Whenever my pal Kliph Nesteroff and I get together, we talk about one of three things: Old Comedians, Older Comedians or Oldest Comedians. I once thought I knew as much about those topics as any human alive but through diligent, almost-obsessive research, Kliph has turned himself into the Doris Kearns Goodwin of guys who played the Catskills…and anywhere else funny people got on stage with an intention to amuse. I am agog at some of the stuff this fellow has researched.
Kliph could probably write eleven books about what he's learned but right now, we have to settle for one. Fortunately, it's a real good one. It's called The Comedians and if you have the slightest interest in that art form, it's a must-have. Here is an Amazon link to advance order a copy. It comes out November 3.
Comedy is a very peculiar profession, one filled with lots of unstable folks and even less stable venues in which to earn a living. Some practitioners never do earn a living while others earn mega-bucks and you can watch the neurosis swell with each newly-amassed million. Kliph covers all aspects of the business in a way that no one else ever has and I also like that he covers comedians you never (or barely) heard of. Great stuff. Please buy enough copies so that he'll continue his research and write at least ten more of these books.