Groucho

Been reading Stefan Kanfer's biography of Groucho Marx. Good stuff, good stuff. While comedians my age are reading their Hicks stories and listening to their Stanhope, it's interesting to throw a look backwards and see how edgy certain comedy was during prohibition and the depression.

Obviously, it's hard to compare very different political climates. But, still, Groucho's on-stage mockery - and off-stage love - of big business stock markets was made all the more relevant after the crash. And seeing double entendres and sexual dialogue make its way into the Marx Brothers' act made for very interesting breakthroughs.

I don't want to say there's some connection between Groucho and Lenny Bruce and Pryor and on and on. However, we comedians tend to often find ourselves worshipping one stand-up or writer as the beginning of it all. We see Bruce as some beginning of the truth or Bill Cosby as some beginning of observing the personal. Whereas it all goes back and back further.

Probably to Mark Twain as the first real stand-up.

But who knows? I'm too busy trying to keep my mind off tonight to care.