‘A Laugh, a Tear,’ a Protest

We who produce television programs are subject to constant review and criticism by our audiences, media critics and our peers. Therefore, a negative review can be taken positively when it is given with honest and objective evaluation and with constructive intent. It can assist a producer in his growth, insight and future development. However, I do not feel that way about Lawrence Christon’s scathing and hostile attack on “A Laugh, a Tear” (Dec. 11).

First, he mistitled the program. It was not subtitled, as he indicated, “A Star-Studded Salute to Black America.” The correct subtitle of the show was “A Star-Studded Salute to Black American Humor”! I believe there is a significant difference. Christon commented that black comedy “doesn’t need to be as tediously respectable and aggrieved as this program would plump it up to be.” He also indicated that the program does not need “the backstage exposition.” It would seem that Christon felt strongly that this show on black comedy should not have been produced.

What, I ask, is Christon’s fear of America learning about the roots of black comedy? He obviously does not understand that black comedy has in so many ways mirrored the experiences of black America, be they the laugh or the tear. How can one over the years look at comedians like Richard Pryor, Flip Wilson, Stepin Fetchit, Moms Mabley, Sinbad, Bill Cosby, Whoopi Goldberg, etc., etc., and not at least be curious as to the motivating factors which inspired their routines.

Throughout entertainment history, black comedians have played a most prominent role in the evolution of comedy. On that basis alone, their contributions should be examined. Black comedians through the years have gone up on lonely stages telling the laugh and the tear of their life experiences, which is very different from their white counterparts.

It became obvious in going through hundreds of hours of tapes, newspaper clippings, interviews, etc., that over the years black comedians have mirrored the progress and limitations of the black culture in which they lived, and that progress continues with today’s black comedians.

Christon indicated that “black comedy need not be explained . . . just performed,” implying that the audience would be neither in need of nor interested in the total picture. This is very presumptuous. During the taping sessions with comedians as diverse as Bill Cosby and Redd Foxx, one thing became obvious. They all had a lot to say about black comedy and themselves as purveyors of the art form. Many of the comedians actually shed tears while relaying their experiences. This “backstage exposition” had been bottled up for decades waiting for someone who cared enough to ask.

We have received and overwhelmingly positive response to “A Laugh, a Tear” in Los Angeles and from around the nation. And that response is from both black and white viewers. Obviously, the viewing audience sees the value in learning about the roots of black comedy.

We live in a world of multinational media conglomerates where huge companies buy huge companies. It is amazing that any small company can survive. Yet SI Communications, for more than 10 years, has managed to carve out a niche in radio and television by producing significant and entertaining programming about black America, which the majors for the most part have ignored. “A Laugh, a Tear” is an important part of that niche.

SI Communications will continue to produce significant programs that show the progress of black America in its various stages. Programs like “Story of a People,” “The Other Side of Victory,” “Red Hot & Cool” and others yet to come. At the same time, to survive, we must remain profitable in this most difficult and competitive industry. It is, I admit, quite a challenge.