Living off The Laughter: History of Comedy in America
50+ OLLI Program
$75
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Community & Professional Education Open House | First Wednesday of each month at 5:30 PM

This course is a history class with a laugh track. We will analyze the 20th and 21st centuries against their historic context, using humor as the platform. We will discuss how comedy was shaped by and responsive to American society, and how comedians influenced and shaped American life. We will cover Silent Films, Vaudeville, Radio, Screwball and Romantic Comedies, and the Golden Age of Television. We will study how each generation’s identity influenced what (and whom) they laughed at.

Eddy Friedfeld

Eddy Friedfeld is a film and entertainment journalist and historian. Friedfeld co-authored Caesar’s Hours with Sid Caesar, Directed by James Burrows with James Burrows, and worked with Mel Brooks on All About Me. He was senior consultant for the Emmy-nominated Make ’Em Laugh and a consulting producer on Funny You Never Knew. He has produced tributes to major entertainers including George Carlin, Paul Newman, Dick Van Dyke, among others. He teaches at Yale, NYU, and the Tisch School of the Arts.

#1: Living off The Laughter: History of Comedy in America

Start/End: 10/14/2026 to 11/18/2026
Fee: $75
Delivery: Online
Location: n/a
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$75
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