NUMBER ONE IS WALKING: MY LIFE IN THE MOVIES AND OTHER DIVERSIONS

5 stars out of 5

If you want a truly unique coffee table book, here you go. If you want a unique walk through the life of a comic (and musical) superstar, well, you get that here as well. The cartoon-style graphics alone are incredible, and when coupled with insights by one of America's best-known (and arguably best-loved) entertainers, it just doesn't get much better.

My description will be brief, simply because this is a book that's better seen than talked about. Basically, it outlines the experiences of the incomparable Steve Martin in motion pictures - he made 40 of them before, about 15 years ago, leaving that industry for, among other things, a successful other career in music (he's a banjo player extraordinaire). His recollections of the movie years include clever and witty depictions of "The Jerk," "Three Amigos," Roxanne" and more; I just named three of my favorites. All are depicted in cartoon format with amusing, sometimes downright funny, narratives. Also included are references to many of his well-known partners in the funny business, like Carl Reiner, Robin Williams and Diane Keaton. The whole thing ends with "And Other Diversions," an extensive series of cartoons.

In short (which reminds me, his buddy and fellow comedian Martin Short is another who gets some page time here), this is a very well-written and perhaps even better-illustrated book I think any student of comedy - and certainly any Martin fan - will enjoy. It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but why settle? This delightful book delivers the best of both. Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a hardcover pre-release copy to read and review. 

Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies by Steve Martin and Harry Bliss (Celadon Books, November 2022); 256 pp.

STARSTRUCK

4 stars out of 5

Especially if you're a fan of old movies, no doubt you're familiar with the author, a long-time and well-respected Hollywood historian and film reviewer. At our house, one of his movie guides is always near the TV remote and opened frequently to check his rating of a movie we're watching or, more often, identify one of the actors whose face is familiar but the name just won't come.

This book, subtitled "My Unlikely Road to Hollywood," brings to light how Maltin came to be what and who he is, starting with his childhood - and clearly, while he certainly was the recipient of some good fortune along the way, he also took full advantage of every opportunity. For the most part, this memoir presents his experiences and impressions of the "stars" he's come to know and love as well as those he met only briefly. For someone my age (for the record, Maltin is seven years younger than I), that is, in and of itself, a treat; for instance, I relished reading about my cowboy hero Roy Rogers and his also-a-star wife, Dale Evans.

There's a lot of reminiscing about Walt Disney, and while I'm really not a fan of the Disney empire itself, I'll never forget coming home from school to watch my favorite Mickey Mouse Club episodes on our little black-and-white TV (a show that gets mentioned herein). The section on the Playboy Manson and its owner, Hugh Hefner, is a bit eye-opening as well. Still others he's met and interviewed who stood out in his mind (and mine) include Lena Horne, John Wayne, James Stewart and Jerry Lewis. 

Overall, the book is very much an exercise in name-dropping; but again, if you love Hollywood old-time style, it's a real trip down memory lane (though I'll caution readers who may be looking for "dirt" on celebrities to look elsewhere). I also enjoyed learning about Maltin himself, his supportive wife Alice and their daughter Jessie. It was an enjoyable excursion for me as well, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Starstruck by Leonard Maltin (GoodKnight Books, October 2021); 400 pp.

BING CROSBY AND BOB HOPE: THE GOLDEN ERA OF HOLLYWOOD'S MOST POPULAR SHOW BUSINESS STARS

4 stars out of 5

I'm old enough to have accumulated lots of memories of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, starting when I was very young and my mother walked me a dozen or so blocks to the only movie theater in our small town for Saturday matinees. Crosby, who was rated "the most admired man alive" in 1948 (when I was 7 years old), was starring in movies at that time. "The Bells of St. Mary's," which I remember watching with mom, was made in 1945 but probably didn't make it to my neck of the southwestern Ohio backwoods for a couple of years after that.


We moved to a nearby farm when I was in third grade, and with nothing better to do, I remember putting a couple of my dad's old Crosby 78s on the turntable and singing along at the top of my lungs; my favorite was the "The Iowa Indian Song:/'Way Back Home" with Fred Warning and His Pennsylvanians released in 1949.

When I was in seventh grade, we got a TV set - a tiny black-and-white screen with rabbit ears  - and dad, mom and I watched movies starring Crosby and his buddy, comedian Bob Hope, most notably the "Road" series that started back in 1940 with "The Road to Singapore."

Later in life, when I married and moved to the northeastern part of Ohio, Hope became of more special interest since he grew up in Cleveland, about an hour away. And by then, we had lived through various TV specials and national golf tournaments featuring and/or sponsored by one or the other.

Given all that, when I got the chance to get this book free through eReader IQ, I jumped on it. As I write this, there were only six reviews - mostly good - but I figured what the heck? It's only 84 pages, photos included, so I figured I had little to lose even if it's terrible.

In fact, I enjoyed it and learned plenty. The authors, a group of editors from Harvard University and MIT, do jump around a bit - transition isn't a strong point. But the book is full of interesting facts about both men - some I already knew and many more I did not.

I knew, of course, that both Crosby and Hope were golfers, and both hosted national tournaments that continue to this day. I didn't know that Crosby played his first game somewhere around 1930 while he was filming "King of Jazz" - and subsequently got so good that he entered tournaments with a 2 handicap. I also didn't realize he was part owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates (a little over an hour's drive from where I live), or that he sold an estimated 500 million records in the 20th century. One of his most popular songs, Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," is listed in the Guiness record book as the best-selling single of all time (which may in part be attributed to the fact that it was released in 1942 and re-released every year for the next 16).

And while I'd heard Crosby referred to as "Der Bingle" many times, I had no idea why; after reading this book, I know (but I won't spoil it for you here).

Hope, meanwhile, was born in England under the name of Leslie Townes Hope; he didn't change his first name to Bob until much later. When he reached his milestone 100th birthday, more than half of the U.S. states declared it "Bob Hope Day" in his honor; after all, he had made so many USO tours that Congress named him the "First and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces." In between, he enjoyed a successful career that included everything from vaudeville to radio to motion pictures to television. To put it in perspective time-wise, in 1978 he putted on stage with a then two-year-old Tiger Woods.

This book isn't likely to mean much to those who aren't familiar with these two entertainment legends; but if you remember them as I do, it's well worth the couple of hours it takes to read.

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope: The Golden Era of Hollywood's Most Popular Show Business Stars by Charles River Editors (January 2014); 84 pp.