The Comedians

Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy

By: Kliph Nesteroff

Narrated by: Kliph Nesteroff

In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes, and counterculture iconoclasts. Based on over 200 original interviews and extensive archival research, Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past 100 years.

Starting with the vaudeville circuit at the turn of the last century, Nesteroff introduces the first stand-up comedian - an emcee who abandoned physical shtick for straight jokes. After the repeal of Prohibition, Mafia-run supper clubs replaced speakeasies, and mobsters replaced vaudeville impresarios as the comedian's primary employer. In the 1950s, the late-night talk show brought stand-up to a wide public, while Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Jonathan Winters attacked conformity and staged a comedy rebellion in coffeehouses. From comedy's part in the Civil Rights movement and the social upheaval of the late 1960s to the first comedy clubs of the 1970s and the cocaine-fueled comedy boom of the 1980s, The Comedians culminates with a new era of media-driven celebrity in the 21st century.

©2015 Kliph Nesteroff. Some of the material herein is based on Kliph Nesteroff's work with WFMU's Beware of the Blog and Classic Television Showbiz. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Great Writing and Performance by Kliph Nesteroff

Oliphant Nester off presents an engaging look at the history of comedy. I want to recommend this book as an addition to his other well written and researched We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: the Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy.

Insightful

I thought it was good. Narrator was good, but at times i struggled to stay with it. Very insightful.

truly a must listen if you're into Old School come

I really enjoyed the way it was laid out the vaudeville times sure were something different comedians truly have gone through a lot of s*** throughout the ages very enjoyable the only thing that disappointed me was the Dennis Miller impersonation wasn't even close and Albert Brooks is not sound like that

Excellent Read

What a fantastic read this was for me. Any comedy enthusiast will absolutely enjoy Kliph Nesteroff’s seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of the history of comedy performance from the 1880s through current day. I would highly recommend!

Content Excellent.. Definitely worth the Listen.

Thorough and comprehensive. An excellent review of the history and development of comedy as it evolved over the years. The read, with the terrible voices (ugh) can be (sometimes) forgiven by the content defines how comedy has grown over time. Comedy as an an observation of who we are and what we are, an objective view, comes through. The author has the POV. The author cut down to the quick some legends (Mitten Beatles ‘anaconda’ cock)—really? And pronunciation of ‘chutpzpa’ as ‘shutspa’— Oy! However, overall, well researched and well done. 4 stars for story. 1 star for the awful voices.

From Buster Keaton to Robin Williams and everything in between

Thoroughly entertaining and informative. The funniest line is about Red Button's wife. If you don't learn something new about Harry Einstein and his sons, you must be old and a Friar.

Good book, meh record

annoying voices and mispronunciations hurt the recording of an otherwise pretty good book. it's informative and interesting, but with odd gaps.

Informative! Compelling! Hilarious! Sad. WONDERFUL

I thought I knew a little about the people, places and history of American comedy. Apparently, I knew VERY little. This book is an impressive and comprehensive account of comedic and American history. It is VERY well laid out and constructed, and equally well researched and informed. I enjoyed every minute of it, and when it was through, I knew and understood more about not only my favorite people past and present, but the evolution and universe that spawned, shaped, evolved and sometimes consumed them. I simply cannot recommend this book highly enough. Mr. Nesteroff did a masterful job in it's research and construction and a fine job in it's reading. This is THE best book I have in my Audible library.

In depth and entertaining, though you'll learn a thing or two you might not wish to.

While Nesteroff's impressions can be . . . entertainingly off-kilter, the writing is anything but, as is the research behind this excellent book. I'm a childhood-fan of a fairly specific era of comedy, yet the stories told from beginning to end held my interest close. There are definitely one or two comedians that I might not see the same as I once did, but Nesteroff's work opened me up to so many more, I win. So definitely recommended. I bet you'll burn through it as fast as I do. I'm glad I bought it, though, because I'm positive I'll listen again.

Great Subject

I really enjoyed this book, though Nesteroff's performance may have been a bit on the dry side,

Still, he had me running off to YouTube to search for bits, jokes, and people I hadn't experienced before.