Rob Kutner ’94 Recommends Three Books on Humor and Humorists
For those who could use a laugh, Kutner’s latest is The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting
Rob Kutner ’94, an Emmy-winning comedian, writer, and producer, has made his mark in the world of entertainment with his blend of tongue-in-cheek wit and thoughtful storytelling. During his time at Princeton, Kutner majored in anthropology and Russian studies. Outside the classroom, he was editor of The Tiger humor magazine, a writer for Triangle and the Princeton University Band’s shows, and a founding member of Quipfire! Improv.
He went on to become a TV comedy writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, CONAN, and animated shows like Teen Titans Go! In recent years, he’s been writing books, ranging from a gross-out horror-comedy graphic novel for kids (Snot Goblins & Other Tasteless Tales) to the official Marvel “memoir” of Scott “Ant-Man” Lang.
His newest book, The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting, is a comedic survey of all of Jewish history — with lots of jokes. Kutner says it’s aimed at bar/bat mitzvah age and up — a perfect gift, perhaps? — as well as anyone else who wants a breezy primer through this long and complicated history.
At a time when we’re all in need of a laugh, PAW reached out to Kutner to ask for three humorous books for us to read. He recommended these books about funny history, funny people, and how to write funny books yourself.
Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England’s Kings and Queens
By David Mitchell
I knew David Mitchell better as one half of the British comedy duo Mitchell & Webb, best known for their mind-bendingly funny sketch show That Mitchell & Webb Look. But as an author, Mitchell tackles the entire sweep of British royal history as an absurdist comedian — and makes it seem a propos in his hands. This international bestseller turns a normally eye-glazing catalog of similar names, dates, and arcana into a sharply witty, crackling tale of the worst people ever being given too much power. I read this book every night before bed to get his voice in my head when attempting to take on the more ancient and distant periods of Jewish history.
I’m Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-up Comedy’s Golden Era
By William Knoedelseder
This tells the true, unfortunately more tragic than comic story of Los Angeles’ legendary “Comedy Store” and a huge conflict it underwent in the 1980s. Its owner, Mitzi Shore, had enacted a policy not to pay comedians, citing the “experience” on stage as what they’d get in return. In response, then-fledgling standups like Jay Leno and David Letterman went on strike. Having been in the comedy world and on strike with the WGA twice, I resonated with this riveting tale of the ugly underside of my business.
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
By Julia Cameron
Don’t be fooled by the slightly woo-woo subtitle. This book came into my hands right at the fraught, perilous start of my attempts to “break in” to the entertainment business. For anyone trying to do so as a writer, you absolutely have to put in serious time behind the keyboard before you will generate material worthy to get you work. This book unlocks the creative barriers our minds and society places before the deceptively simple mandate to “get writing.” Two decades in, I still completely rely on one of Cameron’s techniques when starting any new project.
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