There's much merit in seeing Mark Twain as the prototypical standup comic. He earned a substantial income from his "lectures," as they were called, perhaps as a professorial euphemism assuaging bourgeois guilt over an evening of fun. The bare fact is that Mark Twain was not only an author, but also the most popular entertainer of his day. Will Rogers was certainly informed by Twain. He grudgingly allowed himself to be called a comedian ("The real comedians are in Congress . . . ."), bringing respectability to what had been a disparaging term. Fred Allen was Rogers's immediate heir, and most later political or "irreverential" satirists, including Lenny Bruce, were spawned by Allen. Go for it, Siva. Pryor is fine. Can't you just see Richard doing the Whittier Dinner Speech? Next best thing to having been there. Alas, Richard's career is done. Who's left? Lily Tomlin in drag? Vicki Richman Bedford, Brooklyn NY