The US Comedy Connection

Fans of US comedy will be delighted to know that there is a whole chapter on the Amercians who have made us laugh from Lenny Bruce to Doug Stanhope (photo by Geraint Lewis) and TV shows from Taxi to Curb Your Enthusiasm. As well as profiles, British comedians such as Arthur Smith, Dave Gorman and Richard Herring reveal their favourite influences from across the Atlantic:

Dave Gorman: “Janeane Garofalo is very different to the normal run-of-the-mill, snappy, sassy kind of comic. Todd Barry is great in a modern-day-slightlycreepy-Woody-Allen way. One of the most amazing things I’ve seen live was Steve Martin doing a short routine about his singing testicles. He didn’t speak a word but every detail was spot on and he just oozed class.”

Richard Herring: “Larry David because Curb Your Enthusiasm is the greatest comedy TV show ever. The team behind Spinal Tap who influenced my entire generation of comedians more than anyone could imagine. Woody Allen because I would like to be him – apart from the bit about marrying your own daughter.”

Arthur Smith: “George Carlin for his originality and Richard Jeni because he once caused me to fall over laughing. Once, in a club in San Francisco, I fell in love with a comic called Bernadette Luckette. Would it have been better if I had spoken to her?”

Featured in the US chapter are the following comedians and comedy shows:

Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, Bill Hicks, Andy Kaufman, Sam Kinison, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Emo Philips, Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, Rita Rudner, Doug Stanhope, Robin Williams, Steven Wright & Cheers, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Frasier, Friends, It's Garry Shandling/The Larry Sanders Show, Roseanne, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, Sex In The City, The Simpsons, Taxi.