Kliph Nesteroff is the author of the book The Comedians, a gossipy, scandalous, irresistibly written history of the underside of the development of American stand-up comedy. But although you get all sorts of juicy details along the way (the Mafia figure prominently) it does also provide an excellent overview of how the form evolved in America and is hugely enjoyable..
His new book, Outrageous, overlaps to some extent, as comedians feature prominently, but its focus is on the culture wars in the US - far from a recent phenomenon, as Mr Nesteroff reveals. He starts in the 1800s with a discussion about blackface, and the many protests by successive immigrant groups - Irish, Jewish, Italian, among others - to stereotypical depictions by comics. The long-running Amos 'n' Andy radio show had two white performers playing black characters whose personae had been stolen from two black performers, who were never remibursed; when, much later, it moved to TV there were black actors surrounding the two stars, and despite protests from the NAACP those actors defended the show on the grounds that without such programmes, demeaning as they were, there'd be no work for them at all.
It's not all about racism, however, as quite often the target is a perceived decline in standards of moral behaviour, though frequently the two issues are interlinked. What becomes clear as the tale progresses is that companies sponsoring of TV and radio programmes are all too ready to capitulate to protests, never wanting to rock the boat or run the slightest risk of their products being boycotted: money, not morality.
There is an amusing tale which illustrates this sense of priorities. Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball's husband who also played her spouse in the long-running TV sitcom I Love Lucy, which the couple also produced, found that the show's sponsor, tobacco giant Philip Morris, had given in to protests that Ball's real-life pregnancy should not be depicted in the show, and it was strictly no go. Rather than wasting more words on the company's intransigent American representatives Arnaz got directly in touch with the head of Philip Morris, based in Britain, reminding him that I Love Lucy had made a great deal of money for the tobacco giant and it would be a pity to put such a fruitful relationship in danger. Whereupon the head honcho blasted off a curt memo to his Stateside underlings: "Don't f--- with the Cuban".
There is - though it's no reflection on Mr Nesteroff's writing - a certain grim sameiness about proceedings, in that members of the ultra-right-wing, anti-communist John Birch Society, once that group becomes subject to general ridicule, have a habit of cropping up again in a series of differently named organisations who are essentially doing the same sort of thing, or searching for new targets to justify their bile. It's also depressing to see that over the years there is almost a consistent house style for the language employed by a wide range of protest groups or journalists, mainly involving exaggeration and repetition, possibly echoing the oratory of the pulpit.
There are, however, optimistic moments dotted throughout the narrative when the majority of Americans quietly decide, by their refusal to desert a favourite sitcom, that some former source of moral controversy is really no longer a big deal and protests quietly die away; as mentioned earlier, the sponsors' main concern is to maintain the successful promotion of their products. And the cumulative effect of all the events over the centuries and decades is to make it very clear that the present day is far more liberal than one might have supposed; it's simply that today's social media gives a skewed sense of popular opinion.
The story has been assembled from a wide range of sources, all indicated in the notes. It's such a vast topic that it cannot quite have the coherence of the earlier book with its narrower focus, but it's a compelling and lively read nevertheless. Music, from rock'n'roll to rap, and beyond, is also covered, with the suggestion that attacking the supposed corrupting influence of various musical genres is a front for the racism which dare not speak its name anymore. Anyway, this is well worth reading.
