Rick DesRochers's Books

The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy

Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle

By: Rick DesRochers

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The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy

Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle

By: Rick DesRochers

The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy examines how contemporary writer/performers are influenced by the comedic vaudevillians of the early 20th century. By tracing the history and legacy of the vaudeville era and performance acts, like the Marx Brothers and The Three Keatons, and moving through the silent and early sound films of the early 1930s, the author looks at how comic writer/performers continue to sell a brand of themselves as a form of social commentary in order to confront and dispel stereotypes of race, class, and gender. The first study to explore contemporary popular comic culture and its influence on American society from this unique perspective, Rick DesRochers analyzes stand-up and improvisational comedy writing/performing in the work of Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle. He grounds these choices by examining their evolution as they developed signature characters and sketches for their respective shows Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, and Chappelle's Show.

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Page Count

177

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1441161937

ISBN 13

9781441161932

Fat Chance

Diet Mania, Greed, and the Infamous Fen-Phen Swindle

By: Rick Christman

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Fat Chance

Diet Mania, Greed, and the Infamous Fen-Phen Swindle

By: Rick Christman

During the early 1990s, the diet drugs fen-phen and Redux achieved tremendous popularity. The chemical combination was discovered by chance, marketed with hyperbole, and prescribed to millions. But as the drugs' developer, pharmaceutical giant American Home Products, cashed in on the miracle weight-loss pills, medical researchers revealed that the drugs caused heart valve disease. This scandal was, incredibly, only the beginning of an unbelievable saga of greed. In Fat Chance, Rick Christman recounts a story that a judicial tribunal later described as "a tale worthy of the pen of Charles Dickens." Bill Gallion, Shirley Cunningham, and Melbourne Mills contrived to bring a class-action lawsuit against American Home Products in Covington, Kentucky. Their hired trial consultant, Mark Modlin, had a bizarre relationship with the presiding judge, Jay Bamberger of Covington, who was once honored as the Kentucky Bar Association's "Judge of the Year." Soon after, Stan Chesley, arguably the most successful trial attorney in the United States, joined the class-action suit. Ultimately, their efforts were rewarded with $200 million for the 431 plaintiffs, and the four lawyers immediately began to plunder their clients' money. When the fraud was discovered, two of the attorneys received long prison sentences and another was acquitted after claiming an alcoholism defense. All four were permanently banished from the practice of law and Judge Bamberger was disbarred and disrobed. Recounting a dramatic affair that bears conspicuous similarities to opioid-related class-action litigation against the pharmaceutical industry, Christman offers an engaging, if occasionally horrifying, account of one of America's most prominent product liability cases and the settlement's aftermath.

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Page Count

205

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Published Date

ISBN 10

1949669327

ISBN 13

9781949669329

The New Humor in the Progressive Era

Americanization and the Vaudeville Comedian

By: R. DesRochers

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The New Humor in the Progressive Era

Americanization and the Vaudeville Comedian

By: R. DesRochers

By tracing the effects of unprecedented immigration, the advent of the new woman, and the little-known vaudeville careers of performers like the Elinore Sisters, Buster Keaton, and the Marx Brothers, DesRochers examines the relation between comedic vaudeville acts and progressive reformers as they fought over the new definition of "Americanness.

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Page Count

290

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

1137357185

ISBN 13

9781137357182

The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy

Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle

By: Rick DesRochers

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The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy

Larry David, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Dave Chappelle

By: Rick DesRochers

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Page Count

177

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1441167188

ISBN 13

9781441167187

We Be Big

The Mostly True Story of How Two Kids from Calhoun County Alabama Became Rick and Bubba

By: Rick Burgess

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We Be Big

The Mostly True Story of How Two Kids from Calhoun County Alabama Became Rick and Bubba

By: Rick Burgess

The story of two unlikely radio hosts and what happened when they followed their faith and instincts. They are the most unlikely broadcast stars imaginable, yet hundreds of thousands of loyal listeners start their day with them every morning. They don't have "radio voices," don't spin the latest hit songs, don't do "shock jock" humor, horoscopes, or celebrity birthdays. Instead, Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey-collectively known as "The Rick and Bubba Show" on scores of radio stations coast to coast-share real stories about real people, inviting their vast audience into their families and circle of friends to experience with them uproarious happenings and moving events with which they can all identify. Beyond that, these two non-radio radio personalities break the biggest no-no for secular radio as they openly share in a forceful but non-threatening way their faith in Christ and their common-sense way of looking at the world. Now, in We Be Big: The Mostly True Story of How We Became Rick & Bubba, they (with the assistance of best-selling and award-winning author Don Keith) share how this unlikely pairing came about and how the show found even higher levels of popularity, even as the two of them deliberately steered away from every accepted rule for radio success. Alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, this is also the highly personal story of two men who-like most of us-resisted stepping through the doors God opened for them, opting for the easier path when tested. In this compelling story, "the two sexiest fat men alive" share their experiences and demonstrate how, with the help of faith and family, they have become a true blessing for so many.

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Page Count

240

Publisher

Thomas Nelson

Published Date

ISBN 10

1401604005

ISBN 13

9781401604004

Overcoming Confusion

By: Rick Joyner

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Overcoming Confusion

By: Rick Joyner

Simple, straightforward, biblical wisdom for overcoming one of the most destructive evil strongholds afflicting Christians today.

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Publisher

Morningstar Publications (NC)

Published Date

ISBN 10

1929371268

ISBN 13

9781929371266

Book's by Rick DesRochers

The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy

The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy

Fat Chance

Fat Chance

The New Humor in the Progressive Era

The New Humor in the Progressive Era

The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy

The Comic Offense from Vaudeville to Contemporary Comedy

We Be Big

We Be Big

Overcoming Confusion

Overcoming Confusion

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