Behind the Laughs: Community and Inequality in Comedy

238 Pages·2017·1.525 MB·English

by  Michael P. Jeffries

BEHIND THE LAUGHS
CULTURE
AND
ECONOMIC
LIFE
EDITORS
Frederick Wherry
Jennifer C. Lena
Greta Hsu
EDITORIAL BOARD
Gabriel Abend
Michel Anteby
Nina Bandelj
Shyon Baumann
Katherine Chen
Nigel Dodd
Amir Goldberg
David Grazian
Wendy Griswold
Brayden King
Charles Kirschbaum
Omar Lizardo
Bill Maurer
Elizabeth Pontikes
Gabriel Rossman
Lyn Spillman
Klaus Weber
Christine Williams
Viviana Zelizer
BEHIND THE LAUGHS
Community and Inequality in Comedy
MICHAEL P. JEFFRIES
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 2017 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford
University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jeff ries, Michael P., author.
Title: Behind the laughs : community and inequality in comedy / Michael P. Jeff ries.
Other titles: Culture and economic life.
Description: Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2017. | Series: Culture and
economic life | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2017008538 (print) | LCCN 2017010957 (ebook) | ISBN 9780804798082
(cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781503602908 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781503602977
(e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Comedians—United States—Social conditions. | Comedy—Social
aspects—United States. | Group identity—United States. | Racism—United States. |
Sexism—United States.
Classifi cation: LCC PN2272 .J44 2017 (print) | LCC PN2272 (ebook) | DDC 792.7/60973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017008538
Cover photo: Ghost light on an empty stage. Jon Ellwood, via Wikimedia Commons.
Cover designer: Rob Ehle
Typeset by Motto Publishing Services in 10/14 Minion Pro
For Keira and Alex
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Lights 1
1 Chemistry of a Comedian 23
2 From Funny to Family 57
3 Succeeding at Not Failing 83
4 Celebrity in the Making 111
5 Privilege, Patriarchy, and Performance 137
Curtains 179
Appendix 189
Notes 195
Index 209
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Acknowledgments
Th ank you to all the people in comedy who took the time to think with me
and talk with me about your lives and your work. Special thanks to those
of you who trusted me and helped me fi nd my way deeper into the worlds
you inhabit. To those of you who let me sleep on couches and stay an ex-
tra night during research trips. To a small group of readers who read un-
fi nished work and gave me notes and encouragement: Jennifer Lena, Ben
Reiter, and Charles Finch.
Th ank you, Yoon Sun Lee, for supporting me in every facet of my job at
Wellesley College. Th ank you to Andrew Shennan and the provost’s offi ce
at Wellesley for funding much of this work.
Th ank you, Kate Wahl and Jenny Gavacs, for your support and dedi-
cation from the time this book was a proposal to the time it was printed.
I can write only because I am loved. Th ank you, Sarah, Keira, Alex,
Mom, Dad, David, Julia, and all the rest of my friends and family. I love you.
ix