Seriously Funny : The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s

Rating:
Summary: Nachman's a Hack, man
Review: "Seriously Funny" does have serious flaws. Unlike Phil Berger, Nach the Hack has no real feeling for his subject. This is a dull each-chapter-is-a-bio book. It doesn't move.
Berger's "Last Laugh" captured the dangerous world of stand-up. It was a moving train. Nachman's a fat San Francisco trolley.
And yes, most of what's in the book is clip-material. Sure, he spoke to some comedians. They probably answered the phone and hung up on him. The New York Times book review said this was a clip job and it's very obvious.
Did Mort Sahl talk to Nachman? No. That should tell you all you need to know about whether Nachman is Mr. Comedy Expert or respected in the comedy world.
Nach the Hack's point is supposedly to talk about the dangerous 60's comedians. So he sticks everybody he can find in here, including Bill Cosby. It's just a bunch of bios of comics. There's really no point to it, unlike Tony Hendra writing about "Going too Far."
If you want bios of comics go see Anthony Slide or Ronald L. Smith or Barry Took or Steve Allen. All of them have better credentials than Mr. Nach-Nach joke. Even Albert Goldman's better.
The reviewers who've said they were disappointed have every right to be. Here and there you might find a quote you missed from somebody else's book or from some guy's article in Esquire or the Rolling Stone, but this is pretty much of a tired textbook with lifeless stagey portraits of each comedian opening each chapter.
$... when it's remaindered in the Fall. That's what it's worth. But get "Funny People" by Steve Allen instead. Or "The Last Laugh" by Phil Berger.

Rating:
Summary: Seriously Interesting
Review: Although this book has flaws, I found it very interesting. It covers many famous comedians, whose work I had either enjoyed (Newhart, Woody Allen, Cosby) or had encountered here and there (Kovacs, Freberg, Nichols and May). The book worked as a series of mini-biographies which were compulsively readable, and as a bonus, there were very funny bits in each chapter as he quotes from the routines.

There were flaws, but I could live with them. There were a few errors, and the structure of most of the chapters could have used help. (The chapters tend to start with an overview of the comedian's essence, then shift to biography. In some instances, this came across as repetitious.) Don't expect a history of the era (say for a assessment of how the shift from Paar to Carson affected the direction of comedy.)

The most serious drawback to me was that there was no concluding chapter after we had covered all the biographies, because I had a few questions by then and wanted Nachman to try to draw stuff together. (Chiefly, why did his Fifties comics, apart from Phyllis Diller, tend to fall silent or burn out fast, while the Sixties comics, apart from Bruce and Dick Gregory, seem to go on forever?)

Still, this was a very enjoyable book. My wife is looking forward to reading it, having seen me enjoy it. I say regard it as a useful overview of an era and not a definitive last word on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Seriously Interesting
Review: Although this book has flaws, I found it very interesting. It covers many famous comedians, whose work I had either enjoyed (Newhart, Woody Allen, Cosby) or had encountered here and there (Kovacs, Freberg, Nichols and May). The book worked as a series of mini-biographies which were compulsively readable, and as a bonus, there were very funny bits in each chapter as he quotes from the routines.

There were flaws, but I could live with them. There were a few errors, and the structure of most of the chapters could have used help. (The chapters tend to start with an overview of the comedian's essence, then shift to biography. In some instances, this came across as repetitious.) Don't expect a history of the era (say for a assessment of how the shift from Paar to Carson affected the direction of comedy.)

The most serious drawback to me was that there was no concluding chapter after we had covered all the biographies, because I had a few questions by then and wanted Nachman to try to draw stuff together. (Chiefly, why did his Fifties comics, apart from Phyllis Diller, tend to fall silent or burn out fast, while the Sixties comics, apart from Bruce and Dick Gregory, seem to go on forever?)

