How to Do It Standing Up: The Friars' Club Guide to Being a Comic, a Cut-Up, a Card, a Character or a Clown

No one knows more about being funny than The Friars Club, and now they reveal their personal tricks of the trade-and give away their favorite material--in this easy-to-use manual for aspiring comics, comedy writers or just plain show-offs.

The funniest men and women in showbiz discuss the art of being funny, and author Barry Dougherty puts it all together in the first and last Friars Club manual for anyone who wants to be a comedian--or just act like one. The book covers such important matters as What's funny--and what's not; the many forms of comedy: jokes, one-liners, anecdotes, stories, impressions, puns, ad-libs, wisecracks and more; choosing material and putting together a routine; developing a personal style; writing your own material--and much more.

In-depth, personal interviews with a host of well-known comedians punctuate the text, along with lots of examples of their funniest material.

Barry Dougherty is the author of several books, including A Hundred Years, A Million Laughs: A Centennial Celebration of the Friar's Club and BD&L's Private Joke File. He is the Editor of the Friar's Club magazine, the Epistle.

Since 1904 the Friars Club has been wining and dining the top personalities of the times. From ribald comedy to musical merrymaking, the Friars have spent a century cultivating a tradition of top-tier humor that has spanned many generations and spawned millions of laughs.