Showing results by publisher "Tantor Media" in Performing Arts

This entertaining and sharply written guide - for both beginners breaking into comedy and professionals seeking to improve their sets and advance their careers - examines the work of great comedians such as Louis C. K., Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Izzard, Moms Mabley, Hannibal Buress, Sarah Silverman, Richard Pryor, and more as a means of illustrating the most important techniques of performing and writing stand-up.

Written by an acknowledged master of comedy, this study reflects on the nature of humor and the functions it serves. Why do we laugh? What are we to make of the sheer variety of laughter, from braying and cackling to sniggering and chortling? Is humor subversive, or can it defuse dissent? Can we define wit?

From his humble beginnings in sketch comedy with the Toronto branch of Second City, to his rise to fame in SCTV and Hollywood film classics like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, and Uncle Buck, John Candy captivated audiences with his self-deprecating humor, emotional warmth, and gift for improvisation. Now, for the first time since Candy's tragic death, bestselling biographer Paul Myers tells the full story of the man behind the laughs.

From master comedian Mark Schiff, a long-time touring partner of Jerry Seinfeld, comes a hilarious account of decades of foolery with comedy and acting legends and how he honed his mensch skills in all of life's arenas.

This audio original includes 10 must-listen podcast episodes from comedian and actor Andy Dick. Contains mature themes.

Married . . . With Children writer-producer Richard Gurman takes us behind the scenes of this boundary-breaking show to reveal how its inner workings were at times as disruptive and contentious—yet at other times, as hysterical and raunchy—as the Bundy family themselves.

Rodney Dangerfield's fidgety delivery, self-deprecating humor, and catchphrase, "I don't get no respect," made him a comedy icon in nightclubs, on television, and in movies. But Rodney's long road to stardom was as rocky as his real life. That's when he decided to give comedy one last shot . . . Back in the clubs and thanks to a fortuitous prime-time set on The Ed Sullivan Show, at the age of forty-five, the newly christened Rodney Dangerfield was an "overnight" success. It was the greatest second act in the history of show business.

1974 was a busy year for Mel Brooks. Although still recovering after a series of failed projects threatened his career, he pulled off a one-two punch that saw the release of two of the most beloved American comedies ever made: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Although both films are well-known, the stories beyond the making of each movie are less so. How did they come to be, and how did the era's culture and politics not only permit them to be made, but help them to become enduring comedy classics?