Living off The Laughter: History of Comedy in America




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This course is a history class with a laugh track. We will analyze the significant periods and players of the 20th and 21st Centuries against their historic context and legacy, 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, Comedy Teams, and the Golden Age of Television. We will study how America laughed in each generation, and how the change in American character and persona shaped how they laughed and 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.

Wednesdays, October 14 through November 18
  • 10/14/2026
  • 10/21/2026
  • 10/28/2026
  • 11/4/2026
  • 11/11/2026
  • 11/18/2026
2pm–3:30pm
https://vimeo.com/1174023164?fl=ml&fe=ec

Class Details

6 Session(s)
Weekly - Wed

Location
Virtual - Any Location

Instructor
Multiple

Tuition:  $73.00

Email olli@northwestern.edu for more information. Send to Friend »

Schedule Information

Date(s) Class Days Times Location Instructor(s)
10/14/2026 - 11/18/2026 Weekly - Wed 02:00 PM - 03:30 PM N/A, Virtual - Any Location  Map Matt Eckstein  ; Ashley Walter 

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