Funny National Treasures
David and Martin Short on “Inside Comedy”
By NANCY DEWOLF SMITH
Even the best comedians can’t explain where jokes come from, and it’s probably better that way. So David Steinberg’s new interview series with 19 famous comics only takes us partway behind the curtain. The mystery, the tiny, glittering surprise at the heart of every gag, remains hidden from view.
Almost everyone on “Inside Comedy”—from Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner to Billy Crystal and Martin Short, to Jane Lynch and Steve Carell (this week’s pair of guests) and many more—got their start doing stand-up. But genre is not the most important common denominator. Neither is the way these people get laughs. In a broad sense, what’s funny about Jonathan Winters or Tim Conway is nothing like what makes us laugh at Sarah Silverman or Garry Shandling.
