By George - A Kaufman Collection

George S. Kaufman

ISBN 10: 0312111010 / ISBN 13: 9780312111014

Published by St Martins Press, New York, New York, U.S.A., 1979

About this Item

"Few people in our time have created heartier laughter and provided more fun than Mr. Kaufman has," theatre critic John Mason Brown wrote of George S. Kaufman. 'The wisecrack is something he snaps as precisely as a ringmaster his whip." Kaufman, however, didn't confine his remarkable talent merely to writing (with Moss Hart) such hit comedies as Once In A Lifetime, You Can't Take It With You, and The Man Who Came To Dinner - he also regularly entertained readers of magazines and newspapers with his unique (if jaundiced) view of modern life. Now, for the first time these short pieces, which originally appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, The Nation, and The New York Times, are collected in one highly amusing volume. Written over the course of almost four decades, they remain as fresh and funny as when they were written, revealing the wit for which Kaufman was justly famous. In all, fifty pieces are reprinted here, ranging from short essays to poems and one-act plays, to the complete text of the Marx Brothers' show. The Cocoanuts. Also included is Hollywood Pinafore, a parody of H.M.S. Pinafore that remains one of the most hilariously accurate depictions of Hollywood ever written, and Life's Calendar for 1922 (written with Marc Connelly), an irreverent chronology of humanity's achievements. Four pages of photographs accompany the text. Whether revealing his discovery of the school where waiters are taught the fundamentals of rudeness; discussing the recent nomination and election of a horse for President; describing the Great Caviar Riots of 1940; or telling what really happened when Einstein went to Hollywood to make a movie about his theory of relativity, Kaufman's dazzling wit is shown here at its finest. Donald Oliver is an author and composer who has recently published three short musicals. He worked on Broadway, off-Broadway, toured with Angela Lansbury in Gypsy. He is currently editing a book of one-act plays for publication. All orders shipped protected in a box.

Seller Inventory # 000912

Bibliographic Details

• Title: By George - A Kaufman Collection
• Publisher: St Martins Press, New York, New York, U.S.A.
• Publication Date: 1979
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312111010
• ISBN 13: 9780312111014
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: New
• Weight: 21 ounces
• Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis

“Few people in our time have created heartier laughter and provided more fun than Mr. Kaufman has,” theatre critic John Mason Brown wrote of George S. Kaufman. “The wisecrack is something he snaps as precisely as a ringmaster his whip.” Kaufman, however, didn’t confine his remarkable talent merely to writing (with Moss Hart) such hit comedies as Once in a Lifetime, You Can’t Take It With You, and The Man Who Came to Dinner — he regularly entertained readers of magazines and newspapers with his unique (if jaundiced) view of modern life. Now, for the first time these short pieces, which originally appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, The Nation, and The New York Times, are collected in one highly amusing volume.

Written over the course of almost four decades, they remain as fresh and funny as when they were written, revealing the wit for which Kaufman justly famous. In all, fifty pieces are reprinted here, raking from short essays to poems and one-act plays, to the complete text of the Marx Brothers’ show, The Cocoanuts. Also included is Hollywood Pinafore, a parody of H.M.S. Pinafore, that remains one of the most hilariously accurate depictions of Hollywood ever written, and Life’s Calendar for 1922 (with Marc Connelly), an irreverent chronology of humanity’s achievements. Four pages of photographs accompany the text.