Larry talks with author Gerald Nachman about his new book, Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s (Pantheon). It profiles rebel comedians of the 1950's and 1960's like Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, Shelley Berman and Phyllis Diller. Juxtaposed to the material of today's comedians, their acts feel a bit old fashioned. But at the time, their skits and monologues were cutting edge, challenging the era's social mores on sex, politics, race and religion like no mainstream entertainers had ever done before.
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