I'm dying up here : heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era William Knoedelseder

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Knoedelseder, William, 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Stand-up comedy--United States--History--20th century.

Stand-up comedy.

Physical Description:

x, 280 pages, [12] pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

I am dying up here

Place of Publication:

New York : PublicAffairs, c2009.

Summary:

In the mid-1970s, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, Elayne Boosler, Tom Dreesen, and several hundred other shameless showoffs and incorrigible cutups from across the country migrated en masse to Los Angeles, the new home of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. There, in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter, they created an artistic community unlike any before or since. It was Comedy Camelot--but it couldn't last. William Knoedelseder was then a cub reporter covering the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He was there when the comedians--not paid by the clubs where they performed--tried to change the system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. Here he tells the story of that golden age, of the strike that ended it, and of how those days still resonate in the lives of those who were there.--From publisher description.

Contents:

Prologue: a true comic

Blood brothers

the hippest room

Mitzi's store

Tom, Dave, and George

All about Budd

Six minutes, twenty-two laughs

The boys' club

Guns, drugs, and Westwood

Comedy university

Richard's baroness, Steve's movie

The funniest year ever

Roommates

The New Year's resolution

Drugs and theft

Order, please

Diary of a young comic

The gauntlet

Comedians for compensation

Choosing up sides

Fire!

The vote

All on the line

Dave's big night

The union forever?

Jay's big flop

"My name is Steve Lubetkin"

A standing ovation

Epilogue: the prisoner of memory.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

The Forrest Performing Arts Collection

ISBN:

9781586483173

158648317X

1586488961

9781586488963

OCLC:

1053923378