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Kliph Nesteroff

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Kliph Nesteroff
Born
Castlegar, British Columbia
NationalityAmerican - Canadian
OccupationAuthor

Kliph Nesteroff is a Canadian author, best known for his 2015 history of American comedy, The Comedians.

After eight years as a stand-up comedian,[1] Nesteroff became a frequent contributor to WFMU[2] and a national, on-air contributor for CBC Radio One. For several years he moderated Classic Television Showbiz,[3] a website devoted to classic show business and comedians.[4][5] He has made multiple appearances on Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast and WTF with Marc Maron. Maron was the executive producer of Nesteroff's limited-series Earwolf podcast Classic Showbiz.[6]

Early life

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Nesteroff is of Doukhobor heritage and from South Slocan, British Columbia.[7] He was expelled from high school for giving a speech exposing "salacious dirty laundry" about the teachers, and within a year had moved to Toronto to take a sitcom writing class.[7]

The Comedians

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Grove Press released Nesteroff's first book, The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy[8] on November 3, 2015, to positive reviews. It was selected as a book of the year by several papers including LA Weekly,[9] The Los Angeles Times and the National Post.[10]

Merrill Markoe wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "I thought I knew a lot about the history of American comedy. But this book located gaps in my knowledge I never knew were there and filled them with jaw-dropping anecdotes that made my eyes spin in different directions. For comedy completists and comedians alike, this book is a real treat."[11] The Washington Post said of Nesteroff, "He writes with insider perception but never seems to be either whitewashing or trashing any of this outrageous cast. Like a biblical epic, The Comedians seems to have a cast of thousands. One act barely somersaults offstage before Nesteroff leads on the next. The anecdotes are memorable and often hilarious ... With his encyclopedic knowledge, talent for vivid anecdotes, and tireless gusto, he drives this busload of rowdy clowns into the 21st century."[12] The Onion's AV Club stated, "Nesteroff is intent on giving the beautiful losers of comedy their due. The Comedians [is] an astonishingly assured and compulsively readable exploration of an impossibly vast topic."[13] The New York Times' book review said, "The way he traces ... the evolution of comedy is fascinating ... Through his elegiac attention, these forgotten comedians become almost romantic figures, the stars of a secret history of laughter."[14]

We Had a Little Real Estate Problem

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Nesteroff's second book, We Had A Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans and Comedy,[15] was released on February 16, 2021 by Simon & Schuster.[16] Nesteroff said that he approached the book by emphasizing the comedians telling their own stories.[17]

Publishers Weekly called it a "disturbing yet beautiful history."[18] According to the New York Times, "His new book, which darts back and forth in time, is a sprawling look at Indigenous comedians, an overlooked branch of comedy ... His book provides context for an argument about the importance of representation, detailing an exhaustive history of the racism suffered by Indigenous people in popular culture..."[19] Steve Martin referred to the project as "important"[20] and praised it as a "remarkable book that takes the history of Native American comedy and turns it into a page-turner."[21] Notable endorsements have come from Judd Apatow,[22] Bob Odenkirk,[21] and Marc Maron.[23] Major Indigenous authors including Stephen Graham Jones, David Treuer, and Philip J. Deloria[21] have also lauded the project. A chapter was excerpted in Esquire.[24]

Colby Cosh wrote in his National Post synopsis, "I decided that I wasn’t sure whether the material was promising, but also that Nesteroff couldn't write a bad book if you kicked him in the head and cut off his thumbs. I'm pleased to report very smugly that the last half of this estimate has proved true. No fans of Nesteroff's uncanny interviewing of old-time comics or readers of his 2015 book "The Comedians" will have doubted it. So the high quality of the book imposes a duty on me to persuade other readers, people who may not be comedy nerds or Nesteroff fans, that it's worthwhile ... The whole thing is a fascinating picture of how an artistic tradition evolves. You could learn a lot from it if you have no earthly interest in, or even sympathy for, First Nations ... It's a fascinating universe, and you couldn’t have a better guide than Nesteroff."[25]

Outrageous

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In Outrageous, he tells the history of culture wars in entertainment. [26][27][28][29]

Television

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Nesteroff was the consulting producer on both seasons of the CNN series The History of Comedy,[30] which had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.[31] His work with CNN continued with the Tom Hanks mini-series The Movies and the primetime series The Story of Late Night. He has appeared on the CNN Newsroom eulogizing comedians including Gilbert Gottfried, Dick Gregory, and Jerry Lewis.

