Laugh

Portraits of the Greatest Comedians and the Stories They Tell Each Other

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by William Claxton and Mike Thomas

William Morrow & Co.

Due/Published December 1999, 112 pages, cloth

ISBN 0688158919

A stirring combination of photography and narrative, Laugh showcases exquisite black-and-white photographs of fifty comedians and captures a previously unseen side of their character as they reveal, in their own words, what amuses them most. Famous for his smoky, soul-rendering photographs of jazz musicians, William Claxton has an intense rapport with his subjects, evident here more than ever as his lens captures the very essence of these entertainers and the place within them where comedy is born.

From contemporary classics like Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Dan Aykroyd to the hip and hot—Paul Reiser, Margaret Cho, and Jon Stewart—to Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner, and John Cleese, and others who shaped comedy, the men and women of Laugh dare to be themselves before William Claxton's lens. The stories they tell each other for laughs (from Hollywood humiliation to cheeky children) provide a raucous romp that is as dark as it is wry.