Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh (Hardcover)

by Darryl J. Littleton (Author)
Key Phrases: been doing comedy, comedy tour, black comedians, Richard Pryor, New York, Eddie Murphy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
With a little help from his friends, writer and stand-up comedian Littleton's overview of the history of African-American comedy in America is smart, quick and full of funny one-offs, falling just short of its potential. Littleton begins at the beginning, presenting a well-researched account of early performances by slaves before moving on to highlight key performers from minstrel shows to the current day. Interspersed throughout the text are comments from black comedians (Eddie Griffith, J.B. Smoove and Thea Vidale among many, many more) on the matters at hand, or on a particular question like, "Which cartoon animals were supposed to be black?" and "What movie part would you not play?" Littleton has done a good job compiling biographical information about the well-known (from Sam Lucas and Stepin Fetchit to Martin Lawrence and Bill Cosby) and the more obscure, such as Tim and Tom, who in 1969 became the first interracial comedic duo. Unfortunately, Littleton fails to include any excerpts or detailed examples of any comedians' acts, a frustrating omission for readers who'd like a concrete example to back up Littleton's claim that, for example, Charlie Barnett "could have been the best stand-up of his generation." As a casual look at black comedy's past and an informal survey of black comedians today, however, the book succeeds admirably.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Stand-up comedian Littleton offers a historical perspective on how humor has been used by black comedians and their audiences to comment on social inequities and absurdities and to relieve the suffering imposed by racism. It has also provided lucrative careers for comedians from Hattie McDaniel to Moms Mabley to Redd Foxx. In interviews with more than 100 black comedians, Littleton also chronicles their trials and triumphs, balancing the line between offense and cutting-edge commentary, or blatantly disregarding that line. Littleton intersperses the history of comedy and race--from slave entertainers through minstrelsy through the hard-edged comedy of today--with commentary from some of the leading black comedians, including Dick Gregory (who wrote the introduction), Arsenio Hall, Cedric the Entertainer, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Marla Gibbs, Robert Townsend, and Shawn Wayans. This is an interesting perspective on race and comedy, though some readers may be offended by the off-color humor and language. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 343 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books (November 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557836809
• ISBN-13: 978-1557836809
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,044,065 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars long way from there to here, November 7, 2006

By	LBWheels457 (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews

This book goes through the history of how black comedy became what we know it as today. Eddie Murphy, Sinbad, Cedric the Entertainer, Chris Rock, Damon Wayans...these are all successful black comedians that are common names around US households today. This book tells the stories of those that came before them. This book has wonderful quotes as well as short biographies of various comedians. It's a great read and I highly suggest this book to anyone who finds many of todays African-American comedians funny!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a fantastic book, November 19, 2006

By	[e-mail] "mistermaxxx" (usa) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

there is nothing like Black Comedians. I mean without Humor in this Country a Brother would truly be hopeless. through the struggle&all the Ism that went down back in the day&that still is happening now. laughter has always been the Best Medicine&it always hits the spot ten fold. this Book is tight. Interviews,etc... a Fantastic Book. very soulful&RIGHT ON!!