{"product_id":"first-lady-of-laughs-by-grace-kessler-overbeke-9781479847488","title":"First Lady of Laughs","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBefore \u003ci\u003eHacks\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel\u003c\/i\u003e, there was the comedienne who started it all.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFirst Lady of Laughs\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of Jean Carroll, the first Jewish woman to become a star in the field we now call stand-up comedy. Though rarely mentioned among the pantheon of early stand-up comics, such as Henny Youngman and Lenny Bruce, Jean Carroll rivalled or even outshone the male counterparts of her heyday, playing more major theatres than any other comedian of her period. In addition to releasing a hit comedy album, \u003ci\u003eGirl in a Hot Steam Bath\u003c\/i\u003e, and briefly starring in her own sitcom on ABC, she also made twenty-nine appearances on \u003ci\u003eThe Ed Sullivan Show\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCarroll made enduring changes to the genre of stand-up comedy, carving space for women and modelling a new form of Jewish femininity with her glamorous, acculturated, yet still recognisably Jewish persona. She innovated a newly conversational, intimate style of stand-up, which is now recognised in comics like Joan Rivers, Sarah Silverman, and Tiffany Haddish. When Carroll was ninety-five, she was honoured at the Friars Club in New York City, where celebrities like Joy Behar and Lily Tomlin praised her influence on their craft. But her celebrated career began as an impoverished immigrant child, scrounging for talent show prize money to support her family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on archival footage, press clippings, and Jean Carroll's personal scrapbook, \u003ci\u003eFirst Lady of Laughs\u003c\/i\u003e restores Jean Carroll's remarkable story to its rightful place in the lineage of comedy history and Jewish American performance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47934029103340,"sku":"9781479847488","price":86.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781479847488-first-lady-of-laughs.jpg?v=1783890991","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/products\/first-lady-of-laughs-by-grace-kessler-overbeke-9781479847488","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}