Still, this was a very enjoyable book. My wife is looking forward to reading it, having seen me enjoy it. I say regard it as a useful overview of an era and not a definitive last word on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: The ultimate comedy compendium of a golden era
Review: Gerald Nachman is the ideal writer to capture the excitement of the ground-breaking satirical comedy of the 1950s and 1960s. A respected critic and a very funny man himself, he knows how to do his homework. Better yet, he writes crisply, with style and humor. Nachman began earning his spurs in the 1960s, reporting on, among other theatrical things, new voices in comedy for major newspapers on both coasts. He's an expert on funny. He even looks funny.

Now he has put that golden era in perspective. "Seriously Funny" (Pantheon) is the definitive word on the comedy revolution that changed the way we laugh, at least for a few fantastic years.

This book will please two audiences -- those who want to relive the euphoria they felt when the revolt happened, and the younger crowd that always wondered where these people came from, whether they were any good, and where they are now.

Mort Sahl, Sid Caesar, Tom Lehrer, Steve Allen, Jonathan Winters, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Bob Newhart, Lenny Bruce, Shelley Berman, Godfrey Cambridge, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Joan Rivers are all there, among several others.

Nachman's 30,000-word introduction, a sweeping overview that explains the roots of the revolt, acknowledges its ephemeral nature: "It's hard to find traces now of those brilliant, perceptive, funny comedians. The comics who came later mostly aimed for the gut and the groin, not the brain or the soul." And he laments: "The laughter they left behind in all of those little underground clubs is long gone, but their legacy still smiles brightly, warmly, and merrily."

Nachman seems to have combed through all published sources available, adding personal interviews with the principals and their associates wherever possible. Some cranky characters such as Mort Sahl and Bill Cosby declined to cooperate in this project, but many others added fascinating detail on their career zigzags and what they're up to today. Sahl may be surprised to see that Nachman produces a 48-page profile of him, perhaps the strongest piece in the book, pieced together from Sahl's recorded material, Nachman's occasional encounters with him over the years, and a crystal-clear analysis of the man.

Offstage, Nachman reports, some of these wits were prickly, some were grey and businesslike, some still had the comedy magic. Sadly, many of them are wasting away in retirement. You want to shout: "Shelley Berman, Jonathan Winters, come back. We need more of you."

A deft touch with the language pulls the reader through this 659-page book. Some of Nachman's gems:
-- Of Vaughn Meader's short-lived career as an impressionist specializing in the voice of John F. Kennedy, he writes: "One twist to the single-bullet theory that didn't make it into the Warren report: the same bullet that killed JFK also murdered Vaughn Meader's career."
-- Of Woody Allen's lesser movie scripts: "If the actors were delivering the same lines in a club, they'd be drenched in flop sweat."
-- Of Lenny Bruce: "Bruce gouged under the skin, creating jucier, Jewishier characters in his gallery of gargoyles and showbiz sharks, and made much more racket."

"Seriously Funny" is a brilliant combination of dense research and incisive interviews, presented through the eye of senior critic.

As a bonus, the narrative is sprinkled with some of the performers' best lines and how they came to be. For example, Woody Allen, in his early gag-writing days, was a veritable joke machine, writing easily and prolifically for other comics. Many of his weird one-liners still make me laugh today. Example: He first suspected his parents didn't love him when they put a live teddy bear in his crib. And Jonathan Winters, famous for being "always on", is said to have adlibbed to a lady who complained "You're not handicapped" when he parked his car in a spot reserved for the handicapped, "Madame, can you see inside my mind?"

This history of intelligent comedy is anything but a doorstop. It is a feast. No, it's more than a feast. It is a smorgasbord so big it threatens to collapse the table. It's hard to believe so much history, mirth and critical analysis can be squeezed between two covers.

END

Rating:
Summary: For the curious, it's worth it!
Review: I am not the most avid reader, and for the most part the size of this book is usually preclusive, but I came away from knowing more than I did when I started, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Other reviewers of this book seem to have points of reference with which to mark from in talking about Nachman's work. I had none--I was born too late for the peaks of many of these classic comedians, and at least one was already gone and passed by the time I was born, plus this is the first time I had heard of this author. I came upon this book by way of being a third-generation Smothers Brothers fan, so I was excited when this book came out. It is time-consuming to read, true, but being that each chapter represents a single comedian or comedy team, the pressure is off to try and digest it all at once (good for non-avid readers such as myself). And with the Smothers Brothers, a lot of names were dropped that I never knew were what I term "Smothers Others" (those with less than a degree of separation from Tom and/or Dick). And with Tom and Dick, more of their early history was given than I have seen just about anywhere else.

