Kings of Comedy by Barb Karg, Rick Sutherland, & Jim Van Over
Sometimes making an audience laugh can be a difficult job. What one person finds funny, another may not. The slapstick comedy Airplane!, directed by David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, is very different from Rob Reiner's romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally…, and neither seems much like Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters or Frank Capra's Arsenic and Old Lace. Yet all four movies are comedies that are still revered by audiences. A filmmaker who can consistently “make 'em laugh” has done a difficult job well. Making a comedy that transcends the passage of time is a tall order, and the filmmakers who've succeeded with that job are kings of the comedic genre.
Hal Roach
Hal Roach is known as one of the top two comedy producers during the early years of Hollywood. He began his Tinseltown career by working as an extra in silent westerns until 1914, when, using money from an inheritance, he formed Hal Roach Studios. Some of the best comic actors in the business, like Will Rogers and Laurel and Hardy, were part of his studio. Roach's studio was the first to go to an entirely color production schedule, and the first studio to produce films exclusively for television. He produced the Laurel and Hardy shorts, as well as the Our Gang series, and feature films including Topper and Of Mice and Men. At the 1983 Academy Awards, Roach received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Woody Allen
Woody Allen started out as a standup comedian and scriptwriter for shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, and Your Show of Shows. In the mid-sixties he wrote his first screenplay, What's New Pussycat?, and directed his first film, What's Up, Tiger Lily? His early movies, including Bananas, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask), and Sleeper, were slapstick comedies, teeming with one-liners.
Allen's 1977 classic Annie Hall was a more sophisticated comedy that won four Oscars, including a Best Director win for Allen. Some of his other successful movies include Manhattan, Stardust Memories, and Hannah and Her Sisters. Allen frequently appears in his movies, often portraying a neurotic New York writer.
Mel Brooks
Like Woody Allen, Mel Brooks began his career as a standup comic and writer for television comedies, including Your Show of Shows. In 1965, he caught his first big break when he created the innovative comedy series Get Smart. Brooks then moved on to movies, and quickly discovered that his film niche was satire and parody. His films have since become comedy legends. Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World: Part 1, High Anxiety, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and The Producers (twice) are timeless comedic masterpieces. Brooks developed a talented group of actors that he enjoyed working with in many of his films. Gene Wilder, Dom DeLuise, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, and Madeline Kahn have all starred in at least three Brooks comedies. He is also a member of a select group of filmmakers: He's one of the few industry professionals who have won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy.
