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Great News: My Smothers Brothers Book Arrives In Time for the Holidays

Due to advance interest from at least one major bookstore chain, the publication date of my Smothers Brothers book has been moved up. Instead of arriving the first week of 2010, the book now will be in stores December 1, in plenty of time for holiday gift-giving. For me, that's a great Christmas gift already...

Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, will be published in hardcover by Simon & Schuster's Touchstone. The cover, which I've shown here once before, looks like this, except for a last-second addition of part of a blurb by filmmaker Ken Burns.

Here's the part of the blurb the editors and designers decided to add to the cover:

"This is a superb, at times moving, portrait of an entire age -- seen through the dramatic careers of two endlessly interesting entertainers." -- Ken Burns

On the back cover, there also are blurbs by Mason Williams and David Steinberg, both of whom were integral parts of the original Comedy Hour. And while a lot of what Mason sent was used, a portion was cut for length, but I liked it so much, I'm presenting it here:

"This book does a first class job of reporting the icebergian facts. The tip of the iceberg (the show itself), the mass of corporate and government intrigue/maneuvering underneath (CBS and Washington), and the eventual meltdown (firing/cancellation) that gave rise to the sea of change that saturates TV today." -- Mason Williams

I love the way Mason thinks, and writes. The description of the book as "icebergian" is especially amusing to me, perhaps because I wrote the book at what some might consider a glacial pace. Fifteen years from first interview to final manuscript. That's why I'm so happy Dangerously Funny finally is coming out, and, thanks to recent politics and policies, is dealing with a subject that's as topical and meaningful as ever.

So here's the big push, and the big news. Dangerously Funny is now available for pre-order, and will arrive in plenty of time to give, and even mail out, as gifts. Amazon has the book available at a substantial discount, which you can order by clicking HERE. Or, if you're a Barnes & Noble loyalist, you can order HERE, and members get an even deeper discount.

Wish me luck -- and, if you want, please order a copy or two. Remember, ordering from Amazon by linking through this site gives a small kickback to TV WORTH WATCHING, so buying the book that way as a gift actually makes it three good deeds in one. I sell a book and get royalties, the site gets a small percentage, and you get to give someone the book for the holidays.

So act now, or soon. Publication day is less than two months away, and counting. At least I'M counting...

8 Comments

Gregg B said:

You didn't include David Steinberg's quote.
Was it "Booga, Booga"?
[Very funny. And close: It was "M.D.: Me Doctor." No, it was a great, very kind blurb. I'll include it in a later dispatch. Believe me, this won't be the last you'll be hearing from me on this topic. -- David B.]

Comment posted on October 5, 2009 10:28 AM

Miles said:

Just ordered a copy for me and a copy to give as a gift.

Cheers!

Comment posted on October 5, 2009 8:36 PM

Rich said:

Congrats!....ah, but will You be the voice of the person who reads it in the audio version? Think of how much fun it will be read, re-read, and re-read your re-read writing into a microphone.

Book tours, blurbs, anectdotes, 'new material' for the paperback, interviews and promotional stuff...the fun has just begun (one month earlier!).

*********

On a side "in-Jokes" note. Did you notice on "Glee" last week that the student called the creepy drama teacher (Stephen Tobolowsky)- Mr. Rierson. As in "Ned, Ned Rierson. Needle-nose Ned, Ned the head, got the shingles so bad almost didn't graduate"- The guy that Bill Murray keeps running into in "GroundHog Day" (before Murray steps into the giant puddle) and keeps bugging him to buy insurance when he's trying to get to the town square.

Comment posted on October 5, 2009 9:07 PM

Robert said:

Wonderful news! I've already pre-ordered two copies, one from Amazon and one from Barnes & Noble - will you be doing any book signings in the NY area before Christmas? [They're just working on that now -- so far, the one NY appearance I know of is in January, so that won't help. But I'll keep you posted -- and for TVWW loyalists, I can always meet the five of you in a bar some evening, and sign stuff there. (Though I draw the line at breasts. And it's a long, connect-the-dots line, too... -- David B.]

Comment posted on October 5, 2009 11:22 PM

Joe said:

Good Luck with the book. If I pre-order it from Amazon, can I send it to you for signing? (Round trip postage on me, of course...)

[You're so kind, Joe. I was going to offer signed copies on the website, which would mean me hitting up my own readers for shipping and the full retail price, but I thought that might be pushing it. Certainly, if anyone from this site wants that, I'll be happy to provide signed copies in time for gift-giving... but I question the demand. You guys are WAY too discerning... -- David B.]

Comment posted on October 6, 2009 12:47 PM

Jim said:

Great news indeed! It must be encouraging to have a bookstore chain actually interested in promoting it.

Comment posted on October 6, 2009 5:03 PM

Laura said:

Congratulations, David! I look forward to the book. When will you be on Fresh Air talking about it?

[Terry's been nice enough to try to make room for me when the book actually hits stores, the first few days of December. That's the hope, anyway. -- David B.]

Comment posted on October 6, 2009 6:59 PM

Ed Johnson said:

While searching Amazon for a copy of The Bianculli Name in History ($29.95), I ran across reference to Dangerously Funny. The description sounded so much like the book you claimed to have been working on since the last century I was compelled to order a copy, hoping it is that effort's result. Surely it must be so, and I offer congratulations. Also, best wishes for happy and prosperous holidays. -- Good Old Ed

[I'm so excited to hear from this guy, I'm writing a separate column about it. Read it Friday, 10/09/09, to find out why. -- David B.]

Comment posted on October 8, 2009 9:15 AM

Behind David in the picture is the first TV owned by his father, Virgil Bianculli, a 1946 Raytheon. (The TV, not his father. His father was a 1923 Italian.)

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air, occasional substitute host for that show's Terry Gross, and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His most recent book is 2009's Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,' and he's at work on another.

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