Rebel Without a Cue Card

There is an excellent new book out (from which I read extensively today while loitering at Barnes and Noble) on the comedians that came of age in the 50's and 60's. It has a good chapter on Nichols and May, another on Newhart. The chapter on Woody Allen looked good, too. Also covers Tom Lehrer, Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, and many others.

It appears to be an insanely detailed labor of love, and the author conducted interviews with some of the subjects. It's worth it just to know Newhart thinks Richard Pryor was the best comedian who ever walked on a stage. Bob also says "motherfucker", in context and without rancor, of course.

My only complaint is that there's not enough of their material in the book. Some quotes and snippets, but I guess you can find that stuff on the Internet, anyway.