Customer Reviews

Daddy's Boy: A Son's Shocking Account of Life with a Famous Father

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Brilliant piece of humor from Chris Elliott and his legendary father, Bob. Penned back when the original "Late Night with David Letterman" was in its heyday on NBC and the younger Elliott was regularly causing mayhem there, father and son alternate chapters. Chris' tale is a Hellish child of a celebrity existence beneath the uncaring shadow of his showbiz father, who is portrayed as an upper-crust megalomaniacal tyrant that would make the Joan Crawford of "Mommie Deartest" look like a sweetheart. Bob's rebuttal chapters barely mention Chris and are the kinds of wonderful deadpan non-sequiters that made Bob & Ray famous. David Letterman wrote the forward, and the book is full of non-stop bellylaughs, with bizarre and hysterical references to things like Bella Abzug floppy hats and of course Gold Toe socks! For fans of Chris' later books, the cult sitcom "Get a Life", "Late Night" of the 1980s or Bob & Ray, this book is a must-read.

I read this book ages ago and enjoyed it completely. Chris Elliott is one of the most underrated comics around and this book is proof. Virtually nobody has read it, but everyone who has loves it.

Chris Elliott had, prior to writing Daddy's Boy, proven himself to be THE interpreter of tortured genius Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Reading this tour-de-force gives us an insight into how one so seemingly insouciant as Mr. Elliott could render such pain so forcibly yet tenderly as he did in his one man show where he played the presidential paraplegic and tempest-tossed castaway. For we see that his own life has been a nightmare picaresque, a bob-and-weave in the eternal boxing match with the father. Daddy's Boy is a roller coaster ride through the bowels of hell from start to finish. If you liked Richard III, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and A Night Without Armor, you will run naked through your mother's boudoir due to the thrill you'll receive from Daddy's Boy.

Chris and Bob Elliott's collaborative, non-fiction tale of the ravages of excess and the price of fame could well be the single most intriguing piece of literature ever unleashed upon an unsuspecting public. Once read, it can never be forgotten; it is indeed a work which stays with the reader forever.

Beginning with an introduction by David Letterman, who reveals to readers just how little of Chris was left by the time he met the late-night TV host, Daddy's Boy never lets up in it relentless unpleasantness. Chris suffers humiliation after humiliation, all the while attempting to succeed while being crushed under the long shadow cast by his father's falling star.

There is no doubt some readers who come across Daddy's Boy will doubt the veracity of some of the stories Chris relates (certainly no father, no matter how crazed by constant public attention, would force his sons to wear gold-toe socks so often, or to share in his all-consuming obsession with them). However, there is no doubting Elliott's abilities as an author, and dutiful reporter of the facts of his childhood.

"The sea is a cruel mistress..." begins Chris' story of he and his father's fateful cruise on the Andrea Doria. Chris goes on to describe the sea's rage with invigorating use of metaphor and simile, finally warning readers that "...it is schizophrenic... it must be stopped."

Other readers may be confused by Bob Elliott's seemingly unrelated chapters, but this is easily explained: Confronted with the horror which was visited upon his son, Elliott refuses to acknowledge Chris' damning portrayal of a star gone mad.

Daddy's Boy is an important work; indeed, it is one of the great lost pieces of literature of the last two decades. Thus ends my tale.

I laughed my ass off, non-stop, from cover to cover.

Any questions?

Chris Elliott takes you on a candid journey through his tormented life as the son of a famous Father. You will relive a day in an AA meeting where Chris is drinking Rob Roy's, and all the time wondering why they can't have one or two without feeling the urge to drink themselves into oblivion. He takes you to his fatty teen years where he has to be carried to school in a crane, and accompany Him on a fateful trip on the Andrea Doria. This book is without a doubt the best book I've ever read!! I've read it 4 times, and I'll keep rereading it.

And that's the reason Chris interpolated THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE into DADDY'S BOY. Pamela Sue was at the apogee of her scrumptiousness in 1973. In the squeezy-wet summer of her sweet goosey youth. Don't be fooled by Chris's distractionary references to "the leggy blonde in the wedgie sandals". Carol Lynley means nothing to Chris. There's only you, Pamela Sue. Only you.

