First lady of laughs: the forgotten story of Jean Carroll, America's first Jewish woman stand-up comedian

In this spirited debut biography, Overbeke, a theater professor at Columbia College Chicago, examines how Jewish comic Jean Carroll (1911--2010) "sparked the creativity and humor of a generation" of female comedians, including Joan Rivers and Lily Tomlin. Born Celine Zeigman in Paris, Carroll moved with her family to New York City in 1912, where she endured a tumultuous childhood with an alcoholic father. Resolving at age eight to earn enough money to support her mother and siblings, she began performing in variety shows in 1922, adopted a "non-ethnic" name, and became the family's primary breadwinner by the time she was a teenager. Shifting to stand-up comedy in 1944, Carroll eschewed the standard rapid-fire delivery popular at the time for a gossipy, conversational style that established an intimate relationship with her audience. Scrupulously dissecting the linguistic and thematic nuances of the comedian's performances, Overbeke reveals how Carroll modeled a new type of funny Jewish woman "who had assimilated into American upper-middle-class, white, heterosexual, attractive, and even glamorous society," yet whose persona "retained something markedly Jewish." Meticulously analyzed and researched, it's a valuable addition to the history of female comedians and Jewish American entertainers. (Sept.)

Stand-up comedy trailblazer Jean Carroll (1911--2010) inspired Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, and Lily Tomlin. Despite growing up in an impoverished immigrant family, she built a hard-won professional life that was equal to and often surpassed her male counterparts. Her career evolved with the entertainment industry from vaudeville, the Catskills, theaters, and nightclubs through the rise of television. Her numerous credits included an acclaimed comedy album, a 1953 TV sitcom, and over two dozen appearances on Ed Sullivan. Her performance style was uniquely her own--glamorous, dignified, and one that embraced her Jewish heritage. She drew comedic material from everyday life while avoiding stage character stereotypes. Overbeke (theater, Columbia Coll., Chicago) traces Carroll's life and career, perceptively analyzing her marked influence on the art of stand-up comedy and candidly defining her many challenges, especially within the cultural context of the era. Although Carroll's commitment to her art was strong, her devotion to her family was more so, prompting her eventual departure from public life. Her achievements and impact, however, resonated long after. VERDICT Well-written and thoroughly researched using numerous primary and family sources. Readers who enjoy comedy and entertainment history will find this particularly absorbing.--Carol J. Binkowski

Long-overdue assessment of a pioneering female comic. For many years, Jean Carroll (1911-2010) was one of the few women headlining a comedy act in vaudeville and, once her husband and partner was drafted in 1943, probably the only one working as a "single." The author of this valuable if decidedly academic study opens with a 2006 tribute to Carroll at the Friars Club to spotlight her enormous influence on subsequent generations of female comics; Joy Behar, Lily Tomlin, Rita Rudner, and Anne Meara were among those testifying to the thrill of seeing her onThe Ed Sullivan Show and elsewhere in the 1950s. From an immigrant Jewish family, Carroll was onstage before she turned 11 and already tough enough to get paid by threatening to expose a rigged amateur contest. She seamlessly made the transition from vaudeville to radio to television and nightclub stand-up comedy, along the way transitioning from playing stereotypical "Dumb Dora" bits and joking about her looks to unabashedly presenting herself as a polished, attractive, assertive woman whose jokes, frequently at the expense of her husband, were based on personal observations and delivered in a conversational style that was new at the time. Overbeke, an assistant professor of theater at Columbia College in Chicago, sketches Carroll's career in the context of an evolving show business landscape, noting that "the changing venues altered Carroll's work and the overall genre of stand-up comedy." She also focuses on the way Carroll challenged stereotypes about women in general and Jewish women in particular, "demonstrat[ing] that Jewish femininity was compatible with sophistication and even glamour." More excerpts from Carroll's monologues and fewer academic catchphrases like "representation" and "double coding" would make this book more appealing to a general readership, but anyone interested in the history of comedy will find valuable material here. A welcome first step in making a legend among her sister comics better known to a wider audience. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Stand-up comedy trailblazer Jean Carroll (1911–2010) inspired Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, and Lily Tomlin. Despite growing up in an impoverished immigrant family, she built a hard-won professional life that was equal to and often surpassed her male counterparts. Her career evolved with the entertainment industry from vaudeville, the Catskills, theaters, and nightclubs through the rise of television. Her numerous credits included an acclaimed comedy album, a 1953 TV sitcom, and over two dozen appearances on Ed Sullivan. Her performance style was uniquely her own—glamorous, dignified, and one that embraced her Jewish heritage. She drew comedic material from everyday life while avoiding stage character stereotypes. Overbeke (theater, Columbia Coll., Chicago) traces Carroll's life and career, perceptively analyzing her marked influence on the art of stand-up comedy and candidly defining her many challenges, especially within the cultural context of the era. Although Carroll's commitment to her art was strong, her devotion to her family was more so, prompting her eventual departure from public life. Her achievements and impact, however, resonated long after. VERDICT Well-written and thoroughly researched using numerous primary and family sources. Readers who enjoy comedy and entertainment history will find this particularly absorbing.—Carol J. Binkowski

In this spirited debut biography, Overbeke, a theater professor at Columbia College Chicago, examines how Jewish comic Jean Carroll (1911–2010) "sparked the creativity and humor of a generation" of female comedians, including Joan Rivers and Lily Tomlin. Born Celine Zeigman in Paris, Carroll moved with her family to New York City in 1912, where she endured a tumultuous childhood with an alcoholic father. Resolving at age eight to earn enough money to support her mother and siblings, she began performing in variety shows in 1922, adopted a "non-ethnic" name, and became the family's primary breadwinner by the time she was a teenager. Shifting to stand-up comedy in 1944, Carroll eschewed the standard rapid-fire delivery popular at the time for a gossipy, conversational style that established an intimate relationship with her audience. Scrupulously dissecting the linguistic and thematic nuances of the comedian's performances, Overbeke reveals how Carroll modeled a new type of funny Jewish woman "who had assimilated into American upper-middle-class, white, heterosexual, attractive, and even glamorous society," yet whose persona "retained something markedly Jewish." Meticulously analyzed and researched, it's a valuable addition to the history of female comedians and Jewish American entertainers. (Sept.)