Publisher Description
This extended session of Laughter Therapy explores the history of all things funny, presenting a cornucopia of comedy from the pioneers of vaudeville and the silent film era, to the wildly creative innovators that transformed television in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, to the modern practitioners that continue to bend the boundaries of comedy today. Chronically serious? Prepare to be cured by this collection of revealing profiles and interviews with some of the funniest personalities ever. Featuring
- Charlie Chaplin
- Buster Keaton
- Groucho Marx
- Sid Caesar
- Ernie Kovacs
- Bob and Ray
- Imogene Coca
- Mel Brooks
- Carl Reiner
- Bob Newhart
- Jonathan Winters
- Bill Cosby
- Phyllis Diller
- Joan Rivers
- Jerry Seinfeld
- Conan O’Brien
- Amy Poehler
- Margaret Cho
- Jim Gaffigan
- Sarah Silverman
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“This
radio program offers an audio history of comedians from yesteryear to the
present day, through a series of interviews by various NPR reporters. The
production is tied together by host Ophira Eisenberg, who creates a smooth
transition between each interview. The program is dryly humorous, mainly
talking about the inner workings of the comedians’ comedy, with a few short
sound clips of their acts interspersed. The history begins in the 1950s, with
interviews of authors who wrote about such comedians as Charlie Chaplin and
Groucho Marx. The later interviews with actual comedians, such as Carl Reiner
and Jim Gaffigan, are more engaging. Some of the comedians listed as being
featured actually give only a single comment about another comic.”
—
AudioFile
About NPR
NPR is a mission-driven, multimedia news organization and radio program producer of news, talk, music, and entertainment programs with a strong base of member stations and supporters nationwide. Since 1971, NPR and its journalists and programs have won hundreds of awards, including some of the most prestigious honors in journalism.
About Ophira Eisenberg
Ophira Eisenberg is a standup comedian and the host of NPR’s and WNYC’s game show Ask Me Another. She performed on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and has appeared on Comedy Central, VH-1, Today, TV Guide Channel’s Standup In Stilettos, Fox, E! Channel, CNN, Oxygen Network, and the AXS Network.