I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy's Golden Era »

Knoedelseder is vice president of news for USA Networks Broadcasting. He was with the Philadelphia Inquirer for serval years.

William Dufris have extensive experience on stage and screen.

Focusing on the "funniest people of their generation," Knoedelseder explores Comedy Camelot—the burgeoning Los Angeles comedy scene of the 1970s—and such shining stars as Leno, Letterman, and Andy Kaufman. Unabridged. 5 CDs.

The New York Times - Ada Calhoun

…[an] illuminating book about the West Coast comedy boom of the mid-1970s, which [Knoedelseder] covered for The Los Angeles Times

Acknowledgments ix

Prologue: A True Comic 1

Blood Brothers 9

The Hippest Room 19

Mitzi's Store 31

Tom, Dave, and George 45

All About Budd 59

Six Minutes, Twenty-two Laughs 65

The Boys' Club 71

Guns, Drugs, and Westwood 81

Comedy University 87

Richard's Baroness, Steve's Movie 93

The Funniest Year Ever 101

Roommates 111

The New Year's Resolution 117

Drugs and Theft 125

Order, Please 135

Diary of a Young Comic 141

The Gauntlet 147

Comedians for Compensation 153

Choosing Up Sides 165

Fire! 175

The Vote 181

All on the Line 189

Dave's Big Night 203

The Union Forever? 211

Jay's Big Flop 223

"My Name Is Steve Lubetkin" 231

A Standing Ovation 245

Epilogue: The Prisoner of Memory 253

Index 269