No one knows more about comedy than Steve Allen. For more than five decades as a writer, performer and keen observer of the social scene, he has looked into every aspect of who's funny what's funny and why. Like the professional magician who reveals his precious secrets, Allen shares his discoveries in How to Be Funny, the book designed to help everyone develop their special talent for funniness.
Now reissued in paperback. How to be Funny covers all the basics, including joke telling, ad-libbing, writing humorously, performing comedy, and much more. Allen takes you inside the world of comedy from the early writings of Mark Twain, to the more contemporary work of Rodney Dangerfield and Bill Maher. Allen even provides homework assignments for the budding comic!
Yet How to Be Funny is far more than just a book for aspiring comedians-it will help anyone who wants to be a more amusing conversationalist, more effective public speaker; and everyone who just wants to be the life of the party.
Steve Allen (Los Angeles, CA) is the creator of the "Tonight Show" and PBS's award-winning program "Meeting of Minds." Jane Wollman (New York, NY) is a journalist who has written regularly for the New York Times, Newsday and USA Today.
296 pages ISBN 1-57392-206-4
Return to: Literature List