Review by Booklist Review
Last time out, Burns, whose writing career picked up considerably after he turned 90, wrote about his lifelong love affair with his wife, Gracie Allen. Now he turns for inspiration to his best friends. Of course, when you're 94, most of your best friends are long gone. Still, Burns' pals made a great group, and readers (especially those of a certain age themselves) will enjoy hearing stories about such show business legends as Al Jolson, Fanny Brice, Groucho Marx, and, of course, Burns' best friend, Jack Benny. Whether Burns is disclosing the identity of Jimmy Durante's Mrs. Calabash or exposing Benny's many neuroses, he does it with humor and kindness. Burns' writing style can only be described as rambling, but like his easygoing manner, that's part of the charm. --Ilene Cooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In the spirit of Gracie: A Love Story and Burns's other books, this memoir is funny and touching. Now in his 90s, the veteran comic, writing with freelancer Fisher, describes life in show business from the 1900s onward, recalling how he and his young friends broke into vaudeville and made it to stardom on radio, in films and on TV. The master raconteur invigorates his story with anecdotes about Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker, Jolson, Fannie Brice, Jack Benny, the Marx Brothers et al., fellow performers living today only in memory. ``Most of what I said is true, the rest is show business,'' Burns disarmingly admits. In any case, this is a singularly entertaining, personal history. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
