Classic comedy routines and individual gags have been around for literally hundreds of years; the best of these ribticklers making their merry way through theater, circus, film and television. The challenge to comedians has always been to adapt familiar material in a way that emphasizes their personal perspective, style and approach. The many routines and gags cited in this illustrated history are lovingly deconstructed to demonstrate the manner in which they have been modified to suit different eras and different performers.

LIFE, LIBERTY. . . AND ALL THE REST presents a series of satirical episodes in which newcomers to America struggle to assimilate into the local culture. Adopting the way of life in their new country is especially difficult because the newcomers are robots. The story opens at a futuristic amusement park, where robotic clones of the U.S. Presidents room together in a glossy mock-up of the White House. The robot roomies are less interested in educating the public on the history of the presidency than they are in quarreling among themselves about old grudges. The exhibit, contrary to the...

For decades, hundreds of actors delivered a steady stream of pranks and pratfalls for the amusement of silent film fans. While film historians have focused their attention on the three biggest comedy stars (Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd), numerous comedians of less renown have been unjustly forgotten. But, now, eighteen uniquely talented comedians overlooked for many years finally receive the recognition they deserve. Discussed at length are the methods and skills that made these performers stand out. This includes the subtle expressiveness of Lloyd Hamilton, the goofy...

A film archetype as old as film itself, the man-child has been an enduring comedy subject. Classics as diverse as Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) and The Apartment (1960) have used the immature male to drive plots and press the importance of growing up. But he was not born fully formed--it took the shifting social norms of decades to mold the atrocious behavior of the puerile buffoon we know today. The man-child has come under scrutiny in recent years. Prominent writers, including David Denby and A.O. Scott, have criticized the modern comedian behaving in shamelessly childish ways. This...