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Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s
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
• 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.
• 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.
659 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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541 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Nachman
12 books7 followersGerald Weil Nachman is a San Francisco journalist and author.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 19, 2019
My favorite book about the history of comedy.
March 17, 2015
This is a (too) long book on 21 comedians the author has decided are the most influential ones from the 1960s and 1950s. I would disagree with a few of his choices but the biggest beef I have with the book is that it is poorly written.
1) Too many chapters are sadly lacking in meaningful details of the subjects being written about (Ernie Kovacs; Bob and Ray) and they come off as superficial
2) Some of the ones he picked seemed very arbitrary. It is obvious to me Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce are ones he loved the most - I would prefer 5 comedians in depth than 21 written like this.
3) His biases come through too much. I just read Comedy at the Edge and the author was so much better at telling the story without imposing his viewpoint while doing so. Sure some lack of objectivity is inescapable and in fact needs to be there for punch but you can't be as heavy handed about it as Nachman is. His chapter on Joan Rivers stinks because he barely mentions her triumphs and instead spends most of the chapter putting her down. So why is she included is she is so horrible? The fact is she is a great comedian (you can hate her content but please don't deny she has a great comedic mind) but that is not the picture he paints of her. Since this was written in 2002 his picture of Woody Allen being a filmmaker whose best days are behind him looks laughably wrong after the string of successful films Woody has had recently. He also paints Cosby as a saint and we now know how wrong that was. He was also overly negative on Mel Brooks - again, glossing over his triumphs and focusing on how he succeeded mainly because he wouldn't quit.
4) He has some horrible writing habits that make it hard to get through even the interesting chapters (Sahl: Nichols and May) - he jumps all around on a timeline, some facts are just plain wrong, and the quotes he gets to support his ideas often seem out of context.
Overall I would give it 5 stars for the subject matter - 2 stars for the amount of details he includes and 2 stars for the writing style. Comedy at the Edge is a much better example of how to do a book like this correctly.
1) Too many chapters are sadly lacking in meaningful details of the subjects being written about (Ernie Kovacs; Bob and Ray) and they come off as superficial
2) Some of the ones he picked seemed very arbitrary. It is obvious to me Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce are ones he loved the most - I would prefer 5 comedians in depth than 21 written like this.
3) His biases come through too much. I just read Comedy at the Edge and the author was so much better at telling the story without imposing his viewpoint while doing so. Sure some lack of objectivity is inescapable and in fact needs to be there for punch but you can't be as heavy handed about it as Nachman is. His chapter on Joan Rivers stinks because he barely mentions her triumphs and instead spends most of the chapter putting her down. So why is she included is she is so horrible? The fact is she is a great comedian (you can hate her content but please don't deny she has a great comedic mind) but that is not the picture he paints of her. Since this was written in 2002 his picture of Woody Allen being a filmmaker whose best days are behind him looks laughably wrong after the string of successful films Woody has had recently. He also paints Cosby as a saint and we now know how wrong that was. He was also overly negative on Mel Brooks - again, glossing over his triumphs and focusing on how he succeeded mainly because he wouldn't quit.
4) He has some horrible writing habits that make it hard to get through even the interesting chapters (Sahl: Nichols and May) - he jumps all around on a timeline, some facts are just plain wrong, and the quotes he gets to support his ideas often seem out of context.
Overall I would give it 5 stars for the subject matter - 2 stars for the amount of details he includes and 2 stars for the writing style. Comedy at the Edge is a much better example of how to do a book like this correctly.
August 14, 2013
If there were a college course on the history of stand-up comedy in the U.S. this could be the text book. Nachman, a features writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, focuses one chapter each on many of the noted stand-up comedians of the 1950's and 60's, which is still the type of comedy we see today. He includes people like Nichols and May, who didn't do regular stand-up but performance pieces, as well as comedians like Lenny Bruce, Shelley Berman, Phyllis Diller, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Joan Rivers. I would read a chapter, then listen to an album by that performer (like Bob Newhart), to get a real feeling for that comedian's work. This is the standard to which other books on stand-up comedy should be compared.
September 15, 2019
Sigh.
Unexpected quote from a family friend aside (a tad surreal), this book could have gone so much deeper, and thus had so much more impact, but it just falls flat. I started this thinking that there would be significant discussion as to *why* the 1950s bred so many rebellious comedians; after all, it bred so many rebellious artists, so there was clearly something going on. But instead, this is just a collection of mini biographies with the same content and depth you could get from Wikipedia. I had to keep referring to one particular paragraph in the introduction to be reminded why someone was included in the first place, and even then, a handful of inclusions felt redundant. In the end, this just feels like a fan boy’s offering to the comedy gods with little substance.
