On the whole, the anxieties of comedians used to be kept offstage, which made producing revelatory documentaries about their pain and depression so much easier. Dramatists and documentarians delight in showing us that our favourite post-war clowns were paranoid depressives hooked on painkillers with a predilection for booze and violence. However, when the newest generation of comedians dies, it will be tough times for the revelatory-documentary industry.
