Customer Reviews

Honey West

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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One of my first fantasy crushes was Honey West,the sexy karate-chopping private eyelash from the shortlived(30 episodes)1960s television series.As portrayed by actress Anne Francis,Honey was capable of making a man flip with either her glamour girl good looks or a judo throw.I was overjoyed when they finally released the series on DVD.The set only has one fault...an almost total lack of extras.This book makes up for it.The two should have been sold as a package.This book gives you a history of Honey as she first appeared as a paperback heroine and tells why producer Aaron Spelling decided to bring the character to life on television.It has brief profiles and intervews with the shows two stars Anne Francis and John Ericson,who played Honey's crimefighting partner Sam Bolt.There's even an interview with legendary judoka Gene LeBell who worked as a stuntman on the show.There's also a profile of Sharon Lucas,who was Ms.Francis'stunt double.And of course there are plenty of photos.You also get a synopsis for all thirty episodes of the show with guest cast listings.If you have the DVD set I recommend you get this book as a companion piece.

I'll admit it...I am one of those "Honey West" cult fans. Even though I was only about nine years old when the show aired it's one and only season, I had vague memories of the show; mainly fleeting images of that incredibly jazzy, flashy opening sequence (which I maintain is still one of the best openings of any tv show past or present). When I happened upon the DVD release there was no question that I would add it to my video collection. I was even more elated to find that this little "one season wonder" had enough clout to warrant having a book written about it! I applaud the author John C. Fredriksen for pursuing his obvious passion for all things "Honey" and offering it up for us die-hard fans.

This book makes a great companion piece to the DVD set (some savvy marketers should consider selling the two as a bundled set). The book is chock full of photos, including many rare pictures that aren't found in the typical internet image search. There are lot's of interviews that give some rare insights and back-story about the series. There is also an extremely detailed episode synopsis chapter.

While this is good quick-read book, I would have liked to have seen inclusion of some of the '60's-style merchandising that was rolled out at that time, such as the Honey West doll, the soundtrack album by Joseph Mullendore, Gold Key Comic Book, and Board Game. Another plus would have been including a reproduction of the June 1966 Mad Magazine parody "Honey Waste" which is quite funny. The book also contains several typographical errors. I would have rated this book five stars had it contained more of the afore-mentioned elaboration, with a little less episode synopsis details, and the typos cleared up (and maybe a different cover photo, although this seems to be the photo of choice as it is also used on the DVD box cover). Thanks, Mr. Fredriksen for providing us with more than we knew before about this fun little '60's gem.

It was the most sensational opening for a TV show in the 1960's: Jazz music animating a sequence of stills ending on the sensual Honey West. The fun did not stop there either, Bruce (the Ocelot), Honey (the Honey), and Sam (the hunk) stepped into adventure week after week for one year.

Then it ended.

Interestingly enough, she never died. Author John C Frederiksen has taken his love of the show and produced a detailed guide for the 30 episode run, complete with stills taken from the episodes and interesting interviews with the stars. Mr Frederiksen clearly spent time with Honey. The synopsis are detailed and logical, clearly the result of watching way too much Honey West.

John interviews Anne Francis, John Ericson, Gloria Fickling, Gene LeBell, and includes short write ups on Irene Hervey, and Sharon Lucas. Each conversation is lively, and packed with good information. My favorite conversation is with Gene LeBell, whom I am sure really doesn't mind Canadians. The story of Honey West, as told by Gloria Fickling, is an amazing tale of persistence and forth mindedness. Who would have that that a woman could be such a strong role model for Private Eyes everywhere?

As with the TV show, I was pleased to remember the wide range of special guests. A partial list includes Wayne Rogers, Leon Askin, Bobby Sherman, Maureen McCormick, Monte Hale, Everett Sloane, and Bert Parks. That was the beauty of early TV, many movie stars and celebrities made guest shots regularly. For instance, Monte Hale the last of the singing cowboys, made so few TV appearances that this might be his ONLY one.

John did a marvelous job on the book. I would probably have changed the cover shot though.

Tim Lasiuta

As a kid, I loved reading the Honey West books. I think I started in 1964 after Honey's appearance on Burke's Law, a show I greatly enjoyed. When Honey got her own series, I was there. I loved it and watched every episode and I continued reading the Honey West novels, now with Anne Francis on the cover. I was always disappointed that Honey was only a half-hour series and more disappointed when it was cancelled after only one year.
I appreciate the author deciding to write this book about a series he obviously loved. However there is just so much you can write. There is a brief history of Honey West: the books and the tv series. Afterward, there are a series of interviews with Gloria Fickling (the surviving member of the husband and wife team that created Honey,) Anne Francis, John Ericson, Honey's stunt arranger, etc. There are brief histories of individuals no-longer with us: Irene Hervey, the stuntwoman who doubled Anne Francis and Bruce the Ocelot. Afterward, every episode of Honey West is summarized in detail. I don't suggest you read the summaries if you have not watched the episodes since they give everything away. The author does not give any critical opinions as to whether the particular episode is any good or not.
Most of the interviews feature similar questions: "What was it like working with Anne Francis?" "What was it like working with John Ericson?" etc. etc.
He ends his interview with Anne trying to talk her back into acting. Sadly, this is now a moot point since Anne Francis left us recently. (I met her years ago at a movie memorabilia show and had her sign some Honey West items that I had, she seemed like a very nice woman.)
I really don't want to criticise this book, the author's heart was in the right place. However there is very little there with the exception of the detailed summaries of every episode. However, as stated, the series only lasted 1 season so there is only so much you can write. If you remember this series with great fondness, want to see several nice black and white pictures of the beautiful Anne Francis as Honey or want to know a little bit about each episode before watching the dvd,(remember not to read the entire summary,) then you will probably enjoy it

Honey West by Jon C. Fredriksen is all that you'd want on a great short-lived television series. It's got an extensive episode guide as well as interviews with the late Anne Francis, John Ericson as well as Gloria Fickling, one of the creators of the characters. There's also a well-done history of the series, how it got started and why it was canclled.
If you have the DVD set of the series, you must have this!