Unexpected quote from a family friend aside (a tad surreal), this book could have gone so much deeper, and thus had so much more impact, but it just falls flat. I started this thinking that there would be significant discussion as to *why* the 1950s bred so many rebellious comedians; after all, it bred so many rebellious artists, so there was clearly something going on. But instead, this is just a collection of mini biographies with the same content and depth you could get from Wikipedia. I had to keep referring to one particular paragraph in the introduction to be reminded why someone was included in the first place, and even then, a handful of inclusions felt redundant. In the end, this just feels like a fan boy’s offering to the comedy gods with little substance.
August 16, 2008
"Seriously Funny" is a series of character studies on the premier comedians and comediennes of the 1950s and 1960s. Most of the big ones are here: Mort Sahl, Nichols & May, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters, etc. It's very similar in format to Richard Zoglin's "Comedy At The Edge" -- which examines the comedians of the 1970s -- but it's a notch better in my opinion. The character studies are a bit fuller, and the reader gets a better sense of what inspired the various personalities explored. Which is not to say that both books aren't very good. If you like one, you'll probably like the other. If you only have time to read one, however, this is it.
July 16, 2007
Kinda good, lots of boring. Some parts were better than others, many good guys got skipped over. It was kinda sad.
October 9, 2021
Good introduction to many of the important comedians of that era, giving you a taste of the style & character of each. But each section is lazily written…mostly just a bunch of paragraphs strung together. Very skimmable.
December 1, 2021
I read the parts about the comics I knew but skipped most of the rest. It's well-written, I just wasn't interested in people I never heard of and will never see perform.
September 13, 2017
Born in the last year of the Baby Boomers (1946-1964), I have always felt drawn back before my time to the 50’s and 60’s as if caught in a generational undertow. I was more aware of the television, movies and even music of those years than most people my age. This extended to the a new type of comedy that developed from the early 50’s thru the 60’s. As a kid I was not attracted to the brash, loud and often cartoonish comedians that dominated—even today I am less drawn to the three ring circus than I am to the quiet guy in the corner cracking wise. I remember hearing and loving routines by STILLER & MEARA, BOB & RAY, BOB NEWHART, SHELLY BERMAN, and NICHOLS & MAY on the radio (when radio wasn’t all sports and top 40). They all wove stories that I could visualize. Not designed merely to deliver punchlines every 15 seconds, these routines created characters that lived and breathed. I was invited into the world where these characters lived instead of being kept at arms length. This book chronicles that transition from the loud to the observational, from the broad to the personal—when machine guns were replaced by sniper rifles.
The majority of the book consists of thoroughly researched critical biographies of the artists leading this transition—including Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Dick Gregory, Phyllis Diller, & Joan Rivers. The Joan Rivers section in particular is fascinating—even though the reader is aware of her ultimate success, her path was so difficult that you remain stunned every time she succeeds. The lengths vary depending upon the importance, longevity and impact of the artist, but I never felt cheated that one was too short and only once or twice did one feel too long. Each is well crafted balancing the personal with the professional and their influence upon each other. The author teases out from each comedian’s personal life the source and force behind their humor. Just enough of that humor is on display for each person to get their flavor down. While I would have enjoyed myriad more examples, the book would never have ended. Also, the humor is better served by watching or listening to the originals—much of this humor can be sampled on YouTube, etc.
The biographies are in a rough chronological order starting with the true groundbreakers like Mort Saul in the 50’s who’s observational and political humor were clear departures from the norm and something postwar Americans didn’t know they were craving. Then came others who went beyond Saul's stand up: Sid Caesar (sketch comedy), Ernie Kovacs (TV) & Stan Freberg (radio). Kovacs has always been a particular favorite of mine creating the template for humor on TV still in evidence today. Fascinating how the vast majority of these funny people functioned as comedians largely because of major dis-functions in their personal lives. The cliché of the sad clown cannot be overplayed. I dare you to read about Jonathan Winter’s childhood without some sense of shock and dismay flushing up under your skin. And those same issues that fueled their humor did not disappear upon achieving success. Most of these folks self destructed in either their personal or professional lives ultimately destroying both.