Nesteroff hosted the Viceland mini-series Funny How from executive producer Spike Jonze in 2016.[32] Funny How featured appearances from James Adomian, Dave Atell, David Cross, Dana Gould, Artie Lange, Doug Stanhope, and Michael Winslow and presented the first television appearances of Mary Beth Barone and Irene Tu.

Other television appearances include the Judd Apatow documentary George Carlin's American Dream on HBO, W. Kamau Bell's We Need to Talk About Cosby on Showtime, Kevin Hart's Right to Offend on A&E, and The Dark Side of Comedy on Vice TV. He was the research consultant for Rob Reiner's documentary about Albert Brooks on HBO Max.[33]

Live shows and podcasts

[edit]

Nesteroff has appeared at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal,[34][35] the New York Comedy Festival,[36] the Los Angeles Cinefamily,[37] Chautauqua Institution,[38] SF Sketchfest,[39] Caroline's on Broadway,[40] Drawn & Quarterly,[41] Mark Twain House,[42] the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival,[43] Upright Citizens Brigade Theater,[44][45][46] and Harvard.[47] He has appeared onstage with Mel Brooks,[48] Peter Farrelly,[49] Joel Grey, Gilbert Gottfried, Ronny Chieng, Lewis Black,[50] Robert Klein, Larry Wilmore,[50] Buck Henry,[51] Robert Morse,[52] George Schlatter,[53] Anthony Atamanuik,[54] Judah Friedlander,[54] Rip Taylor,[55] Baratunde Thurston,[54] Lizz Winstead,[56] Fred Willard,[57] Alan Zweibel,[58] and Robert Smigel with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.[59] Nesteroff addressed the Mensa International Annual General Meeting in July 2016.[60] The Hollywood Reporter announced in May 2016 that Nesteroff was curating the National Comedy Center, which houses George Carlin's personal archive.[61]

Nesteroff previously toured with a one-man show about the history of comedy.[62] One critic described his Toronto engagement as "heroin for comedy nerds ... Nesteroff shared dozens of unforgettable stand-up-related tales from the early 19th century to now. The depth of his knowledge about the history of American comedy combined with his off-the-cuff and funny yet eloquent stage presence made this entire show utterly engrossing."[63]

Nesteroff's podcast work includes five appearances on WTF with Marc Maron[64][65][66] and five appearances on Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast.[67][68][69][70] He is a frequent presence on the CBC Radio programs Day 6,[71][72] Q,[73][74][75] and The Current,[76] and NPR programs Air Talk with Larry Mantle,[77] The Leonard Lopate Show,[78] Press Play,[79] and Morning Edition.[80][81] He has appeared on the programs of Adam Carolla,[82] Illeana Douglas,[83] Dana Gould,[84][85] Greg Fitzsimmons,[86] Moshe Kasher,[87] Slate.com,[88] Longform,[89] Tom Scharpling,[90][91] and Doug Stanhope.[92]

Reception

[edit]

