Author of the book "The History of Stand-Up," Wayne Federman joins Dawn for a hilarious and informative romp on the origin of this most-unique comedy art form.
Wayne Federman, author of The History of Stand-Up, makes it clear early in his book - and in our conversation - that this is not the history of Comedy in general. We are not necessarily concerned with when the first cave-man made a fart joke. We get into how the modern day performance style, 'STAND-UP' came to be. We learn who were the originators, how it evolved, and where might it be going next. Thanks for joining us - lets get started!
PART 1
00:02:35 - Wayne is also a professor at the University of Southern California (USC) and discusses his course there and how he approaches teaching comedy to his students.
00:04:46 - Wayne co-hosts his own podcast: The History of Stand-up with Andrew Stephen.
00:08:24 - How did this specific kind of performance style get the name 'Stand-Up'. There are two theories, that it came from bookers, and that it came from the mob. Dawn prefers the later.
00:12:20 - We get into The 4 Forefathers - according to Wayne - of stand-up. The first is Artemus Ward aka: Charles Brown.
00:17:04 - The next forefather is Mark Twain who Dawn has always had a crush on because he touches so many of her interests from boats to electricity to comedy. Wayne details how Mark Twain went from writing to the stage, and how he won (and made back) all his money.
00:20:53 - The third forefather we discuss is Bert Williams, a black performer who made his debut in blackface. He went on to be among the most successful performers of his time - including being the one of the first voices ever put on a record.
00:23:04 - Will Rogers is the 4th forefather and was inspired by Bert Williams - performing with him in the Ziegfield Follies. Often called “The Father of Political Comedy” Will Rogers might be considered America's first rockstar - he even hosted the Oscars and tragically died in a plane crash.
00:26:38 - Dawn and Wayne discuss the differences between minstrel show, Vaudeville, Revues and Burlesque. We also talk about the origin of the phrase 'Going Blue'.
00:32:12 - The Women! We talk about women in comedy like the icon, Fanny Brice (AKA: Funny Girl) and the hilarious and overlooked Elsie Janis.
BREAK
PART 2
00:35:10 - Technology, of course, changed the course of stand-up comedy and one of the first thing it yielded was The Record. The first one to sell over a million copies and become a phenomenon was 'Cohen on the Phone'.
00:38:16 - Dawn shares a little love for the emcee's! The Master of Ceremonies who often does their own set at the top of a show and then introduce the line-up for the remainder of the show. Dawn is often an emcee at clubs around Los Angeles and gives her perspective.
00:41:30 - We get to Vegas and the great emcees of early lounge acts like Shecky Green, Don Rickles.
00:43:48 - Television get it's legs in the late 1940's with the early hit of Milton Berle and the Texico Star Theater. Around the same time, Ed Sullivan appears on CBS. In time, Ed Sullivan would completely dominate the sphere.
00:45:08 - Dawn talks about how history repeats itself (only kinda) and we get to the 2nd Records Boom in the 1970's in much the same way, and for much the same reason we had them in the 19-teens. This time they flourish with the Party Album and give legs to the next wave of comedy. Out of the nightclubs and into our speakers and screens.
00:48:05 - The Comedy Boom of the 1980's was a thing to behold (and Wayne was there!) Anyplace that had 4 things could be a comedy club: Liquor License, Talent, Microphone, Tables & Chairs.
00:53:27 - Comedians in sitcoms - Dawn goes through the many comedians that then found their way onto sitcoms. From Jackie Gleason to Ray Ramano.
00:57:00 - Dawn talks about how when she was a kid and would catch comedy on late-night, she felt the thrill that it must be to perform. That moment, walking through the crowd and taking the stage... woof. What a feeling. Wayne says it best himself with he quote that ends his book:
"Yet performing live, alone, on stage, remains the defining aspect of the profession. That terrifying-to-thrilling experience, in front of an audience, is what connects stand-up comedians through time."
COMING NEXT:
EPISODE 12 - Freak Shows with Christine Blackburn! See you there!
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