Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America

2009 - 2009

Nerds, Jerks & Oddballs: Would Ya Hit a Guy with Glasses?

14th January 2009

Episode 1

This episode looks back at the bespectacled wannabe (Harold Lloyd) and the vain coward (Bob Hope) as the outsiders of their day. Along with pioneering women in comedy like Phyllis Diller and truly zany characters who seem to have arrived from another planet (Jonathan Winters, Andy Kaufman and Robin Williams), the great social upheaval of the 60s and 70s introduced counter-culture favorites Cheech & Chong, as well as superstar nerds like Woody Allen and “jerks” like Steve Martin – who ultimately became so popular that the idea of the outsider had to be re-cast.

Breadwinners and Homemakers: Honey, I'm Home!

14th January 2009

Episode 2

No overview available.

The Knockabouts: Slip on a Banana Peel

21st January 2009

Episode 3

Physical comedy and slapstick have always found rich soil in America. From the mastery of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to the computer-generated antics that helped transform Jim Carrey into a human cartoon, slapstick has evolved into a sophisticated art, stretching the boundaries of time and space. This episode explores the comic genius of teams like Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, Martin and Lewis, and the Marx Brothers, and the one and only Lucille Ball.

The Groundbreakers: When I'm Bad, I'm Better

21st January 2009

Episode 4

In the ongoing war against hypocrisy, conservatism, political correctness, prejudice, prudery, censorship, sentimentality, liberalism, extremism, and complacency, it was always the comedian who led the first wave of attack. Rather than using risqué jokes and four-letter words simply to get a rise out of an audience, the most audacious comedians – from pioneers like Mae West and Moms Mabley to 60s and 70s bad boys like Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and George Carlin – invoked what the First Amendment of the American Constitution calls “freedom of speech” to bring the biggest and most dangerous laughs to the American public.

The Wiseguys: Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

28th January 2009

Episode 5

America loves the wiseguy who defies convention by speaking the truth no matter the consequences. Whether in the form of the curmudgeonly W.C. Fields of the 1930s or today’s Larry David, who manages to aggravate everyone within reach, the wiseguy (or gal) always gets the last – and funniest – word. Along with classic smart-alecks like Groucho Marx and con men like Phil Silvers, other legendary names in this episode’s “Wiseguy Hall of Fame” include Jack Benny, Paul Lynde, Joan Rivers, Redd Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock.

Satire and Parody: Sock It To Me

28th January 2009

Episode 6

Americans have always loved to make fun of the world around them using the slings and arrows of parody and satire. Whether it was Will Rogers, Johnny Carson, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert poking a finger in the eye of the government, or Sid Caesar, Mel Brooks and the “Saturday Night Live” gang lampooning the latest blockbuster, generations have reveled in the anarchic tradition of mocking American life, politics and preoccupations.

Top Cast

Billy Crystal•Amy Sedaris•Leonard Maltin

Director

Michael Kantor

Writer

Michael Kantor

Documentary Comedy

Melding performance, biography and history, this features interviews with over 90 comedians, writers, producers, and historians.

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Production Companies

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Full Cast

Billy Crystal

Self - Host

Amy Sedaris

Self - Narrator(voice)

Leonard Maltin

Self - Film Critic and Historian

George Carlin

Self - Comedian

Larry Wilmore

Self

Larry Gelbart

Self - Writer for Bob Hope

Joan Rivers

Self - Comedienne

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Anne Beatts

Self - Writer

Chris Rock

Self - Comedian

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Robert Klein

Self - Comedian

Full Crew

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Michael Kantor

Director

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Michael Kantor

Writer

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Laurence Maslon

Writer

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Erika Frankel

Co-Producer

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Michael Kantor

Producer

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Sally Rosenthal

Producer

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John Beug

Executive Producer

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Tina Fletcher-Hill

Executive Producer

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David Horn

Executive Producer

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David M. Jackson

Executive Producer

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Ryan Minchin

Executive Producer

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Stephen Ulrich

Original Music Composer

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Peter Millrose

Original Music Composer

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Ulli Bonnekamp

Director of Photography

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Kris Liem

Editor

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Jed Parker

Editor

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Pamela Scott Arnold

Editor

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Ed Barteski

Editor

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