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This paper is a result of a 10-year study of great American comedians. The field of comedy is unique in that 80 percent of its most prominent practicioners are Jewish, while Jews comprise only 3 percent of the population of the United States. This is a long-term phenomenon dating back to the evolution of the stand-up comic from the monologist around the turn of the century. Such names as Weber and Fields and Smith and Dale (the Sunshine Boys), who were in comedy early in the century, were all Jewish as well. To most Americans, comic and Jew are synonymous. The psychic price these men pay for their fame and acceptance as comedians is the subject of this paper, which examines the drive and pain that make comedy their only emotionally gratifying outlet. More than any other group of entertainers, comics search their souls and agonize as they seek their identities. They plead, cajole, and seduce audiences into accepting them and fill their gnawing selfdoubts with audience laughter, to ease the pain of another day and justify their existence. The recent deaths of Freddie Prinze and Groucho Marx, and the revelations of their tortured existences, highlight the findings of this study.
The population for this study consisted of 76 comedians—71 men and 5 women. Although the number of women is small, it fairly accurately reflects the 85 percent dominance of men in field of comedy. All subjects are full-time stand-up comics with six-to-seven-digit annual incomes. Longevity in comedy ranges from six years upwards. The average age was 44. Comedians included in this study were all Jewish.
The author personally interviewed all subjects. Personality tests, including