If Bobby Darin was a triple-threat, Bobby Elliott was a megatuple-threat: "When I entered his world, he was at his height. You couldn't turn on the radio without hearing his deep manly baritone belting out a lilting romantic lullaby. You couldn't go to the movies without seeing his rock-solid shoulders and receding hairline fill the screen, and you couldn't go to the supermarket without seeing his cherubic face emblazoned on the labels of Bob Elliott's Famous Salad Dressing, or Bob Elliott's Popcorn, Chewing Tobacco, and Turkey Franks. He monopolized the talk shows and gossip columns. His appearance could turn a boring party into an 'event'. He composed, he performed, he lifted weights, and he painted all the murals in the lobby of the RCA Building. He was King of Comedy, King of Drama, and Teen Beat's Hunk-of-the-Month at age 53."

Let it also be known that Chris shamelessly borrowed a bit of shtick from THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE: "He [Wulfgang Herbert] also felt that since there were no right angles in nature, there should be no right angles in anything man-made, including architecture. Every attempt at constructing a Herbert school without right angles met with disaster before the school could be completed, and so classes were held outside, literally on 68th and Lexington."

Chris appropriated Monty Python's Trim-Jeans joke with complete peace of mind: "Still later that night, with my mind lost in the parking lot of the Bates Motel, my nostrils filled with the familiar Mum aroma. I woke immediately, and there, standing in the doorway, was Daddy. He was naked except for a pair of inflatable undershorts. (The undershorts were something he had seen advertised on television. Supposedly, if you wore them to bed, you could lose weight in your sleep.) He stood swaying in the doorway for an eternity. Then, in a hushed voice, almost a whisper, he implored: 'If you eat spaghetti, please watch out for the bay leaves!' He turned and was gone as suddenly as he had appeared."

But the best reason to hate Chris is for the following passage: "The twins, A and B, shaved their heads, moved to Iran, and opened a chain of Bob's Big Boys, and the rest of the thugs were at Stanford Medical School trying to come up with a cure for those obnoxious people who insist on closing their eyes whenever they talk."

It just so happens that some of those eye-closers are thinking of Pamela Sue Martin. And there's nothing wrong with that. Isn't that right, Chris.

Did you ever wonder why, because of his basketball skills, Shaq thinks he can rap or act? Or why football players point to the sky after scoring a touchdown (like God has nothing better to do then "bless them with their skils"...although it would explain all the starving children in the world) Or why even after all of the drugs and prostitutes, Charlie Sheen STILL ended up with a honey like Denise Richards? Well Chris does not address any of these issues directly in his book, but he does give us a glimpse of how nearly unreal things like this can happen, by inviting us in the "back door" of the Elliott household to witness the ugly, unvarnished side of celebrity. Living in the shadow of greatness has made it very difficult for many of todays outstanding stars (such as Melissa Rivers and Frank Sinatra Jr.) and Chris is no exception.

While not on the same artistic level as say "Little Women", if you enjoyed "Cabin Boy" or "Get a Life", or you are just a wandering wordsmith hungry for a feast of words, you will love this book!

(BTW, the book is obviously hooey, and just another helping of Chris Elliott humour).

The legendary CHRIS ELLIOTT will be LIVE in the MANIATV! studios on Wednesday October 19th at 1:00 pm est. Our very own CJ Christy will be talking with him about his hilarious new book, THE SHROUD OF THE THWACKER and his roles in cult film and television. So whether you're the world's biggest Cabin Boy fan or know of him as David Letterman's Guy Under the Bleachers, this is an exclusive interview you won't want to miss.

ManiaTV! is a live internet television station found at [...]. It is absolutely free to watch 24/7.

If there is anything you've ever wanted to ask CHRIS ELLIOTT, [...]and we'll consider adding them!

Recent interviews include George A. Romero, Death Cab For Cutie, Blackalicious, Paul Feig, Dashboard Confessional, Margaret Cho and Jeff "the Dude" Dowd.

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