First Lady of Laughs: The Forgotten Story of Jean Carroll, America’s First Jewish Woman Stand-Up Comedian

In this spirited debut biography, Overbeke, a theater professor at Columbia College Chicago, examines how Jewish comic Jean Carroll (1911–2010) “sparked the creativity and humor of a generation” of female comedians, including Joan Rivers and Lily Tomlin. Born Celine Zeigman in Paris, Carroll moved with her family to New York City in 1912, where she endured a tumultuous childhood with an alcoholic father. Resolving at age eight to earn enough money to support her mother and siblings, she began performing in variety shows in 1922, adopted a “non-ethnic” name, and became the family’s primary breadwinner by the time she was a teenager. Shifting to stand-up comedy in 1944, Carroll eschewed the standard rapid-fire delivery popular at the time for a gossipy, conversational style that established an intimate relationship with her audience. Scrupulously dissecting the linguistic and thematic nuances of the comedian’s performances, Overbeke reveals how Carroll modeled a new type of funny Jewish woman “who had assimilated into American upper-middle-class, white, heterosexual, attractive, and even glamorous society,” yet whose persona “retained something markedly Jewish.” Meticulously analyzed and researched, it’s a valuable addition to the history of female comedians and Jewish American entertainers. (Sept.)