Personality Comedians as Genre: Selected Players

by Wes D. Gehring

Overview

The success of clown comedy is dependent on the comic or comics who take center stage. These comics are usually identified with a specific comedic shtick, physical or visual humor, and their underdog status. This study by film scholar Wes Gehring presents a brief, historical overview of major figures in the genre, including W. C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope, and Woody Allen. The comedians discussed are drawn from four genre periods: the silent era, the depression era, the post-World War II period, and the modern era.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313261855
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/21/1997
Series:	Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

WES D. GEHRING is Professor of Film at Ball State University. He is the author of numerous books, including American Dark Comedy: Beyond Satire (Greenwood, 1996), Screwball Comedy (Greenwood, 1986), Populism and the Capra Legacy (1995), Handbook of American Film Genres (1988), and bio-bibliographies on Laurel & Hardy, W. C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, and the Marx Brothers.

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Foreword by Dennis E. Hensley
Preface
Introduction
Bunny and Charlie
The Marxes, Laurel & Hardy and W. C. Fields
Where There's Hope…There's Allen—Woody
Epilogue
Appendix: Selected Filmography
Selected Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

Examines the work of personality comedians including Charlie Chaplin, John Bunny, the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, W. C. Fields, Bob Hope, and Woody Allen. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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