Geoff Bennett on the history of Black comedy from vaudeville to sitcoms

PBS Newshour co-anchor Geoff Bennett is out with a new book that presents portraits of Black artists who shaped comedy. Black Out Loud is a history that starts with vaudeville and runs through the ‘90s, when sitcoms like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In Living Color and Family Matters carried the responsibility of representing a varied Black experience. In today’s episode, Bennett speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about vaudeville and minstrelsy as the DNA of Black comedic performance, the impact of Amos ‘n’ Andy, and comedians like Bert Williams, Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle.

To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy