Book Review: Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America by Richard Zoglin

Despite its title, this book talked quite a bit about comedy in the 60s and the 80s. It started with information about Lenny Bruce, the groundbreaking, controversial comic of the 60s who influenced many after him. It also looked at contributions to the world of stand up by George Carlin, Robert Klein, Jerry Seinfeld, Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Martin, Andy Kaufman, Robin Williams, Richard Pryor and more. The book talked about the importance of comics getting a shot on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. It mentioned how Freddie Prinze became an overnight sensation after a strong first appearance with the king of late night. The day after his debut with Johnny, he was offered his own sitcom which became Chico and the Man. Prinze was so young, and the fame hit so quickly that he had trouble handling it. At only 22 years old, he shot himself. The book mentioned the iconic Los Angeles Comedy Store,and how a strike by comedians in the 70s had an effect on how comics would be treated in the future. Club owner Mitzi Shore saw no reason to pay the comics for their stand up sets. Comedian Tom Dreesen headed up the union, and some comics crossed the picket line. This was in the era of David Letterman and Jay Leno performing at the club. The book talked about other iconic comedy clubs like Budd Friedman's Improv, The Laugh Factory and Catch a Rising Star. The book mentioned the challenges for women in comedy. Many female comics wanted to appear on Johnny Carson's show, but only a handful made it on the program, such as Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr and Ellen Degeneres. The main goal for many comics is to land a sitcom, which proved to be lucrative for people like Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Ray Romano and more. This book could have been more comprehensive, going into depth about the comics, but overall it's a good analysis of a pivotal period for the art of stand up comedy. A more thourough book was The Comedians by Kliph Nesteroff. The author of this book, Richard Zoglin, has also written books about Bob Hope and Elvis Presley. He wrote about entertainment for Time magazine for over 20 years.