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Arts and Entertainment


Hollywood writer from Cleveland dissects comedy
New book from Dan O’Shannon, writer-director of “Modern Family," "Newhart,” “Cheers,” “Frasier"
by WKSU's KABIR BHATIA


Reporter
Kabir Bhatia
 
Dan O'Shannon spent years honing his comedic chops as a stand-up in Cleveland till he headed for Hollywood in the 1980s.
Courtesy of Dan O'Shannon
In The Region:
Dan O’Shannon grew up in Cleveland before heading to Hollywood and writing for classic sitcoms like “Newhart,” “Cheers,” “Frasier” and “Modern Family.” Now, after decades in the business, he’s deconstructed what makes us laugh in his first book, titled “What Are You Laughing At? A Comprehensive Guide to the Comedic Event.” WKSU’s Kabir Bhatia spoke with the Emmy-winning author about the science of comedy.
Hollywood writer from Cleveland dissects comedy

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Dan O'Shannon's first book
One man's laugh is another man's snore and one day, Dan O'Shannon wanted to know why. The veteran writer-producer had read other books about comedy and found they often did not examine the subject thoroughly.

“I think a lot of theorists will start to deconstruct jokes. And when you think about it, jokes are such a small part of what we laugh at in any given day of our lives. When we’re laughing with our friends, we’re laughing at something someone does. We see things around us, they make us laugh for many different reasons. And the idea that jokes hold all the answers is a little bit limiting.”

In "What Are You Laughing At?,” O'Shannon attempts to find out why people are amused by everything from The Three Stooges to "Frasier" and all the shades of comedy in between. He includes no peer-reviewed scientific experiments, opting instead for the edge that working on some of the most successful sitcoms in history has given him.

{Click above for Q&A}

In his book, Dan O'Shannon recounts one comedy-defying moment from a "Mary Tyler Moore" episode he watched as a teenager.

Along with stories on how TV is made, "What Are You Laughing At?" includes Dan O'Shannon's Unified Theory of Comedy, which attempts to do for laughter what E-equals-mc-squared did for physics.
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