I'm Dying Up Here
Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era
Author: William Knoedelseder
"A revealing and entertaining look at the 1970s Los Angeles comedy scene and the labor dispute that ended its most glorious era." - Shelf Awareness
Paperback
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Summary
"A revealing and entertaining look at the 1970s Los Angeles comedy scene and the labor dispute that ended its most glorious era." - Shelf Awareness
Description
In the mid-1970s, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, Elayne Boosler, Tom Dreesen, and several hundred other shameless showoffs and incorrigible cutups from across the country migrated en masse to Los Angeles, the new home of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. There, in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter, they created an artistic community unlike any before or since. It was Comedy Camelot-but it couldn't last.William Knoedelseder was then a cub reporter covering the burgeoning local comedy scene for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote the first major newspaper profiles of several of the future stars. And he was there when the comedians-who were not paid by the clubs where they performed- tried to change the system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. In I'm Dying Up Here he tells the whole story of that golden age, of the strike that ended it, and of how those days still resonate in the lives of those who were there. As comedy clubs and cable TV began to boom, many would achieve stardom.... but success had its price
About the Author
William Knoedelseder has been a journalist with The Los Angeles Times, executive producer of Fox Entertainment News and of the Philadelphia Inquirer's television news program "Inquirer News Tonight," and vice president of news at USA Broadcasting. He is the author of Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, The Music Business, and the Mafia, and In Eddie's Name. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he lives near Los Angeles.
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