What’s so Funny?

What’s So Funny by Tim Conway.

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Howard Books;(May 13, 2014)
ISBN-10: 1476726531

Six-time Emmy Award-winning funny man Tim Conway, best known for his roles on The Carol Burnett Show, offers a straight-shooting and hilarious memoir about his life on stage and off as an actor and comedian.
In the annals of TV history, few entertainers have captured as many hearts, tickled as many funny bones, and brought as many families together in living rooms across America as Tim Conway. In What’s So Funny? he brings his hilarious hijinks from the screen to the page.
Conway’s often-improvised humor, razor-sharp timing, and hilarious characters have made him one of the funniest and most authentic performers to grace the stage and studio. As Carol Burnett has said, “there’s no one funnier” than Tim Conway. Now, Conway takes us on a seventy-year, rags-to-riches journey that is touchingly comical and ultimately inspiring, from his pranks in small Ohio classrooms during the Great Depression to his pitch-perfect performances on national TV and in major motion pictures. Along the way, Conway shares hilarious and often moving accounts of the glory days of The Carol Burnett Show; his famous partnerships with entertainment greats like Harvey Korman, Don Knotts, and Dick Van Dyke; and his friendships with stars like Betty White, Bob Newhart, and, of course, Carol Burnett, who also provides an intimate foreword to the book.
As Conway continues to tour the country giving live comedy performances that enchant his always eager audiences, What’s So Funny? brings his warmth, humor, and heart to delight and inspire fans everywhere.

There is no one who can make me laugh so hard I cry and not even say a word… except Tim Conway.   So when he wrote this book I knew I wanted to have it, and my girlfriend Michelle made sure I had it for my birthday!

Along with serious things Tim’s humor is far from silent throughout the book! 

I remember seeing many appearances that he did.  The movies with Don Knotts , McHale's Navy other guest spots and of course Carol Burnett, which is where I see him in my mind even when I just hear his name.

He talks about the “elephant” routine and the “dentist” routine like they happened yesterday and lord knows I would laugh as much now as I did back then.  One scene he didn’t mention but always stuck in my mind is one with Tim and Harvey Korman on the Carol Burnett Show where somehow Tim winds up “hung up” (sitting) on the door knob of the door.  My memory sucks but my guess is that Harvey did not expect to see him on the door knob…and so starts the uncontrolled laughter.  It became a game with Tim, “how long will it take me to get Harvey to laugh?”…generally it wasn’t very long!

Tim’s huge ability to improvise at the drop of a hat would throw off everyone on the show and then it became a challenge of who could “not laugh”…yeah right.

This is a good book giving you background information on Tim’s life and also filled with comical stories that helped fill that life.  Many of those stories I remember seeing for myself… but if you don’t know them.. you might want to read this book.

Thank you Tim Conway for always making me laugh..how I wish you were my neighbor !

You Must Remember This

You Must Remember This by Robert J Wagner.

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Viking Adult;(March 11, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0670026093

From Booklist

Wagner and Eyman, who coauthored Wagner’s 2008 autobiography, Pieces of My Heart, this time tell the story of a place and a time: Hollywood from the 1930s through the ’60s. Divided into topical chapters, including “Houses and Hotels,” “Style,” and “Nightlife,” the book follows Hollywood from its early days—until Cecil B. DeMille arrived in 1913, Hollywood was just another place outside Los Angeles—through its heady decades as the trendsetter in style and popular culture, and ending with the collapse of the studio system, when profits were in steep decline and many of the Golden Age stars were dying or aging out of the spotlight. You can tell that Wagner, whose acting career started when the Golden Age was its most golden, truly misses that time and place; his fondness for it and his distaste for the modern way of moviemaking come through on almost every page. For Wagner, the emblems of Hollywood at its grandest—the mansions, the stars, the parties, the watering holes—evoke a better world, and his account of how it was then just may leave nostalgic readers similarly affected. --David Pitt

I can’t say I am a “die-hard” fan of Robert Wagner's, though I  have enjoyed parts of his career .  But the write up on this book sounded like something I would enjoy.  I do like reading things about early Hollywood, and this was actually pretty interesting.

It was nothing like a Biography although his comparisons  could only be from “what he heard it was like” and when he was finally in Hollywood himself.

For a small book he did pack a lot of info, along with a lot of namedropping, which in this case was more informative then an ego boost.  Re: who bought what property when and for how much and how quickly prices went up to make someone even richer then they were.   Also information on the old “hangouts” for celebrities such as Restaurants and places to maybe gamble. (many before Wagner’s time).

It also included old Hotels and Houses and the people who were stars back then.

All in all I did enjoy this book.  I always enjoy learning about old Hollywood..not sure why but I do.  Just like I still enjoy the old stars and their black and white movies.   I guess it’s because I’m old … but I won’t stop enjoying it all!

The Titans Curse

This is book 5 for Once Upon a Time.

The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan.

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion;(April 8, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1423101480

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Just after finding Bianca and Nico, two newly discovered half-bloods, Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and Thalia end up trapped between a helicopter and a manticore. Artemis and her Hunters save the day, but Annabeth disappears over a cliff; then Artemis rushes off to hunt a dangerous monster. Back at Camp Half-Blood, the Oracle foretells that Artemis must be rescued and makes a prediction that bodes ill for one of their number—but which one? Percy, who is supposed to remain behind while others pursue the quest, follows in search of the missing Annabeth. Their adventures range widely across the U.S., taking them to locales that include Washington, D.C., and the deserts of the Southwest and pitting them against the usual assortment of colorful adversaries. The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is built around a terrific idea—that the half-mortal offspring of Greek gods live among us, playing out struggles of mythic scale—and Riordan takes it from strength to strength with this exciting installment, adding even more depth to the characters and story arc while retaining its predecessors' nonstop laughs and action. Tixier Herald, Diana

First off, I have to admit that these three Percy Jackson books were all very enjoyable.

Not only did they have fast paced and continual adventure and excitement but they had comedic moments too.  You can’t ask for much more can you??  Oh and did I mention Olympus and all (ALL) the gods?? oh yeah..even outing their dirty laundry on having children with humans! (Somehow having a… ummm… relationship with a 15 ft high God seems a bit ..ummm impossible, but then when one is a God I guess there are no limits! lol

Oh! and let me not forget that during their adventures there a monsters of all sorts trying to kill them!  (“are we having fun yet?”)  But then, on occasion Mama or Papa God will help… just a little.  :o)

I can’t say a lot ..the review says it all.. I can only had that they are enjoyable, very easy reading, and the characters quickly grow on you .