Larry Wilde (born Herman Wildman, February 6, 1928 – September 3, 2023) was an American actor, comedian, motivational speaker, university instructor and publisher. He is best known as the author of 53 published books of humor.
Biography
Larry Wilde, born Herman Wildman, in
, was the fourth child of Jewish parents Gertrude and Selig Wildman. His siblings were Milton, Benjamin and Miriam. He chose Larry Wilde as a professional name when he began a career in show business.
Wilde attended
Lincoln High School where he was active in numerous extracurricular activities, including sports editor of the school paper, the Drama Club, president of the student body and the swimming team where he became the Jersey City 100-yard breaststroke champion.
From 1946 to 1948 he was in the Second Marine Division. While stationed at
Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, he wrote, produced, directed and performed in camp stage shows doing comedy routines. Promoted to corporal, he became the first official Marine Corps "non-commissioned comedian".
Wilde graduated from the
University of Miami in
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
where he worked his way through school performing at
Miami Beach nightclubs and hotels.
Wilde died on September 3, 2023, at the age of 95.
Works
Wilde was the president of Poets, Essayists and Novelists (PEN)
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
1981–1983.
In 1976, he founded National Humor Month, celebrated annually in April. It is designed to heighten public awareness on how the joy and therapeutic value of laughter can improve health, boost morale, increase communication skills and enrich the quality of one's life. National Humor Month has been recognized by comedians and institutions across the US including
The Huffington Post, ''Fox News'' (when the comedian
Crystal Powell hosted citywide events in Houston), ''The Farmer's Almanac'' and ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
''.
With book sales over 12 million copies, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' has called him "America’s Best Selling Humorist".
Wilde's book ''Great Comedians Talk About Comedy'' contains inspirational interviews with seventeen great comedians of the 20th century, revealing their secrets on extracting laughter from audiences. The comedians interviewed are
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
,
Jack Benny,
Milton Berle,
Shelley Berman,
Joey Bishop,
George Burns,
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
,
Maurice Chevalier,
Phyllis Diller,
Jimmy Durante,
Dick Gregory,
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
,
George Jessel,
Jerry Lewis,
Jerry Seinfeld,
Danny Thomas and
Ed Wynn. The original tapes of these historical interviews are now part of The Larry Wilde Collection housed in the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
.
Wilde's book ''How The Great Comedy Writers Create Laughter'' is a collection of dialogues with the writers who originate comedy for the stage, television, motion pictures and print publications. They include
Goodman Ace,
Art Buchwald,
Abe Burrows,
Mel Brooks
Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...
,
Bill Dana,
Selma Diamond,
Jack Douglas,
Norman Lear,
Hal Kanter,
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...
and
Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...
.
Discography
*''The Joker is Wilde'' Dot Records
*''The Official Polish/Italian Comedy Album''
Filmography
Books
* ''The Official Polish/Italian Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1973
* ''The Official Jewish/Irish Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1974
* ''More The Official Polish/Italian Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1975
* ''The Official Black Folks/White Folks Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1975
* ''The Official Virgins/Sex Maniacs Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1975
* ''The Official Democrat/Republican Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1976
* ''The Official Religious/Not So Religious Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1976
* ''How the Great Comedy Writers Create Laughter'', Nelson Hall, 1976
* ''The Official Golfers Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1977
* ''The Official Smart Kids/Dumb Parents Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1977
* ''Last Official Polish Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1977
* ''The Official Cat Lovers/Dog Lovers Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1978
* ''The Official Dirty Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1978
* ''The Last Official Italian Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1978
* ''The Complete Book of Ethnic Humor'', Pinnacle, 1978
* ''More Official Jewish/Irish Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1979
* ''The Official Book of Sick Jokes'', Pinnacle, 1979
* ''More Official Smart Kids/Dumb Parents Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1979
* ''Last Official Jewish Joke Book'', Bantam, 1980
* ''More Official Democrat/Republican Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1980
* ''The Official Bedroom/Bathroom Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1980
* ''The Official Doctors Joke Book'', Bantam, 1981
* ''More The Official Sex Maniacs Joke Book'', Bantam, 1981
* ''The Official Lawyers Joke Book'', Bantam, 1982
* ''Last Official Sex Maniacs Joke Book'', Bantam, 1982
* ''Larry Wilde Book of Limericks'', Bantam, 1982
* ''The Absolutely Last Official Polish Joke Book'', Bantam, 1983
* ''The Last Official Smart Kids Joke Book'', Bantam, 1983
* ''Last Official Irish Joke Book'', Bantam, 1983
* ''The Official Politicians Joke Book'', Bantam, 1984
* ''The Official Rednecks Joke Book'', Bantam, 1984
* ''Absolutely Last Official Sex Maniacs Joke Book'', Bantam, 1985
* ''The Official Book of John Jokes'', Bantam, 1985
* ''The Official Sports Maniacs Joke Book'', Bantam, 1985
* ''More The Official Doctors Joke Book'', Bantam, 1986
* ''The Official Executives Joke Book'', Bantam, 1986
* ''Ultimate Jewish Joke Book'', Bantam, 1986
* ''The Ultimate Lawyers Joke Book'', Bantam, 1987
* ''The Official WASP Joke Book'', Bantam. 1988
* ''The Official All America Joke Book'', Bantam, 1988
* ''The Larry Wilde Library of Laughter'', Jester Press, 1988
* ''The Ultimate Sex Maniacs Joke Book'', Bantam, 1989
* ''The Ultimate Book of Ethnic Humor'', Bantam, 1989
* ''The Official Computer Freaks Joke Book'' (with
Steve Wozniak), Bantam, 1989
* ''The Ultimate Pet Lovers Joke Book'', Bantam, 1990
* ''The Merriest Book of Christmas Humor'', Bantam, 1991
* ''The Official Locker Room Joke Book'', Bantam, 1991
* ''The Official Golf Lovers Joke Book'', Bantam, 1992
* ''The Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest Joke Book'', Pinnacle, 1996
* ''You're Never Too Old To Laugh'', Pinnacle, 1997
* ''When You’re Up to Your Eyeballs In Alligators'', Jester Press, 2000 (revised 2006)
* ''Great Comedians Talk About Comedy'', Citadel Press, 1968 (revised) Executive Books/Jester Press, 2000
* ''The Larry Wilde Treasury of Laughter'', Jester Press, 2006
References
External links
Official Larry Wilde website*
fro
Famous Quotes and Authors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilde, Larry
1928 births
2023 deaths
American stand-up comedians
American motivational speakers
American humorists
American male television actors
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American comedians
Jewish male comedians
Lincoln High School (New Jersey) alumni
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews
Male actors from Jersey City, New Jersey
American male comedians
Comedians from Jersey City, New Jersey