Biography Humor

When Harold Ross founded The New Yorker in 1925, he described it as a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists of the modern era. This anthology gathers together, for the first time, the funniest work of more than seventy New Yorker contributors.

Vom unendlichen Glück, mit Katzen zu leben - das neue Hörbuch von Hape Kerkeling. Seit seiner Kindheit ist Hape Kerkeling katzenverrückt. Als er acht war, schlich Peterle auf sanften Pfoten in sein Kinderleben. Später waren der gemütliche Samson, eine Seele von Kater, und der rote Spock an seiner Seite. Dann kam Anne - bildschön und superschlau. Nach ihr Bolli, die Überlebenskünstlerin. Und neuerdings ist die schwarz-weiße Kitty die Chefin im Haus. Hape hat mehr als sein halbes Leben mit Katzen geteilt.

What is it really like to work in a British school as a teacher in the 21st century? What happened to the national curriculum in England? How do teachers deal with disruption? Hilarious things students say! Sometimes intentionally! Which issues are most draining of teachers' energy?

"Dieses Buch hat die gleiche Botschaft wie meine Comedy: Du bist okay. Selbst wenn du glaubst, du bist es nicht." Maxi Gstettenbauer hat Depressionen und erleidet häufig Panikattacken – was für einen Stand-up-Comedian mit regelmäßigen Auftritten im Fernsehen und auf der Bühne keine ganz ideale Kombi ist. Dennoch: Maxi stellt sich ins Rampenlicht, ist erfolgreich, füllt Clubs und Hallen und hat keine Lust mehr, seine Erkrankung zu verheimlichen.

Comica amatissima, nonché regista, donna di teatro e amante della lirica, Simona Marchini si racconta per la prima volta in questa autobiografia che ha l’andatura di un monologo intenso e disincantato, recitato al lettore come una sorta di pièce teatrale inedita e risolutiva. Con lo stile dolceamaro e ironico cui ci ha abituato, Simona Marchini ripercorre in queste pagine le tappe di una vita fuori dagli schemi.

Martha Howald grew up on a farm, and she loved spending time with her dad. Even when he was loading manure onto a spreader, there she'd be with a little pitchfork, doing her part to clean up the mess from the cows and hogs. In fourth grade, she was thrilled when her older brother returned home from the army and started dating her favorite teacher - Miss Hill. The two would end up getting married, and Martha couldn't have been happier. Join Martha as she recalls funny moments, challenges conquered, and lessons learned over a life that's been not-so politically correct.

If you thought Dennis Miller was done ranting, guess again. In Still Ranting After All These Years, recorded in early 2002, Miller is in fine form, commenting on everything from "War and Terrorism" to Enron; from "Obsessed Parents" to the "End of Class"; to "Truth in the Media" and so much more. Throughout, Miller is what we have come to expect from him: smart, cutting, laugh-out-loud funny, and more times than not...right.

In dieser Sonderreihe von WortArt zum Anlass des 30-jährigen Bestehens wird jeweils ein(e) Wegbegleiter(in) und "WortArtist(in)" per Audio-Porträt und anhand eines Zusammenschnitts der besten Klassikernummern aus dem Programmarchiv des/der Künstler(in) präsentiert. Somit entsteht ein einzigartiges Highlight für die Lach- und Denkmuskeln. Ein Audioporträt zusammengetragen aus 30 Jahren Fleißarbeit mit vielen herausragenden Szenen und Programmen der deutschen Humorlandschaften.

“Because she was my mother, the death of zaftig good-time gal Renay Corren is newsworthy to me, and I treat it with the same respect and reverence she had for, well, nothing. A more disrespectful, trash talking woman was not to be found.” So began Andy Corren's unforgettable obituary for his mother, Renay Mandel Corren, in her hometown paper The Fayetteville Observer, a tribute that went on to touch the hearts of millions around the globe. In his brief telling of the life and legend that was Renay, Andy captured only a slice of his loving and fabulously unconventional mother.

