Larry Wilde
| Larry Wilde | |
|---|---|
Photo by Gregory Wutke
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| Born |
Herman Wildman February 6, 1928 Jersey City, New Jersey, United States |
| Occupation | Comedian, actor, author, motivational speaker, humor historian |
| Years active | 1938–present |
| Known for | Performances in Nightclubs, Concerts, Cruise Ships, Conferences, Conventions, and as an Executive Coach |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Website | larrywilde.com |
Larry Wilde (born Herman Wildman 6 February 1928) is a standup comedian, television and stage actor, motivational speaker, university instructor and publisher. Best known as the author of 53 published books of humor.
Larry Wilde, born Herman Wildman, in Jersey City, New Jersey, 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.
He served in the Second Marine Division from 1946 to 1948. While stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina 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 where he worked his way through school performing at Miami Beach nightclubs and hotels.
President, PEN Los Angeles (Poets, Essayists and Novelists) 1981-1983.
Founder, National Humor Month 1976. 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.
With book sales over 12 million copies, The New York Times 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, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Shelley Berman, Joey Bishop, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Maurice Chevalier, Phyllis Diller, Jimmy Durante, Dick Gregory, Bob Hope, 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.
Wilde's book How The Great Comedy Writers Create Laughter is a unique 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, Bill Dana, Selma Diamond, Jack Douglas, Norman Lear, Hal Kanter, Carl Reiner and Neil Simon.
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