Vice Magazine called Nesteroff "The Human Encyclopedia of Comedy,"[93] and Los Angeles Magazine profiled him as "The King of Comedy Lore."[1] The New York Times has deemed some of his theories "provocative"[94] while Vanity Fair calls his work "essential."[95] Nesteroff was included on LA Weekly's Best of Los Angeles list in 2016,[96] and was dubbed the "premier popular historian of comedy" by the New York Times in 2021.[19] The A.V. Club referred to Nesteroff as their "favorite pop culture historian."[97]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Smith, RJ (November 4, 2015). "Kliph Nesteroff Is the King of Comedy Lore". Lamag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles. Los Angeles Magazine.
  2. ^ "Time Magazine Top Blogs of 2011". 2011-06-06. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011.
  3. ^ Nesteroff, Kliph (22 August 2016). "The Frances Langford Special with guests Don Ameche, Johnny Mathis and the Three Stooges (1960)".
  4. ^ "Hee Haw vs. Soul Train". The A.V. Club.
  5. ^ "They Might Be Guest Editors". Magnet.
  6. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  7. ^ a b Khanna, Vish (10 July 2015). "Comedy Historian Kliph Nesteroff Talks Viceland Series 'Funny How?'".
  8. ^ Nesteroff, Kliph (2015). The comedians: drunks, thieves, scoundrels, and the history of American comedy (First ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-8021-2398-5. OCLC 921844606.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Weekly, LA (8 December 2015). "The Best Books of 2015 by L.A. Authors".
  10. ^ "The NP99: The best books of the year, vol. 2 (74-50)".
  11. ^ Markoe, Merrill (20 November 2015). "A Man's Man's Man's Man's World". Wall Street Journal.
  12. ^ Sims, Michael (30 November 2015). "'The Comedians': An antic history of the people who make us laugh" – via washingtonpost.com.
  13. ^ "The Comedians explores the dark, swampy depths of the comic mind". The A.V. Club. 10 November 2016.
  14. ^ Zinoman, Jason (30 November 2015). "Humor: 'The Comedians,' 'A Carlin Home Companion' and More". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Nesteroff, Kliph (2021). We had a little real estate problem : the unheralded story of Native Americans in comedy (First ed.). New York, NY. ISBN 978-1-9821-0303-3. OCLC 1162988033.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^ Kipp, Priscilla (14 January 2021). "Book Review - We Had a Little Real Estate Problem by Kliph Nesteroff". BookPage.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  17. ^ Liebenson, Donald (22 February 2021). "From Charlie Hill to the 1491s, 'We Had a Little Real Estate Problem' gives Native American comedians their due". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  18. ^ Book Review - We Had a Little Real Estate Problem by Kliph Nesteroff https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-982-10303-3
  19. ^ a b Zinoman, Jason (February 16, 2021). "Writing Native American Stand-Ups Into the History of Comedy". The New York Times.
  20. ^ . Twitter. February 16, 2021 https://twitter.com/SteveMartinToGo/status/1361833863165730821. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ^ a b c "Simon & Schuster We Had a Little Real Estate Problem The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy". Simon & Schuster.
  22. ^ . Twitter. February 11, 2021 https://twitter.com/JuddApatow/status/1360134902033903617. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ "Episode 1203 Melissa Leo". WTF with Marc Maron. 22 February 2021.
  24. ^ "How Charlie Hill Became the First Native Stand-Up Comedy Star". Esquire. February 11, 2021.,
  25. ^ "Colby Cosh: The fascinating universe of Aboriginal comedy". National Post. May 18, 2021.,
  26. ^ Fear, David (2023-12-19). "'The Idea You Can't Joke About Anything Anymore Is F-cking Ridiculous'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  27. ^ "Endless Culture Wars: On Kliph Nesteroff's "Outrageous"". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  28. ^ Larson, Sarah (2023-12-25). "When a Comedy Historian Googles "Disgusting Comedian"". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  29. ^ Juzwiak, Rich (November 29, 2023). "Who Can Take a Joke? Everyone". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "Laugh Tracks". Television Academy.
  31. ^ "Sundance: Documentary takes a serious look at comedy".
  32. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff". Viceland.
  33. ^ "- IMDb". IMDb.
  34. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff | Just for Laughs". Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  35. ^ "CNN's the History of Comedy | Just for Laughs". Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  36. ^ "Acts to catch at this year's NY Comedy Festival". 21 October 2015.
  37. ^ "SKYLIGHT BOOKS and CINEFAMILY present KLIPH NESTEROFF discusses his new book THE COMEDIANS: DRUNKS, THIEVES, SCOUNDRELS AND THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN COMEDY - Skylight Books".
  38. ^ "Candid comedy discussion takes place at Chautauqua Institution".
  39. ^ "SF Sketchfest 2016: Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher".
  40. ^ "Kilph Nesteroff live at NYC stand up comedy club | Carolines". www.carolines.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-05.
  41. ^ "211 Bernard: Event Recap: Kliff Nesteroff launches the Comedians". Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  42. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2017-07-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  43. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff – TCM Classic Film Festival 2017". Archived from the original on 2017-04-14. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  44. ^ "Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher".
