William Fry and Melanie Allen began writing this book with the objective of obtaining information from comedy writers that would reveal their experiences in creating humor. Over a period of two years, they conducted interviews and obtained a wealth of information about many different areas of humor and comdy, which caused them to expand on their original aim. In addition to the interviews, this volume presents much theoretical discussion about several humor fields.

Some of the major themes of Life Studies of Comedy Writers are: creativity, interpersonal relationships, reinforcement, aggression, rhythm, play, and the role of the unconscious in humor creation. Sub-themes include: techniques of humor, paradox, meditation, and career experiences in comedy. The unifying, underlying theme of the entire book is the bringing together of actual life experience with theoretical aspects of humor study.

Life Studies of Comedy Writers will be enjoyable for communications scholars, humor studies specialists, sociologists, and all those in the entertainment business.

“An entertaining and instructive book about the comedy writer’s high-pressured world.”
–Publishers Weekly

“Norman Lear, Billie Barnes, Ruth Flippen, and others talk of their backgrouonds, techniques, and ways of working. The result is a book that is entertaining, dramatic, moving, and very, very, funny.”
--George Calmenson’s Catalogue, Lodestar Press