My only beef in regards to the book is pretty incidental and cosmetic: the choice of pictures for each of the comedians. Some of the photos were representative of the comedians in the time frame the book covers, some were not (in the case of the Smothers Brothers, a pic from their 1988-89 run of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was used, not one from either their 1965-66 sitcom or 1967-69 variety show, for which they earned their right to be included in this book).

This book may be less than spectular for the pros,...but for us amatuers, it's just right.

Rating:
Summary: A compelling and well-structured work
Review: I began flipping through this excellent book in a moment of boredom and just kept reading. Though I'm a fan of a few of the comedians covered in the book, many of them are of no particular interest to me -- moreover, I don't even care for most stand-up comedy (preferring sketch comedy), and the majority of the stories told here are stories of great stand-up comics. But the author is so good at describing the talents, contexts, and events that made these individuals important comic entertainers, that the book really grabbed and held my interest. I recommend it for anyone interested in glimpses into some brilliant comic minds from the heyday of sophisticated comedy, and in concise yet adequately detailed accounts of why and how these people evolved from unknowns to household words.

Rating:
Summary: Recycled Clips, Sloppy Editing
Review: I looked forward to reading this book from the moment last fall that I learned it was due out in April. To say it was a letdown would be to put it mildly. Although Nachman lists the dozens of interviews he himself conducted for the book, the text is overwhelmed with quotes from old bios, fan magazines, newspaper reviews, etc. And Nachman has an annoying habit of skipping around in such a haphazard, non-chronological manner, that the reader is easily confused. He's also sloppy when attempting to place certain events in historical context -- for instance, he lists "All in the Family," The Jeffersons," "Sanford and Son" and "Different Strokes" as "late-60's" TV series,when in fact they were early-to-mid 70's. There are several more such sloppy mistakes. His earlier work, "Raised on Radio," is far superior -- and it's obvious he enjoyed writing it a whole lot more than he did "Seriously Funny."

Rating:
Summary: Seriously Flawed
Review: I was looking forward to this book; I had grown up with the comedy of Sahl, Lehrer, Freburg, Cosby and the others. I was unable to finish the book, primarily because of many egregious errors of fact that Nachman and his editor allowed to pass into print. I list here a few of the problems that I found with the chapters I read:

In the Introduction, re: Allan Sherman, Nachman mistitles "Shake hands with your Uncle Max", calling it "Shake hannds with your Uncle Moe"; he also erroneously attributes the original tune of the parody as "McNamara's Band"; it is actually a parody of a tune called "Dear Old Donegal", also called "Shake hands with your Uncle Mike"

Re: Tom Lehrer, he titles the song "MLF (Multi-lateral Force)Lullaby" as "MFL Lullaby"; and later claims that Lehrer "set his `Elements' to the tune of [Kurt Weill's song from Lady in the Dark] `Tchaikovsky'"; in fact "The Elements" is set to Sir Arthur Sullivan's song "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" from The Pirates of Penzance. In addition, Nachman
incorrectly transcribes and alters the order of the lyrics he quotes to "National Brotherhood Week":

It's national Brotherhood Week
National Everyone-smile-at-one-anotherhood Week
It's only for a week so have no fear
Be nice to people who are inferior to you
Be grateful that it doesn't last all year (Nachman's text)

Actual lyric:

But during National Brotherhood Week,
National Brotherhood Week
It's National Everyone-smile-at/One-another-hood Week
Be nice to people who/Are inferior to you
It's only for a week, so have no fear
Be grateful that it doesn't last all year.