  45. ^ Kliph Nesteroff [@ClassicShowbiz] (3 June 2016). "I'm the guest this Sunday for Asssscat at UCB on Sunset. 7pm. Come on down" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  46. ^ https://franklin.ucbtheatre.com/performance/52975#reservation
  47. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff - Events - Harvard Book Store".
  48. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff's Showbiz Imagery and Chicanery, Kliph Nesteroff and Mel Brooks  Cinefamily /..."
  49. ^ "Trevor Noah, Lewis Black, and Brian Regan Headline 2016 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in Jamestown, NY - National Comedy Center".
  50. ^ a b "Kliph Nesteroff's Showbiz Imagery and Chicanery, a few more images from the show I hosted the other..."
  51. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff's Showbiz Imagery and Chicanery, Some people share pictures of their children. I..." Archived from the original on 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  52. ^ Bret. "Classic Showbiz presents Robert Morse in "That's Life!" — featuring Goldie Hawn, Liza Minnelli, Rodney Dangerfield and More".
  53. ^ "TV TUESDAYS: An Evening With George Schlatter (trailer)".
  54. ^ a b c "Political Comedy in the Pre-apocalyptic World | Just for Laughs". Archived from the original on 2018-07-30. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  55. ^ "Rip Rip Hooray! Hosted by Kliph Nesteroff w/ Rip Taylor in person!". www.cinefamily.org. Archived from the original on 2017-04-14.
  56. ^ "National Comedy Center Acquires the Archives of Comedian George Carlin". National Comedy Center. Archived from the original on 2016-08-27. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  57. ^ McGlynn, Katla (20 January 2015). "Oops: Fred Willard Turned Down The Leading Role In 'Airplane!'". HuffPost.
  58. ^ "National Comedy Center - Comedy Festival".
  59. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff interviews Robert Smigel". Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  60. ^ "Mensa Annual Gathering 2017".
  61. ^ "Comedians' Holograms to Headline National Museum of Comedy". The Hollywood Reporter. 31 May 2016.
  62. ^ "Gersh Comedy".
  63. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff Comedy Bar, Toronto ON, November 14".
  64. ^ ClassicShowbiz (3 January 2013). "Kliph Nesteroff - WTF with Marc Maron". Archived from the original on 2021-12-20 – via YouTube.
  65. ^ "Episode 490 - Alan Bursky". 21 April 2014.
  66. ^ "Episode 659 - Gloria Steinem / Kliph Nesteroff". 30 November 2015.
  67. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff".
  68. ^ "Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast".
  69. ^ "SoundCloud - Hear the world's sounds".
  70. ^ https://www.gilbertpodcast.com/kliph-nesteroff-returns-2/https://www.gilbertpodcast.com/kliph-nesteroff-returns-2/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  71. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff on the power of comedy in politics | CBC Radio".
  72. ^ "Emerson College now offers a Master's degree in comedy. No joke. | CBC Radio".
  73. ^ "The impolite history of the comedy roast | CBC Radio".
  74. ^ "Live Radio | CBC Listen".
  75. ^ "What looking at comedy's past can teach us about stand-up today | CBC Radio".
  76. ^ "Sacha Baron Cohen's controversial new show has critics reevaluating comedy in Trump era | CBC Radio".
  77. ^ "New book on comedy zooms in on the funny people behind the jokes".
  78. ^ "Leonard Lopate Weekend: Kliph Nesteroff, the Daily Show's Hasan Minhaj, and Understanding Inequality | the Leonard Lopate Show".
  79. ^ "L.A. Times Buyouts, Native American Schools, and the Comedians". 25 November 2015.
  80. ^ "Make 'Em Laugh: 'The Comedians' Tells the Story of Stand-Up". NPR.org.
  81. ^ "George Carlin's 'Stuff' Gets a New Home at National Comedy Center". NPR.org.
  82. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff, Jimmy O. Yang and Matt Atchity". 5 December 2016.
  83. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff, Comedian/Author - I Blame Dennis Hopper on Popcorn Talk - YouTube". YouTube. 6 December 2016.
  84. ^ "It's here! The Dana Gould Hour podcast holiday… - Dana Gould". 22 December 2015.
  85. ^ "Santa came! And so did the new Dana Gould Hour podcast w/ The…". 25 December 2016.
  86. ^ "Kliph Nesteroff - Episode 596". 27 October 2016.
  87. ^ "Hound Tall #33: Comedy | Nerdist". Archived from the original on 2018-07-28. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  88. ^ Pesca, Mike (10 December 2015). "How Stand-Up Got Its Name". Slate.
  89. ^ "Longform Podcast #172: Kliph Nesteroff · Longform". 16 December 2015.
  90. ^ "Best Show Bests #54 – an Interview with author Kliph Nesteroff « the Best Show - Steamrollin' Chumps Every Tuesday 9PM to 12AM EST".
  91. ^ "The Best Show with Tom Scharpling: No Dudevember! Mary Houlihan! Kliph Nesteroff! @Bestshow!".
  92. ^ "Ep #208: Viceland host and author Kliph Nesteroff (The Comedians)". 12 May 2017.
  93. ^ Androsky, Josh (June 16, 2015). "Modern Comedians Complaining About the 'PC Police' Are Cry-Babies". Vice Media.
  94. ^ Zinoman, Jason (August 10, 2016). "Lenny Bruce Shattered Taboos, but Was He Funny?". The New York Times.
  95. ^ Libenson, Donald (July 28, 2016). "Gilbert Gottfried Calls on Old Hollywood in his Gripping Amazing Colossal Podcast". Vanity Fair.
  96. ^ Seabaugh, Julie (October 5, 2016). "Best Local Comedy Author". LA Weekly.
  97. ^ "Craziness, friendliness or insight: What do we want from a celebrity interview?". The A.V. Club.
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