{"product_id":"seriously-funny-the-rebel-comedians-of-the-1950s-and-1960s-9780823047864","title":"Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 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 harbinger:   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 \u0026amp; 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 \u0026amp; 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.  From the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45650398380085,"sku":"ByrdShop_0823047865","price":249.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780823047864.jpg?v=1781795525","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/seriously-funny-the-rebel-comedians-of-the-1950s-and-1960s-9780823047864","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}