In God’s Got Jokes, author Neosho C. Ponder, allows the listener into the most personal and vulnerable parts of her life. As she battled the hardships of cancer, she learned that some of those who supported her succumbed to their own battles of cancer. You will hear stories such as: Being evicted during chemotherapy, which finally led to her seeing the humor and not choosing to give up. The financial adversity that affects cancer patients too sick to work, those undergoing treatments, and multiple surgeries.

Award-Winning Finalist in the Narrative: Non-Fiction category of the 2020 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book FestIn 1988, a young, mid-level employee named Art Bell pitched a novel concept - a television channel focused 100 percent on just one thing: Comedy - to the chairman of HBO. The station that would soon become Comedy Central, with celebrated programs like South Park, Chapelle’s Show, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report, was born.

Comedian Tony Martin has strip-mined his often unremarkable life to tell sixteen small tales fraught with laughter and detail. Choosing to ignore his many dubious achievements in the world of Australian show business (Martin/Molloy, The Late Show, a short-lived but torrid affair with Sharon on Kath & Kim), New Zealand-born Martin instead recalls dozens of tiny life-changing moments that, frankly, could have happened to anybody.

I have a profit-and-loss view of the world. It is an entertaining short story full of short statements that entails fifty hilarious little points about money.

As a stand-up comedian during the Covid-19 pandemic, Brandon reluctantly becomes a driver to make ends meet. These are his stories.

Hey, I’m Italian is an insider's look at growing up Italian in New York. Abducted at gunpoint, being bitten on the nose by the family dog two days before my wedding, and paying for a lavish Hawaiian honeymoon only to learn that our travel agent had absconded with our money, were but a few of the events that shaped my life. But growing up Italian in New York, well that can really shake you up.

Jerry Lewis (1926-2017) achieved superstardom in the 1950s and 1960s with such films as The Caddy, The Bellboy, and The Nutty Professor. Later, Lewis was almost as well known for his dedication to the cause of muscular dystrophy and his annual Labor Day telethon, which he hosted for more than four decades. In King of Comedy, Shawn Levy offers a provocative portrait of the influential comedian, analyzing the complex, sometimes disturbing world of Lewis—from his rise to fame and philanthropic work to the dark side of his career and personal life.

G-Is for String is the story of a gullible college girl who dreamed of being a dancer all her life. When her friends encouraged her to enter an amateur dance contest in Rochester, New York, she fell into the world of exotic dancing and stripping. She spent the next thirteen years of life perfecting her performance art in places where artistry was a pleasant surprise.

Zwei Rentner aus Sachsen-Anhalt verreisen mit ihrem Sohn. Was soll schon schiefgehen...?! «Urlaub mit den Eltern. Wir sitzen 5 (!) Stunden vor Abflug am Flughafen, und Mutter verzweifelt, weil sie die Bordkarten auf DIN A3 ausgedruckt hat und denkt, dass wir deshalb nicht mitfliegen dürfen.» So begann André Herrmann, 36, Comedian aus Berlin, die Dokumentation seiner Reise mit seinen Eltern, die binnen kürzester Zeit viral ging. Unter dem Hashtag #UmdE berichtet er acht Tage lang von den Unwegsamkeiten der gemeinsamen Reise und begeisterte damit schnell eine riesige Followerschaft.

Una obra maestra de la sátira política -empapada en vodka y desternillante- sobre el ocaso de un Vladímir Putin senil en un futuro ya muy cercano...Vladímir P envejece a marchas forzadas aislado en un mundo poblado por los recuerdos de sus años en el poder. Para desprenderse del antaño todopoderoso gran líder con todos los honores (y horrores), y no levantar sospechas entre sus súbditos sobre su difícilmente disimulable demencia senil, se le invita con sumo tacto a pasar el resto de sus días confinado en una suerte de exilio vacacional entre los muros de su lujosa dacha, al atento y todo menos desinteresado cuidado de su personal doméstico.

Do you try to share the lessons you learned in life with your children? Do they listen? Karen S. Veazey shares with us more humorous life lessons she has tried to share with her children. This, her second book, contains 150 funny stories about family, friends, pets, growing up in the South, being married for decades, aging parents, and many other unlikely places to find humor. The lighthearted lessons learned will NOT give you the answers to life’s big questions, but they might help you find humor in life’s mishaps.