Queens of Comedy: Lucille Ball,Phyllis Diller,Carol Burnett,Joan Rivers,and the New Generation of Funny Women

Book Description
Detailing both their public and private lives-as well as their many and varied performances-Queens of Comedy examines the impact these women have had on the predominantly male-oriented world of comedy. Performers like Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, and their more recent counterparts, comediennes Brett Butler and Roseanne, have helped to shift women's roles in comedy from object to subject. This book maps out this shift, providing an often brutally honest picture of women's lives in both the spotlight of comedy and this modern world.
Through candid personal interviews with Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, and other visionary performers, Queens of Comedy explores how comediennes have redefined the roles of women in not only the entertainment business, but society as a whole.


Card catalog description
Anthologies of humor often neglect comediennes - despite their powerful presence on television and films that reach millions and their exploding numbers in stand-up comedy clubs that provide new talent to fuel the mass media. Feminist texts rarely take humor seriously - even though women who initiate humor are often perceived as aggressive, even threatening. Queens of Comedy makes the lively cogent argument that show business is everybody's business. When masses of people laugh at a joke that reflects a woman's point of view, that laugh breeds enlightenment and social revolution.


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Anthologies of humor often neglect comediennes - despite their powerful presence on television and films that reach millions and their exploding numbers in stand-up comedy clubs that provide new talent to fuel the mass media. Feminist texts rarely take humor seriously - even though women who initiate humor are often perceived as aggressive, even threatening. Queens of Comedy makes the lively cogent argument that show business is everybody's business. When masses of people laugh at a joke that reflects a woman's point of view, that laugh breeds enlightenment and social revolution.


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