Overweight sensation
Subtitle: the life and comedy of Allan Sherman
By: Mark Cohen
Series: Brandeis series in American Jewish history, culture, and life; Brandeis series in American Jewish history, culture, and life
Publisher: Brandeis University Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Waltham, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 353
ISBN-13: 9781611682564; 9781611684278
Subjects: Parody in music; History and criticism; Comedians; Lyricists; Humorous songs; Jewish comedians; Singers; Biography
Other titles: Life and comedy of Allan Sherman
Description: Allan Sherman was the Larry David, the Adam Sandler of 1963. He led Jewish humor and sensibilities out of ethnic enclaves and into the American mainstream with explosively funny parodies of classic songs that won Sherman extraordinary success and acclaim across the board, from Harpo Marx to President Kennedy. Here, Mark Cohen argues persuasively for Sherman's legacy as a touchstone of postwar humor and a turning point in Jewish American cultural history. With exclusive access to Allan Sherman's estate, Cohen has written the first biography of the manic, bacchanalian, and hugely creative artist who sold three million albums in just twelve months, yet died in obscurity a decade later at age 49. Comprehensive, dramatic, stylish, and tragic, Overweight Sensation is the definitive Sherman biography.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical and discographical references (p. 324-339) and index.
Table of contents: title: Prologue. Overweight sensation; title: Introduction. Humpty Dumpty; title: Witz-Krieg!; title: College in sex acts (printer's error); title: I've got a secret; title: There is nothing like a lox; title: Ollavood!; title: My son, the folk singer; title: My son, the celebrity; title: My son, the nut; title: Allan in Wonderland; title: Peyton Place, U.S.A.; title: Oddball; title: Hallowed be thy game; title: Hail to thee, fat person; title: Appendix. "Goldeneh moments from Broadway" and other parody song lyrics.