All Jokes Aside: Standup Comedy Is a Phunny Business - Softcover

Lambert, Raymond; Bournea, Chris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1932841954 ISBN 13: 9781932841954

Publisher: Agate Bolden, 2016

Synopsis

Chris Rock. Jamie Foxx. Steve Harvey. Dave Chappelle. Some of the biggest names in American entertainment today all appeared at Raymond Lambert's club All Jokes Aside, the legendary Chicago showcase for African-American comedy, early in their careers. This insightful memoir follows up on Lambert's critically acclaimed 2012 Showtime documentary, Phunny Business, and tells the story of his life as seen through the lens of All Jokes Aside—its successes, failures, and lessons learned.

By the late 1980s, Lambert was earning a six-figure salary as an investment banker on Wall Street, but dreamed of starting his own company. With zero experience, an equally committed partner, and a little borrowed money, he opened All Jokes Aside, and before long was helping to launch some of the biggest names in comedy.

This is story of Lambert's journey, a behind-the-scenes look at the world of show business, and an inspiring tale for any would-be entrepreneur. Chock-full of cautionary tales both humorous and dramatic, revealing details on the early careers of top performers, and tangible guidance on how to build a business from the ground up, this book is a much-needed recent history of black entertainment and a powerful memoir of entrepreneurial ups and downs.

About this title

About the Author

Raymond Lambert is an entrepreneur, independent producer, and adjunct professor at Columbia College. He wrote and produced the award-winning documentary film "Phunny Business, " and is executive producer on "Maya Angelou: The Peoples Poet." He is the founder of the comedy club All Jokes Aside.
Chris Bournea is a journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is a contributing writer for the "Columbus Dispatch," "This Week Community News," and the "Call and Post Newspaper," Ohio's oldest and largest African-American newspaper.
Chris Gardner is the chief executive officer of Gardner Rich & Company, a multimillion-dollar brokerage with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Gardner's memoir, "The Pursuit of Happyness," was made into a feature film starring Will Smith in 2006.

Review

"Impressively informative, exceptionally well written, organized andpresented, and an inherently fascinating read from beginning to end." The Midwest Book Review

"All Jokes Aside is an honest account of building a business and weathering the vagaries of the entertainment industry."  Washington Independent Review

"It is no secret that 'African-American women are thelargest group of readers in the country,' states Dawn Davis, head of Simon& Schuster's 37 Ink imprint. It is also no secret that the publishing worldis very, very white, with books by black authors published at an abysmal low,never rising above 10 percent of the industry's output... But even with suchconditions, key figures such as Chris Jackson, Dawn Davis and others haveshepherded books by black authors through their fellow gatekeepers and to thepublic... Here are some of the wonderful titles by black authors that readersof all tastes can look forward to in 2016." Riffle

About this edition

• Publisher: Agate Bolden
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1932841954
• ISBN 13: 9781932841954
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240