Simon Louvish Knihy

'I used to be Snow White, but I drifted...' Drawing on unpublished material from Mae West's personal papers, acclaimed biographer Simon Louvish offers us the first comprehensive book on West's legendarily sassy life and work. He examines her early vaudeville career, her transgressive and controversial Broadway plays (such as Sex), and her film career. The book also tracks Mae's later career from the 1940s through the 1970s, with new material on her larger-than-life Las Vegas and nightclub acts, and fascinating insight into her life with her companion-till-death, Paul Novak. Louvish, having inspected reams of West's private writings, also provides a completely new perspective on her as an original writer and creator, and traces the origin and development of the famous 'Mae West quips'. This is certainly the first book to tell West's tale with verifiable accuracy, as one of the great showbiz sagas of the twentieth century. It is both a distinctively American and rambunctiously universal tale.

A study of one of the cinema's most famous artists, Charlie Chaplin, whose Tramp persona is famous the world over, even to those who have never seen his films.

Focusing on the life of W. C. Fields, this biography delves into his journey from vaudeville to film, revealing his comedic genius and personal complexities. Simon Louvish meticulously explores Fields's self-crafted persona, his battles with Hollywood, and his fondness for family, including his grandchildren. The book is celebrated for its rich anecdotes from the vaudeville era and thorough research, positioning Fields as a pivotal figure in comedy. Critics praise it as a definitive and captivating portrayal of the iconic entertainer.

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy both passed away in the 1950s, yet their films still have the power to reduce audiences old and new to helpless laughter. Laurel inspired Hardy to forge their famous double act, in which Laurel played the eternal comic fool, Hardy his temperamental master.

It's a Gift is Norman McLeod's classic comedy of disasters, in which W.C. Fields plays a general-store proprietor who buys an orange-ranch by mail and transports his family to California. This study features a brief production history and detailed filmography.

The book offers a comprehensive narrative biography of the iconic comedy duo, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, tracing their lives from birth to death. It fills a gap in the literature by providing a fully researched account of their enduring legacy and popularity since 1927. Celebrated by fans worldwide, this biography delves into both their personal and professional journeys, offering insights into their unique partnership and the impact they had on the world of comedy.

Presents a portrait of the father of American slapstick--the iron worker-turned-actor who pioneered a dizzying vocabulary of on-camera gags, gaffes, and gyrations.

This is the first full and properly researched biography of all five Marx Brothers—Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo and Zeppo. First and foremost, this is the saga of a family whose theatrical roots stretch back to mid-19th century Germany. From Groucho Marx’s first warblings with the singing Leroy Trio, this book brings to life the vanished world of America’s wild and boisterous variety circuits, leading to the Marx Brothers’ Broadway successes and their alliance with New York’s theatrical lions, George S. Kaufman and the “Algonquin Round Table.” Never-before-published scripts, well-minted Marxian dialogue, and much madness and mayhem feature in this tale of the Brothers’ battles with Hollywood, their films, their loves and marriages, and the story of the forgotten brother Gummo.

With a foreword by the actor, director, and playwright described as “the greatest living exponent of Groucho Marx’s material” by The New York Times, and text by the author of Monkey Business, a biography of the Marx Brothers, this bio brings the wisecracking, cigar-chomping, eyebrow-raising comedian to life on the page. Groucho discusses such issues as the film Duck Soup, the rules of comedy, the directors he worked with, and his talented brothers Harpo and Chico (“You know, of course, those two aren’t really acting when they play those scenes. They’re just being themselves.”).

Enlightening and exhaustively researched biography that makes use of her recently uncovered personal papers. Sex goddess, Hollywood star, transgressive playwright, author, blues singer, and vaudeville brat—Mae West remains the twentieth century’s greatest comedienne. She made an everlasting mark in trailblazing Broadway plays such as Sex and The Constant Sinner and in films such as She Done Him Wrong, Klondike Annie, and I’m No Angel. Simon Louvish brings Mae to vibrant life in this unparalleled new biography. He charts her amazing seven decades in show business, from early years in teenage summer stock to her last reincarnation as 1960s gay icon and grande dame of Hollywood survivors. Mae West: It Ain’t No Sin is the first biography to make use of Mae’s recently uncovered personal papers, offering an unprecedented view into the endless creative drive and daring wit of this legendary star.