PBS Presents Pledge Drive-Free History of American Comedy
Released by Rhino Entertainment on Jan. 13 and premiering on your local PBS affiliate the next day, Make 'Em Laugh chronicles a century of comedy in the U.S.A.
Hosted by Billy Crystal and narrated by Amy Sedaris, this series "melds performances, biographical portraits, and American history to illustrate how comedy has mirrored the political and social changes in American society." This sounds suspiciously like a Ken Burns series, only with fewer tracking shots of still photographs.
The highlighted talent list includes: "Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Sid Caesar, Judd Apatow, Woody Allen, Larry Wilmore, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Richard Lewis, Jon Stewart, and many others." Congrats, Larry Wilmore, you beat out Don Rickles and Milton Berle in a press release!
Among the different styles covered are slapstick, satire, stand-up and sitcoms, though I would expect Nipsey Russell to make an appearance before Del Close.
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