Moore, show creator Allan Burns recalls, gave her co-stars some of the best jokes, not out of sisterhood but “it seemed to work for the good of the show.” It was Moore’s idea to expand the role of Sue Ann Nivens, played by Betty White - clearing the way for her long career.

Lily Tomlin and Mary Tyler Moore helped foster not only the careers of female comedy writers, but also boosted the roles of actresses they worked with. Opportunities started increasing in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when women who got a chance gave a hand to others.

That anecdote is one of the few he-said-she-said moments in We Killed if anything, the stories have a sameness after a while, because women in comedy have faced the same sexism decade after decade. (A Tonight Show talent coordinator swears Rivers’ story isn’t completely true, but it sure sounds likely.) Joan Rivers recalls how she auditioned for The Tonight Show eight times before getting a shot - and only then because Bill Cosby recommended her. From the first, women had to fight male club owners, TV producers and agents to give them a shot on stage. While it could use more funny itself, We Killed does clearly depict how the entertainment industry has made it hard for women. Kohen’s book, “a very oral history” of women in comedy, sets out to show they’re wrong. Women all but rule comedy in 2012, right? Kristen Wiig? Tina Fey? Amy Poehler? Ellen DeGeneres?Īsk Adam Carolla, who told the New York Post this summer: “The reason why you know more funny dudes than funny chicks is that dudes are funnier than chicks.”Īs We Killed author Yael Kohen points out, comedy legends from Johnny Carson to John Belushi to Jerry Lewis all made similar pronouncements. In a way, it’s hard to understand why we’d need a book like We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy. We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedyīy Yael Kohen?(Sarah Crichton Books, 336 pages, $27)

We Killed by Yael Kohen