Before women comedians Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, and Elayne Boosler, there was Jean Carroll. We’re talking ‘40s/’50s. I’ve seen some of her ED SULLIVAN SHOW appearances on YouTube and she was damn funny. There’s an article in Emmy Magazine about her and she talks about comedian Alan King stealing one of her signature bits. Here’s that excerpt:
I wrote 95 percent of my material. When he was starting out, Alan King stole "That Dress Is You!" but changed it to buying a suit. One time, when we were, coincidentally, doing the same charity show, I insisted that I go on first — and I did his entire routine, word for word, about sending a kid to camp.
Afterward, I said to the audience, "You like that routine? It's not mine. It belongs to the fellow backstage who now has no act to do for you. Maybe this will teach him not to steal people's acts anymore."
So Alan didn't go on because he couldn't. Years later, he admitted that he'd stolen my act. His cop-out was that he was a poor kid and couldn't afford writers.
I love that story sooooo much. God bless you, Jean Carroll.
from By Ken Levine
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