Washington City Paper: Contents for Feb. 17

Laugh Trick
Bob Somerby airs his family secrets, bashes Christmas, and debunks breakfast cereals—all in the name of a better America.

Cover Story

For a brief time in the entertainment universe, comedy ruled.

Out for an evening during the '80s, you could hardly take three steps without tripping over a microphone-wielding joke artist. Comedy clubs sprang up across the land, and stand-up became the route to stardom in prime time (Roseanne Barr, Ellen DeGeneres), in the movies (Tom Hanks, Robin Williams), and on the late-night circuit (Jay Leno, David Letterman, Arsenio Hall, Joan Rivers). The parade was endless: single-star comedy specials, variety comedy showcases, comedy advertising, comedians turning into serious actors (Michael Keaton) or romantic leads (Bill Murray). Tim Allen stretched the curve the furthest, from a stint in jail for dealing drugs to a TV series (Home Improvement) to a hit movie (The Santa Clause.)

The phenomenon hardly occurred overnight. Comedians had been the mainstays of minstrel shows and vaudeville, and essential salty accompaniment to burlesque's sugar babies, reciting routines that became standards of radio, film, and early television. The modern era brought everything from shock comedians (Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay), to rock comedians (who can forget Spinal Tap, even if one of their drummers did drown in someone else's vomit?).

In the go-go Reagan era, comedy became a commodity. And when the inevitable glut developed, the comedy market did what all markets do: It underwent a correction. Stand-up went stale, the club ranks shriveled, and the customers—especially home- bound boomers with small children—found they could sate their har-de-har hunger via the tube.... Continued

Issue of Feb. 17 - 23, 1995

News and Features

Laugh Trick
Bob Somerby airs his family secrets, bashes Christmas, and debunks breakfast cereals—all in the name of a better America.
Cover Story By Michael Dolan
Animal Attraction
Monkey Norplant! Artificially Inseminated Cheetahs! Tiger AIDS! And a Whole Lot More About Sex at the Zoo
The City By Clara Jeffery
Magic Bullet
The City By Clara Jeffery
Balancing the Books
Budget Cuts Strike Deep at the D.C. Public Library
The City By Lisa Gray
Dialing for Dollars
Marion Barry, Don't Call Your Office
The City By Lisa Gray and Jonetta Rose Barras
Stop Needling Methadone Users
The Mail By Jeffrey A. Hoffman
Nixon's the One
The Mail By Mark Oller
Some of My Best Friends Are Well-Spoken
The Mail By Robert Patterson