Queens of Comedy: Lucille Ball, Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, and the New Generation of Funny Women

by Susan Horowitz

Through candid personal interviews with Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, and other visionary performers, Queens of Comedy explores how comediennes have redefined the roles of women in not only the entertainment business, but society as a whole. Detailing both their public and private lives - as well as their many and varied performances - Queen of Comedy examines the impact these women have had on the predominantly male-oriented world of comedy. Performers like Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, and their more recent counterparts, comediennes Brett Butler and Roseanne, have helped to sift women's roles in comedy from object to subject. This book maps out this shift, providing an often brutally honest picture of women's lives in both the spotlight of comedy and this modern world.

182 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1997

Reviews

[Lynn Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

(I actually would rate this book 3.5 stars if I could.)

The Rival Queens is well written and thoroughly researched. It reads more like a novel than a biography—and that can be a good thing. While some biographies contain more facts and less speculation than The Rival Queens, few make the historic machinations of the time as easy to understand. And Goldstone carefully distinguishes between multiple characters with similar or identical names, such as Henri, or Francis and Francois, thus saving the reader from stumbling back and forth between genealogy and story.

Recommended to those who enjoy French history, and biographies of powerful women.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book talks about the ladies of comedy Lucille Ball (my favorite) Carol Burnett, Phyliss Diller (great with Bob Hope) Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr and quite a few other ladies who have made their mark in comedy.