The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy

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 subplot%E2%80%94the mention of the influence of the Internet seems particularly brief%E2%80%94this is still an informative and, above all else, entertaining study. (Nov.)