The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy : Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle

## Illustrations viii F irst and foremost to my editor at Bloomsbury, Katie Gallof, who championed this book from its inception and a fateful meeting in San Antonio, Texas, at the PCA/ACA conference, where this all began. Many thanks to Drs. James Wilson, Henry Jenkins, and Alison Forsyth for their support and insightful comments on this project in its initial stages. During my time at the CUNY Graduate Center several professors were also infl uential in guiding my research interests and process including Morris Dickstein, Jean Graham-Jones, Judy Milhous, and Jim Wilson-encore . A special tribute is in order for the late Daniel Gerould whose support of my scholarship in popular comic entertainments over my six years at the Graduate Center enabled me to pursue my interest in this fi eld. And to my colleagues at Long Island University Post-professors Jon Fraser, Cara Gargano, Maria Porter, Noel Zahler, and the many students over the years that have sustained my passion for the practice and scholarship of theater. I need to thank Paul Meshejian for the endless hours we have spent talking theater and collaborating on amazing new plays for the past ten years for the PlayPenn New Play Development Conference. The Comic Offense From Vaudeville To Contemporary Comedy Examines How Contemporary Writer/performers Are Influenced By The Comedic Vaudevillians Of The Early 20th Century. By Tracing The History And Legacy Of The Vaudeville Era And Performance Acts, Like The Marx Brothers And The Three Keatons, And Moving Through The Silent And Early Sound Films Of The Early 1930s, The Author Looks At How Comic Writer/performers Continue To Sell A Brand Of Themselves As A Form Of Social Commentary In Order To Confront And Dispel Stereotypes Of Race, Class, And Gender. The First Study To Explore Contemporary Popular Comic Culture And Its Influence On American Society From This Unique Perspective, Rick Desrochers Analyzes Stand-up And Improvisational Comedy Writing/performing In The Work Of Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, And Dave Chappelle. He Grounds These Choices By Examining Their Evolution As They Developed Signature Characters And Sketches For Their Respective Shows Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, And Chappelle's Show-- Machine Generated Contents Note: -- List Of Illustrations Acknowledgements Preface 1.the Vaudeville Aesthetic And The Migration To Radio And Television 2.what's Real Got To Do With What We Do? -- Groucho Marx To Larry David 3.the Girlie Show As The New Burlesque -- Mae West To Tina Fey 4. Truth And Truthiness Go To Washington -- Will Rogers To Stephen Colbert 5. The Mask Of Minstrelsy -- Bert Williams To Dave Chappelle Epilogue Notes Works Citedindex. Rick Desrochers. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy examines how contemporary writer/performers are influenced by the comedic vaudevillians of the early 20th century. By tracing the history and legacy of the vaudeville era and performance acts, like the Marx Brothers and The Three Keatons, and moving through the silent and early sound films of the early 1930s, the author looks at how comic writer/performers continue to sell a brand of themselves as a form of social commentary in order to confront and dispel stereotypes of race, class, and gender. The first study to explore contemporary popular comic culture and its influence on American society from this unique perspective, Rick DesRochers analyzes stand-up and improvisational comedy writing/performing in the work of Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle. He grounds these choices by examining their evolution as they developed signature characters and sketches for their respective shows Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and Chappelle's Show"-- Résumé de l'éditeur "The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy examines how contemporary writer/performers are influenced by the comedic vaudevillians of the early 20th century. By tracing the history and legacy of the vaudeville era and performance acts, like the Marx Brothers and The Three Keatons, and moving through the silent and early sound films of the early 1930s, the author looks at how comic writer/performers continue to sell a brand of themselves as a form of social commentary in order to confront and dispel stereotypes of race, class, and gender. The first study to explore contemporary popular comic culture and its influence on American society from this unique perspective, Rick DesRochers analyzes stand-up and improvisational comedy writing/performing in the work of Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle. He grounds these choices by examining their evolution as they developed signature characters and sketches for their respective shows Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and Chappelle's Show."--Publisher information "The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy examines how contemporary writer/performers are influenced by the comedic vaudevillians of the early 20th century. By tracing the history and legacy of the vaudeville era and performance acts, like the Marx Brothers and The Three Keatons, and moving through the silent and early sound films of the early 1930s, the author looks at how comic writer/performers continue to sell a brand of themselves as a form of social commentary in order to confront and dispel stereotypes of race, class, and gender. The first study to explore contemporary popular comic culture and its influence on American society from this unique perspective, Rick DesRochers analyzes stand-up and improvisational comedy writing/performing in the work of Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle. He grounds these choices by examining their evolution as they developed signature characters and sketches for their respective shows Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and Chappelle's Show"-- Provided by publisher Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Preface Notes 1 The vaudeville aesthetic and the migration to radio and television Notes 2 “What’s real got to do with what we do?” Groucho Marx to Larry David Notes 3 “The Girlie Show” as the new burlesque Mae West to Tina Fey Notes 4 Truth and truthiness go to Washington Will Rogers to Stephen Colbert Notes 5 The mask of minstrelsy Bert Williams to Dave Chappelle Notes Epilogue Notes Bibliography Videography and CD recordings Manuscripts and archives Primary sources and recordings Secondary sources Index