On the whole a neat new way to look at post war America—how the America that entered the war was not the same America by the end. The cookie cutter America with 101 rules of etiquette and sharply defined rules for men and women and minorities began to crumble. No accident that Rock n’ Roll exploded onto the scene around the same time and that those born right after the war would seek new forms of expression in the sixties. The first part of the book is an extensive introduction/overview that I think might have better served the book if the biographies were better categorized and then a separate intro for each section created. While there is a sense of the progression from the 50’s comics (Mort Saul, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen) to the 60’s(Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby, Smothers Brothers) comics and beyond (Richard Pryor, George Carlin--not biographied but referenced), this structure might give more flow to the evolution of American comedy. A minor quibble for a big bundle of a book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
A side note. The toughest part of the book to get through for me was the section on Bill Cosby. Given his current circumstances I had to force myself to read it—but it was interesting that the accusations against him fit quite well with the person described in the book. I’m pretty sure the author was not surprised when the allegations came to light.
The majority of the book consists of thoroughly researched critical biographies of the artists leading this transition—including Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Dick Gregory, Phyllis Diller, & Joan Rivers. The Joan Rivers section in particular is fascinating—even though the reader is aware of her ultimate success, her path was so difficult that you remain stunned every time she succeeds. The lengths vary depending upon the importance, longevity and impact of the artist, but I never felt cheated that one was too short and only once or twice did one feel too long. Each is well crafted balancing the personal with the professional and their influence upon each other. The author teases out from each comedian’s personal life the source and force behind their humor. Just enough of that humor is on display for each person to get their flavor down. While I would have enjoyed myriad more examples, the book would never have ended. Also, the humor is better served by watching or listening to the originals—much of this humor can be sampled on YouTube, etc.
The biographies are in a rough chronological order starting with the true groundbreakers like Mort Saul in the 50’s who’s observational and political humor were clear departures from the norm and something postwar Americans didn’t know they were craving. Then came others who went beyond Saul's stand up: Sid Caesar (sketch comedy), Ernie Kovacs (TV) & Stan Freberg (radio). Kovacs has always been a particular favorite of mine creating the template for humor on TV still in evidence today. Fascinating how the vast majority of these funny people functioned as comedians largely because of major dis-functions in their personal lives. The cliché of the sad clown cannot be overplayed. I dare you to read about Jonathan Winter’s childhood without some sense of shock and dismay flushing up under your skin. And those same issues that fueled their humor did not disappear upon achieving success. Most of these folks self destructed in either their personal or professional lives ultimately destroying both.
On the whole a neat new way to look at post war America—how the America that entered the war was not the same America by the end. The cookie cutter America with 101 rules of etiquette and sharply defined rules for men and women and minorities began to crumble. No accident that Rock n’ Roll exploded onto the scene around the same time and that those born right after the war would seek new forms of expression in the sixties. The first part of the book is an extensive introduction/overview that I think might have better served the book if the biographies were better categorized and then a separate intro for each section created. While there is a sense of the progression from the 50’s comics (Mort Saul, Sid Caesar, Steve Allen) to the 60’s(Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby, Smothers Brothers) comics and beyond (Richard Pryor, George Carlin--not biographied but referenced), this structure might give more flow to the evolution of American comedy. A minor quibble for a big bundle of a book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
A side note. The toughest part of the book to get through for me was the section on Bill Cosby. Given his current circumstances I had to force myself to read it—but it was interesting that the accusations against him fit quite well with the person described in the book. I’m pretty sure the author was not surprised when the allegations came to light.
August 28, 2013
I almost didn't read this because Nachman is not a very good writer. His entries on each comedian are badly organized, wandering from present to past tense and throughout time, with occasional confusion as to whether the comedian is saying something as a revelation or a joke. It's as if the wealth of material from Nachman's own interviews and from fifty years of journalism was just too much for him to organize.
That said, the content of those interviews and articles is fantastic, and once I ignored Nachman I greatly enjoyed getting a many-angled, very candid view of 50s and 60s comedians, most of whom I knew next to nothing about. I loved learning about Shelley Berman, Godfrey Cambridge, and Mort Sahl--and getting a fresh look at Nichols and May, Mel Brooks, Tom Lehrer and Woody Allen, among many others. If only Nachman had taken the extra step and removed his own voice altogether--made it an oral history--I would have enjoyed it even more. Skip the introduction.
