Customer Reviews

Notes on a Cowardly Lion: The Biography of Bert Lahr

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If you are an actor who has ever wondered why you got a laugh one performance and not on another or if you have directed actors in a scene that should be funny but for some reason it doesn't seem to work, then this is a great book to read. Bert Lahr took his job as a clown very seriously and 'worked' extremely hard at getting each laugh. I dont' think John Lahar is deliberatly writing a book about the craft of getting a laugh, but it sure opened my eyes. No longer do I move or direct actors to move on a "laugh line". I got this book for next to nothing at a garage sale and found it was like finding a Picaso under the black velvet Elvis....I got as much out of this book as I did in reading an Actor Prepares.

Bert Lahr was a hold over from vaudeville and burlesque who never really accepted the changes he witnessed in show business and entertainment. Successful to a great degree, he was nearly immobilized by insecurity, never really believing that he deserved to be successful and never trusting his own talent. His son, John, here presents a panoramic vista of his challenging life from nascent attempts to his potato chip commercials. While one must admire the research and objectivity of the early and mid parts of the story, one must also criticize young Lahr's lack of objectivity at the end; too many debts have to be paid with some evening of the score along the way with the result that some of the material is embarrassing. I could have done with fewer wards