Top of the literary comedy heap for me is Robert Benchley and the only reason H. Allen Smith is
second, ahead of Fred Allen is output-most of Fred's genius was expressed through his radio show, which hasn't much survived to present day. Benchley and H. Allen made book on books, collections of their magazine and newspaper writings, which I have on my shelves.
Of Fred Allen, I only have one book, the collection of his letters which sparkled with wit. He had a comedic mind, view of life and command of language which makes him very readable/re-readable.
He made a few movies, had great success on radio and was known as one of the true gentlemen in 'show business'. Most of the biggest celebrities were honored to be known as his friend. Check him out if you need a laugh.
1 comment:
As for the lower case in the title-in his letters he wrote only in lower case. UPPERCASE was used for his radio scripts and I think he liked to keep his public and private writings separate by usage.
A man could sound pretty smart by quoting Fred Allen, which is why I didn't even try in this post. He's more fun to discover for yourself.
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