How Stand-Up Comedy Started

It seems that in the modern world, Americans have begun listening to comedians more than their politicians. This is a world where the comedians tell the truth and the politicians are the joke. In a world where comedians are a dominant force on society and their social commentary is consumed religiously, I thought I would write a post on how stand-up comedy really started.

Stand-up comedy in America has become one of the most popular and prolific performance art forms. With distributors such as HBO, Netflix, and other streaming services, anyone can be fully immersed in stand-up comedy for hours a day. Comedians are working every night and waiting for the day they catch a break and make their way onto television. Audiences flock to the local comedy clubs hoping to witness the next great national headliner. While many people have favorite comedians in the modern world, very seldom do people look back to see where this comedic revolution began.

The origin of stand-up comedy came shortly after the days of vaudeville. Comedians went from slapstick and physical humor to a more witty and classy style of comedy. According to Richard Zoglin of CNN, one man responsible for this shift in the industry was Bob Hope. Hope would introduce the comedy groups and vaudeville acts by doing a short emcee routine. This short act intro was the early stage of what the world now recognizes as stand-up comedy. A common show structure, still to this day, at most comedy clubs is a three comedian structure. First the emcee comes out and does what Bob Hope did best, a short routine to get the audience in the mood for a comedy show. Second, the feature comes out and does roughly a half hour of comedy for the audience. Finally, the emcee returns to the stage to introduce the headliner, which closes the show with about forty-five to sixty minutes of comedy. Bob Hope quickly became a pioneer for all the media that future comedians would utilize in the future. Bob Hope appeared on television, radio, and performed for the United States Military, which is still a large part of what comedians still do today as part of the USO tours.

While Bob Hope played the foundation of what the world now recognizes as stand-up comedy, it would take more than his efforts. Don Rickles is still considered one of the most prominent working comedians that utilized the foundation set by Bob Hope to make stand-up comedy reach a wider audience. At the time, insult comedy was the prominent style for comedians. Don Rickles rose to fame because of his ability to get away with saying anything. In the documentary, “Mr. Warmth, the Don Rickles Project,” many comedians state that Rickles’ style was so captivating and he was so funny that he could get away with saying anything as a joke. The nickname “Mr. Warmth” was given to Rickles by the late night legend Johnny Carson. Carson would introduce his friend, Don, as Mr. Warmth as an ironic joke to the audiences that were already familiar with Rickles’ aggressive and harsh style of humor.

A innovation in comedy came when a new comedian rose on the scene. Mort Sahl took the stage in the fifties. Sahl was the first comedian that was not an obnoxious entertainer, he was far from the vaudeville style. Sahl would make conversation style material about what was going on in the news. This seems very common in the modern world of stand-up comedy, yet at the time, this had never been done before. Mort Sahl finally turned stand-up comedy into an art form that could discuss the world in a unique social commentary. This was the early stage of observational comedy.

If Mort Sahl is considered the father of observational comedy, then Lenny Bruce would be a rebellious son. Jerry Zolten said of Bruce, "Lenny Bruce, in the fifties, was one of the first to really push the envelope, addressing head-on our prejudices and skewed views of things. Many people think of him as a guy who just spouted obscenities, but he was much more than that.” Lenny Bruce was considered a very honest comedian and he did not hold back with his material. Many younger audiences flocked to Bruce because they loved his style of no limits and telling the truth. Lenny Bruce did not care about social convention and the “rules” of comedy. Bruce wanted to speak his mind and there was nothing in his way of doing that. Modern day comedians owe much to Bruce for paving the way to being able to freely speak your mind on stage. George Carlin famously said, "I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.” This presentation of being able to get on stage and say what was on your mind, with minimal consequences, was attractive to new generations of comedians. Comedians such as George Carlin, Louis C.K., Daniel Tosh, and many others, owe their ability to say anything to the pioneers Don Rickles, Lenny Bruce, and others.

Eventually comedians came along such as Steve Martin and Richard Pryor. These were comedians that learned how to make social commentary about the events around them while also incorporating themselves into the material. Finally, comedians were beginning to talk about themselves and insult themselves. This opened the door to self-deprecating comedy style and being able to make jokes from personal experience. This opened the door for comedians such as Jim Gaffigan and John Pinette.

Jerry Seinfeld became a pioneer without even knowing he was. Seinfeld took the stage to speak his mind about the small things in life that everyone dealt with, yet no comedians were talking about them. This style of comedy opened the door for comedians such as, Ellen Degeneres, Tig Notaro, Carrot Top, among many others. These comedians all strive to make material that audiences can listen to and think about in their daily lives. People make Seinfeld references constantly because the material was so incredibly relatable that people run into the material on a daily basis and think about the jokes Seinfeld made.

Comedians quickly found their way into the hearts of fans across the country and sometimes, across the globe. Fans finally felt a close connection to the comedians because they were talking about themselves and the situations they encounter daily. A fan could know everything about a comedian from their family situation to the way they drive, simply by listening to their material. This is the reason many people feel the loss of a comedian they same way they would feel the loss of a family member. When Robin Williams passed away, fans opened their eyes to a side of comedians that many people refused to see. Comedians are depressed. Sometimes it is really as simple as that. Every comedian became a comedian for a reason and in many cases, that reason is due to a troubled childhood. Comedy is just another coping method for many. In an interview with NPR, Lily Tomlin channeled her famous character Edith Ann to say this, “I will tell you one last secret. Sometimes, when I'm happy, I feel just like crying. But when I'm sad, I never feel like laughing. So I think it is better to be happy. You can get two feelings for the price of one.”

Stand-up comedy has come a long way from the roots of Bob Hope, and it will continue to flourish with new generations consuming stand-up daily. There will always be another comedy special in the works while another headliner is touring the country speaking their mind about the modern world. Many Americans now trust comedians more than politicians, because comedians never fear telling the truth and speaking their mind. When questioning the future of stand-up comedy, the only question to ask is, “what’s next?”