Sadly I think this will be a short thread, but in The Book of Comedy Sketches I have in front of me I notice a sketch by Irene Handl called "Shadows in the Grass" written for her and Peter Sellers, and a sketch written by Hermione Gingold "Bicycling" for herself for small revue. There's always Joyce Grenfell of course, but any more?
There were a lot of women writing comedy before the 1970s in different metiers: novels, short stories, essays, plays, films scripts, teleplays, sketches, songs, poetry, stand-up, monologues, so you might need to refine your terms of reference a little.
Bebe Daniels (Life with the Lions); Carla Lane; Madelyn Pugh Davis who died recently (I Love Lucy); Gertrude Berg (The Goldbergs); Joan Rivers; Elaine May ... Carla being the only British exemplar really.
I didn't know Madelyn Pugh had died. An incredibly prolific writer with her partner, Bob Carroll, Jr. She wrote a book called something like 'Laughing with Lucy' a few years ago, describing how they got to some of the plots for I Love Lucy.
There was a female writer on Your Show of Shows or it may have been Caesar's Hour..Miriam Kalem, I think, something like that.
[quote name="Micheal Jacob" post="785314" date="July 11 2011, 2:27 PM BST
Carla being the only British exemplar really.[/quote]
She's the only TV one I can think of too. It was very much a man's game then. There were funny female novellists about, and I think a joke writer or two, script providers (for comedians), but not many. I think I've heard Galton and Simpsom mention a good female sketch writer they knew but I don't know her name or what sketches she did, but they were on big shows. But they were very rare!
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ July 30 2011, 9:55 AM BSTShe's the only TV one I can think of too. It was very much a man's game then. There were funny female novellists about, and I think a joke writer or two, script providers (for comedians), but not many. I think I've heard Galton and Simpsom mention a good female sketch writer they knew but I don't know her name or what sketches she did, but they were on big shows. But they were very rare!
Could this have been Mollie Millest? She submitted ideas to Beyond Our Ken amongst other places.