A one-foot-wide bronze mask dating to around 1100 b.c. emerges from beneath a bronze vessel containing cowrie shells during recent excavations at the site of Sanxingdui in China’s Sichuan Province.

The path of post-superstardom is a treacherous one for big-screen comedians, paved as it is with second-rate opportunities for dramedy schmaltz (See: Robin Williams in Patch Adams), wretched remakes ...