That said, the content of those interviews and articles is fantastic, and once I ignored Nachman I greatly enjoyed getting a many-angled, very candid view of 50s and 60s comedians, most of whom I knew next to nothing about. I loved learning about Shelley Berman, Godfrey Cambridge, and Mort Sahl--and getting a fresh look at Nichols and May, Mel Brooks, Tom Lehrer and Woody Allen, among many others. If only Nachman had taken the extra step and removed his own voice altogether--made it an oral history--I would have enjoyed it even more. Skip the introduction.
December 14, 2016
Over 600 pages of mini-biographies of the 27 ground-breaking comedian of the time. It was a great wander down memory lane. The common backgrounds and winding histories of their rise to stardom was well worth the read.
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May 30, 2013I'm grateful to Marc Maron. On an old podcast of his WTF, he shared his delight in reading this book. One day I'm browsing in a public library and came across it. Recognizing my good fortune, I checked out the heavy tome. Yet this tome is easily consumed and well worth the light effort for those who share my desire for more Steve Allen and Johnny Carson and less Paris Hilton and Duck Dynasty. Not merely a collection of fascinating biographies, this provides insightful history for those who care about the heritage of comedy. Thank you Mr. Nachman for your work!
February 14, 2014
Interesting look at some of the comedians from the 1950s and 60s who changed the course of comedy.
Almost all the comedians gets their own chapters which gives an overview of their careers and it was fascinating to read about many of them.
The writing is ponderous, though and poorly structured which made reading too much of the book at once a bit of a slog. I recommend reading it a few chapters at a time and then putting it down for a bit.
Still. it is readable and a good way to get a better understanding of the comedy of the time if you are so inclined.
July 23, 2014
If you're interested in stand-up comedy this book will probably interest you, and if you're interested in the changing social mores of the mid-century, seen through the prism of the entertainment world, this book may fascinate you. I found it engrossing, if somewhat disorganized. Nachman succeeds most when he provides biographical detail. He also gives us a very good idea of what any given comedian's colleagues thought about him. I got a sense of the milieu in which these comics rose, thrived and fell.
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March 15, 2010I had to return the book before I had finished it. The author does a pretty good job discussing comics from the 195s and 1960, that are still with us, and that the author had a chance to talk to. His writing stumbles however, when he is writing information about comic that have long since passed on, or that he had not had a chance to meet. Still, it is interesting to read about the background of early comics in radio, tv, the movies, and standup.
November 24, 2010
I listened to this book on tape. It was written by an entertainment journalist. He profiles some humorists "whose satire helped usher in cultural changes of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s." I suspect it was a very accurate picture of these entertainers, including their BIG flaws as well as their successes. I most enjoyed the profiles of Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and Joan Rivers. It was very obvious what a huge influence Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson had in promoting careers.
November 26, 2015
For years I read Gerry Nachman's SF Chronicle column on entertainment and movies. I also read his delightful book on old-time radio days. This book on 50s comics was therefore manna to me. Others may find it tedious, and he does rattle on too long sometimes on bygone figures, but all in all it rings lots of bells and is a fun read.
August 25, 2012
Some parts were interesting, but the book is way too long. Some of the comics have very uninteresting lives, and the author could have given us a much shorter version. Also, it's very apparent when he did not care for one of the comics. His writing gets very biased in those cases.
November 18, 2012
The Smothers Brothers. Mort Sahl. Phyllis Diller. jonathan Winters. So many more. If you're a Baby Boomer like I am, this book is about the comedy that shaped your world as a kid. I loved this book and recommend it highly.
May 3, 2015
This book covers numerous comedians of the 50's and 60's with an account of their rise, and in cases such as Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce, their fall. While a few comedians are missed (Dick Shawn comes to mind) it is very comprehensive. A very entertaining but lengthy read.
February 14, 2023
An excellent history of mid-century comedy. Some of the profiles are more compelling than others. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Mort Sahl, Nichols and May, Steve Allen, Tom Lehrer, Stan Freberg, Phyllis Diller, Jean Shepherd, and Ernie Kovacs. An impressive treasury of show business history.
February 20, 2008
Enjoyable -best part was looking up their clips on youtube.
August 22, 2012
Great overview of the "rebel comics" of the '50s and '60s. For someone my age (58) it was a real walk down memory lane.
November 10, 2012
What's never funny? Usually a book about comedians. But since this one is biographical sketches, it's worth reading if you're interested in background.
May 16, 2013
More nostalgia for the old folks, or for anyone who's interested in the development of off-the-wall humor (e.g., Ernie Kovacs, Lenny Bruce, Stan Freberg, Dick Gregory, et.al.) in mid-20th century.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews