5 comments about Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square.

1. "The Hollywood Squares" debuted before I was born, but I was able to enjoy the last 3-4 years of the original run. This book is a very detailed and fascinating look back at the origins of the show, including Peter Marshall's pre-"Squares" career, the stars I grew up with and the jokes I was too young to understand, the behind-the-scenes work done by the show's writers and crew members, and who really came up with the "because chiffon wrinkles" line. In addition, a CD of the long-out-of-print "Zingers from The Hollywood Squares" album is included. People who don't have tapes of the original show or don't want to watch low-quality copies on YouTube will have fun hearing some of the show's funniest quips from Paul, Wally, Rose Marie and the gang. This is highly recommended for any "Squares" fan, even if you missed out on the original version.



2. In the late sixties and seventies, Hollywood Squares was my favorite game show. It combined some of the best jokes ever heard on television with questions that really made you think. Unlike many of the current shows that use only `B' class celebrities, the biggest and best stars appeared on Squares. Even older stars such as Gloria Swanson, Bob Hope, Glenn Ford and Henny Youngman all made at least one appearance on the show.
   Peter Marshall hosted the show for all sixteen years of its original run and this book is his recollection of the most memorable moments. It is not a true tell-all book; there are times when he uses the "who shall remain nameless" phrase. One of the more interesting problems that Marshall had as host was trying to get the stars, especially the comedians, to shorten their monologues. In fact, he points out that one of the most difficult stars was Jackie Mason. Not because he had an attitude problem or that he wasn't funny, but because his jokes were too long.
   It is obvious that Peter Marshall truly enjoyed his job hosting Hollywood Squares. He clearly had a lot of fun and that the overwhelming majority of the stars were easy to deal with and also had fun doing the show. That was one of the characteristics that made it so appealing. In the era of celebrity nastiness and bickering, this book is a pleasant reminder that it wasn't always that way.



3. Peter Marshall(Joanne Dru's Brother) did a superb Job writing his book along with a small biography of his life and career as a game show host.Hopefully,he might someday write or encourage a biography of his sister, the beautiful and reknowned actress Joanne Dru.It would be a labor of love and a beautiful tribute!!So spread the word!!I'm sure that a publisher somewhere, especially in her home state of West Virginia would love to publish it!!



4. An interesting document, and ok in the absence of other records of the time. It's too bad that Bill Armstrong (Squares writer, producer, legendary wit, broadly reputed source of Paul Lynde's best lines, and co-author Adrienne Armstrong's ex-husband) didn't live to have his name on a better book about a period he knew and could have described better than anyone. Unfortunately, Bill Armstrong perished, and others published.



5. Game show host Peter Marshall sheds some light on the famous game show and you can't lose with this much information to draw on. However, there are some missing goodies.

   We are treated to a somewhat humble biography about Peter Marchall, but it's mostly forgettable fluff. Every celebrity from the show is listed in the voluminous Index with a select handful being recognized with a page or two of biographical information. Most notable are Rose Marie, Dolly Parton, Vincent Price, Alice Cooper, Wally Cox, Milton Berle, Ruth Buzzie, Jonathan Winters and, of course, Paul Lynde. Marshall mentions tons of jokes that each celebrity has aired with some funny personal facts as well. The jokes are truly funny, but we learn that most of them were not written by the stars and no credibility is given to those that did. You might think that some interesting personal trivia would be exposed, but Marshall is very protective of his gang. Even Paul Lynde's widely known personal sexual life is ignored, covered by Marshall's proclaimed naivety and replaced with a story about Paul's devotion to his dog.

   It's still a great quick read full of jokes and some vintage pictures form the sixties and seventies. One of the highlights is a CD included that has 45 minutes of jokes from the television show. It's not Dolby Surround Sound by any means, but the point is the jokes and delivery and they are real side-splitters.

   Example: Q: What fictional character ran around screaming, "I'm late, "I'm late"? Paul Lynde: That was Alice, and her mother's sick about it.

No comments about George M. Cohan: The Man Who Owned Broadway (A Da Capo paperback).

No comments about A Woman Killed with Kindness and Other Domestic Plays (Oxford World's Classics).

2 comments about How to Become a Ventriloquist (Try Your Hand at Ventriloquism).

1. For about five bucks you can't go wrong. It has some useful tips on ventriloquism for beginners, but there's not a lot of info in this book. I would suggest picking up something else in addition to this book.



2. Edgar Bergen takes us on a personal voyage through his world and beyond, Ventriloquism. Bergen tells us "there is no deep, dark mystery about Ventriloquism" and exposes the secrets and Illusions of Near and Distant Ventriloquism, figure making as well as the start of his showbiz companion Charlie McCarthy. A book well worth reading and a history worth knowing.

No comments about Brahms - A Listener's Guide: Unlocking the Masters Series (Unlocking the Masters).

3 comments about Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons.

1. Rosenbaum proves himself once again to be among the most knowledgeable and eloquent film critics in print today. Unlike some of his other volumes such as "Movie Wars," Rosenbaum doesn't discuss the grim realities of corporate Hollywood so much (although he does comment on filmmakers who have been treated unfairly by the system), as he evaluates directors and films which he believes are of historical and artistic importance, such as Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, Eric Von Stroheim, Yasujiro Ozu, and Sam Fuller. Rosenbaum writes with clarity and insight on a number of film-related topics, such as screenwriting and mise en scene. He's remarkably intelligent and has a keen eye for film aesthetics; he's passionate about the French director Jacques Tati which is slightly problematic because Rosenbaum worked as an assistant for Tati for a time which may slant his opinions of the auteur. Never the less, Essential Cinema is one of the best collections of film criticism I've read in a while, and his personal favorite 1,000 movies list is a valuable resource, though I disagree with a number of selections. The book is a worthwhile purchase for any cinephile.



2. A inexhaustible book, that truly deserves its title. Jonathan Rosenbaum is a sparkling writer, an absolute master in film criticism and analysis, and his brilliant fight in favor of the diversity and quality of cinema is historical.



3. Jonathan Rosenbaum's new volume of film criticism is somewhat different from his earlier collections. Long critical of the hegemony of Hollywood and the way commerical hype has overshadowed criticism, Rosenbaum's new book pays strikingly little attention to movies the average American is likely to have heard of, let alone seen. Whereas past volumes contained notable polemics against Woody Allen, "Mississipi Burning," and "Forrest Gump," Hollywood pictures are rather rare here. There are Rosenbaum's vigorous defences of "Eyes Wide Shut," and "A.I.", as well as a unsurpringly contemptuous article on "Pretty Woman." There is a cold dissection of the evasions of "Taxi Driver" that is especially acute about how Travis Bickle's racism is whitewashed, so to speak. "Fargo" is compared to Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Decalogue" and does not come off well in the bargain. There are unsurprisingly respectful articles in praise of "Greed", "M", "Rear Window," and Orson Welles. Somewhat on the edge of the average American moviegoer's consciousness, there are articles in praise of "Ghost Dog," and "Waking Life."

   But overall this is a book that is decidedly internationalist and highbrow in its choice, although Rosenbaum's reasoning can lead to the most surprising choices. One should look at the appendix where Rosenbaum lists his one thousand favorite movies, with his favorite one hundred starred with an asterix. Rather strikingly, only six Oscar winners for best picture make the list, and only one, "The Best Years of Our Lives," makes his top one hundred. Only one nominee for Best Picture since 1988, 1998's "The Thin Red Line," makes the list. Yet almost every major film-maker appears on this list at least once. Although James Cameron is one of the few exceptions, Blake Edwards appears with "The Party," while Brian de Palma appears twice, including 2002's underrated "Femme Fatale." This is a list where Steven Spielberg is represented by his two biggest commercial disappointments. This is a list where "Bram Stoker's Dracula," trumps "The Godfather" movies, where "Bitter Moon" outraces "Chinatown" and "Tess," where "King of Comedy," beats "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," and "Goodfellas," and where "The Young Girls of Rochefort" and "Guys and Dolls," are Rosenbaum's favorite musicals. At the same time "Ishtar" is one of Rosenbaum's favorite Hollywood films from the eighties. Meanwhile Chaplin, Welles, Hitchcock, Godard, Bresson, and Kiarostami take pride of place.

   Looking from this list back to the book proper we see many articles which help explain the many movies on the list that American readers are unlikely to have heard of. The choices are almost defiantly internationalist, highbrow and experimental, and with the exception of J. Hoberman, it is hard to think of any comparable critic sharing the same values and willing to ignore the middlebrow consensus. Who would have thought, before looking at this book, that the most important filmakers in the world today came from Iran and Taiwan? Who would remind its readers that French cinema is not dead but in fact making major works deserving of our attention? Who, on the other hand, would object to the inaccurate sneer that the French are overly fond of Jerry Lewis, but devote an article to one of his directors, Frank Tashlin? In reminding us of Hollywood directors who need to be remembered, who would choose Otto Preminger? And so we get praise of Communist documentarian Jorge Iven's final film. We also read about the perestroika experiment "The Asthenic Syndrome," and the 7 hour Hungarian film "Satantango." Although he praises experimental films from Guy Maddin and Raul Ruiz, he can also praise Jacques Rivette's "Up Down Fragile," as a subtly utopian unprofessional musical. He can devote an article on Bunuel to one of his least known works "The Young One." And he can praise him, Anthony Mann, Charles Burnett, Bela Tarr and other film makers for their moral subtlety and their generous sympathy in the way they eschew simple moralism and simple heroes and villians.

   How does one praise a critic when one hasn't seen, or even heard of most of the movies he reviews? Looking more closely I might wish that he expanded his criticism of Robert Warshow and his comments in praise of "My Son John," an anti-communist thriller that Warshow argued was an attack on rational thought. And comparisons between the post-war Soviet film scene and cold war Hollywood strike me as a bit glib. On the other hand, Rosenbaum possesses striking virtues, such as independence of mind, a strong appreciation of the formal qualities of a film, and an intense curiosity about other cultures. Anyone reading this book will learn about hordes of filmmakers who have not received their due. These are invaluable qualities, especially in a world where many critics are simply bought and paid for, while others are just not very bright, and others still are so numbed by trivial Hollywood blockbusters they're suckers for the fall and winter Oscarbait.

No comments about Poi Spinning: A Jam-packed Guide.

No comments about Brain-compatible Dance Education.

No comments about Dying Swans and Madmen: Ballet, the Body, and Narrative Cinema.

No comments about Actor's Choice: Monologues for Women (Actor's Choice).