frank Fay, who began emceeing in between acts to entertain the crowd. Nesteroff's narrative follows the form through the mob-run nightclubs of Las Vegas and Miami Beach, radio and TV, and the emergence of comedy-specific clubs in the 1970s. The author skews toward midcentury comics with only a passing mention of the new millennium, but this is in part because that was when comedy was a business and culture unto itself. The high stakes of comedy at its peak is perhaps best evidenced by the purported assassination attempt on comedian Jackie Mason in 1966. Anecdotes, firsthand recollections, and gossip like this are what distinguish Nesteroff's history as a definitive volume. A lively, raucous, and immensely entertaining love letter to the funny business.

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Starred review from July 1, 2015

Nesteroff, a stand-up comedian-turned-writer, conducted 200 original interviews and extensive archival research to chronicle American comedy over the last 100 years. He combines anecdotes and gossip with scholarly evidence to explore American comedy from its roots in burlesque and vaudeville (Groucho Marx, Phil Silvers, and Buster Keaton were popular child acts) to radio, an industry in which Ed Wynn, Jack Benny, and "Amos 'n' Andy" reigned. Mob-run nightclubs spawned the "blue comedy" that came under fire from Sen. Estes Kefauver in the 1940s, but it was television that boosted comedians to the heights: Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Jackie Gleason, and Silvers all starred in popular programs. Nesteroff also highlights the importance of the late-night talk show as a vehicle for showcasing stand-up comedians and how the craft changed in the 1950s from the impersonal telling of jokes. ("This guy went into a bar") to the personal ("I went into a bar") with the emergence of comics Lenny Bruce, Red Foxx, and George Carlin and eventually Eddie Murphy and today's stars, Louis CK and Marc Maron. VERDICT Both pop culture enthusiasts and entertainment scholars will relish this important history of American comedy. [See Prepub Alert, 5/11/15.]--Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

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