Another of the six part, six one hour, epic showcasing of the funniest men, women and moments in American entertainment Make ‘Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America-was on TV last night.(1) Make ‘Em Laugh is a must-see if you have any sense of historical knowledge of American comedy or are looking to educate yourself in this field. If you know all these acts, or even some of them, or even none of them, you’ll have an education, a blast, reliving some classic skits and film footage. This is a fantastic primer on some of the all-time greatest comedic moments in the world of film, television, Vaudeville, radio and everything else.-Ron Price with thanks to (1) ABC2, 11:35 pm to 12:30 p.m. 22 & 23/9/11.
As spring was making its entry
in the Antipodes & I was making
my entry into television-land at
midnight after a busy day of work
at reading and research, editing &
publishing, writing and scholarship:
a bit of history came my way giving
me a summary of comedy in the US
since I left Canada in 1971. I missed
much of it: Archie Bunker because I
had no TV, Bill Cosby and Roseanne
since I was working 60 to 70 hours a
week and Reality TV since I found it
distasteful. I enjoyed Seinfeld: 89-98
thanks to my son Daniel but not until
I retired from the world of jobs and had
time to sit back and laugh which is one of
the main purposes of TV or, as that critic
of American society Gore Vidal once put it:
we all have laughing gas pumped into our
lounge-rooms every night and go to sleep
in front of the TV as the world experiences
a tempest which is deranging its equilibrium,
uprooting its institutions and harrowing-up
the souls of its inhabitants with catastrophic,
unpredictable, and ultimately glorious results.(1)
(1) Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day Is Come, Baha’i Pub. Trust, New Delhi, 1976, p.1.
Ron Price
24 September 2011
