Lawrence J. Epstein grew up in Queens, New York with his brother Richard. Epstein excelled early at avoiding homework by watching numerous comedians on television. His troubled parents gave him a tape recorder to take his mind off Groucho, and all the other comedians he watched. The young boy used the recorder to make up routines with friends who, for some reason, refused to laugh at his uproarious jokes.

Epstein survived the hike up the mountain of learning until he became a professor of English. He taught courses in journalism and mass media as well as writing. His students thought he was very funny. He knows this because he asked them before every test if they liked his jokes, and they always said they did.

Along the way, a young woman named Sharon took pity on him and married him. They produced four children-Michael, Elana, Rachel, and Lisa. His children did not think he was funny, even after he threatened to cut off their allowance.

Luckily, though, he got to write about a lot of people who were very funny in his book Mixed Nuts: America's Love Affair with Comedy Teams From Burns and Allen to Belushi and Aykroyd.

You can read a section of that book on this site. If you want to, you can also order the book. Please, though. If you read it and don't think it is funny, don't tell him. He's had a hard enough life.