Re:Stan Freburg, he attributes the source of Freburg's parody of "Rock Island Line" to Johnny Cash; actual source is a version of the song recorded by Lonnie Donnegan and His Skiffle Group, a popular English band

Re: Freburg's parody of "Sh-Boom"; Nachman calls Freburg "an engineer [presumably the recording engineer of the faux-recording session at the heart of the piece] screaming for more mumbling"; in actuality, Freburg's character on the recording is that of the lead singer of the group making the record

Re: Freburg's parody of "Rock Island Line", he states that " `Rock Island Line'. . . ridicules the whole precious folk-song craze ("Are you going to sing this or read it?" asks an irritated Freburg) [Nachman's italics]." In the parody, this question is actually asked by a character played by the actor Peter Leeds, a Freburg "repertory company" member for many years, who in this case is, in all likelihood, supposed to be either the producer or the recording engineer for the "session."

Re: Freburg's Lawrence Welk parody, "Wun'erful, Wun'erful"; after describing the confrontation Freburg claims to have had with Welk over the piece (where Welk denies ever having said "Wun'erful, Wun'erful"), Nachman states: "Decades later, to Freburg's everlasting joy, Welk titled his autobiography Wonderful, Wonderful." Which misses the entire joke, of course, since Welk's autobiography is actually titled Wunnerful, Wunnerful: The Autobigraphy of Lawrence Welk.

How any book, presumably edited and published by professionals, could have this many errors (and who knows how many more in the sections on comedians whose lives and careers I was not as familiar with) is beyond me.

Rating:
Summary: A Fun Book
Review: If you love thoroughly researched biographies and are a fan of comedic giants, this is a book you must, and I mean must, add to your library. It's absolutely enlightening and entertaining and you'll discover things about great comedians that you never even knew. It is an enormous research effort that analyzes the work and lives of 26 comedy super stars, including and not limited to legendary genius Lenny Bruce. A fantastic read. I really enjoyed it. Now, if you're looking for a few other amazing titles, look no further than these, Buckland's Hot List: most creative, The Butterfly: A Fable (Singh); most engaging, The Alchemist (Coelho); most interesting, Life of Pi (Martel); most enlightening, 9-11 (Chomsky); most thrilling, The Lovely Bones: A Novel (Sebold); and finally, the most creative, engaging, interesting, enlightening and thrilling book of all, The Little Prince (Saint-Exupery). These are the books I'd recommend to my family, friends, students, and wife. There are many more, trust me, but these are the first that come to mind (for having left an impact slight or proud as it may be). If you have any questions, queries, or comments, or maybe even a title you think I should add to my list, please feel free to e-mail me. I'm always open to a good recommendation. Thanks for reading my brief but hopefully helpful review. Happy reading. Donald S. Buckland.

Rating:
Summary: Pop-Culture Chronicle of an Era
Review: In an age when [curse words] are a standard part of American entertainment, it may be hard to understand why this book is so important. It's less about comedy than it is about the era in which comedy in America changed. When we understand this we then are able to see, over the shoulder of each comedian, the beginnings of the social and political movements that, ironically, would lead to the leaden, anti-intellectual climate we have in our country today.

If, as I do, you can remember the 50s and the 60s, you may also remember just how shocking much of the material spoken by these comedians was. Forget about the sour-grapes review posted above by an (obviously failed) comedian. Consider instead these tidbits in the book and see if they do not convince you of the power of the mike before the age of the Internet. Mort Sahl, who used as the basis of his routine the items in the daily newspaper, was punished for jokes he made about the Kennedys; when he refused to censor himself, Joe P. had the club in which he appeared closed for the owner's failure to pay back taxes. Sections about Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby and Godfrey Cambridge have each comedian addressing the question of whether their acts were either flagrant "Uncle Tomming" of white listeners or the opposite.

Though the reporting does contain the occasional error--and a maddening typo or two (WHY can't the publisher pay for a copy editor, for crying out loud?)--the book is fresh in some of its points. For example, Nachman is one of the few writers NOT to deify Lenny Bruce. The story of our deification of him is as much a part of the biography as is the description of Bruce's rise and fall; my interpretation is that people made money off Bruce both before and after his death.

Nachman does have his favorites, to be sure, and there's the rather bigoted insinuation that the best comics must be "ethnic" (whatever that means) but all in all, it's a great book.