Customer Reviews

The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're a fan of vintage TV history, this book is a must. It's well-researched, wryly written, and downright interesting. It offers insightful profiles on ten of television's most important actresses (Gracie Allen, Eve Arden, Lucille Ball, Spring Byington, Joan Davis, Anne Jeffreys, Donna Reed, Ann Sothern, Gale Storm, Betty White), and provides fascinating details about the early history of television, delving into advertising, networks, contracts, ratings, behind-the-scenes details, and more.

The author deftly combines research, original interviews, and dialogue snippets (after reading this book, you will definitely want to seek out the TV shows). Mr. Tucker, who possesses a wonderful sense of humor, is not shy about bringing out controversial topics such as George Burns' infidelity, Donna Reed's anti-war efforts, Spring Byington's lesbian relationship with Marjorie Main, and Joan Davis' reputation for being difficult. I was surprised at how much I learned from reading this book, and hope for a sequel--Ten More Women Who Made Television Funny.

It's great to see a book that pays homage to someone else besides Lucy. While taking nothing away from the red-head, there were also other great female TV stars with comedy series. I enjoyed reading about them, especially Gale Storm who has always been my favorite, but I like all 10 of the ladies. David Tucker captures what made each lady so unique and I learned new things about them. It encourged me to see these wonderful shows again.

As an ardent fan of the history of television and its stars, I can highly recommend this book by David C. Tucker. Full of interesting information and behind the scenes stories about these ten female pioneers of television and the shows they starred in, make an enlightening and agreeable read for any fans of the small screen.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the off-screen Gracie Allen - how her personality was so parallel to the character she portrayed, and her sometimes overlooked contribution to the success of Burns and Allen themselves, and the show.

The chapter on Eve Arden gave added insight not only into her most famous television role in Our Miss Brooks, but also the short-lived Eve Arden Show (Tucker explains how this "surefire sitcom" came to such a quick demise) as well as life after her last series, The Mothers-in-Law.

Sections about the other ladies of the book held my interest and made for entertaining reading. The Joan Davis chapter affirmed her reputation as very difficult to work with (even quoting a great Jim Backus quip, "Joan's behavior was enough to make a psychiatrist hit the couch.") And though never having even seen an episode of Topper or Love that Jill, I read with curiosity about the stylish Anne Jeffreys and the rarely seen series' she starred in. The lesbian affair of Spring Byington with Marjorie Main was an eye-opener, and the appendix of 10 More Leading Ladies who were also integral parts of sitcom history, gave food for thought.

Tucker's book is a tribute to all those spotlighted and a must have for classic TV fans. I commend him on a job well done.

David Tucker has thoroughly researched his subjects and presents their unique stories in a easy-to-read style. Without a doubt, he is quite the wordsmith and researcher. I was delighted to find little-known information on some ladies, like Spring Byington and Joan Davis, who are overlooked today by some television historians. We all love Lucy, but the other nine actresses here are just as worthy of a book like this. Any fan of classic TV must have THE WOMEN WHO MADE TELEVISION FUNNY. And I agree with the other reviewer that this work merits a sequel! In the meantime, I can't wait to read David Tucker's LOST LAUGHS, forthcoming from McFarland.