A Gift Of Laughter, The Autobiography Of Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman
- "A
- Gift
- of
- Laughter,
- the
- autobiography
- Allan
- Sherman”,
- tells
- in
- his
- own
- words
- how
- he
- “became
- an
- overnight
- success
- in
- only
- 38
- years.”In
- his
- childhood,
- Sherman
- bounced
- around
- between
- several
- households
- based
- upon
- the
- needs
- and
- wants
- of
- his
- “flapper”
- mother.
- Because
- he
- kept
- moving,
- he
- attended
- 21
- public
- schools
- in
- Chicago,
- Florida,
- and
- California,
- including
- Fairfax
- High
- School,
- in
- Los
- Angeles,
- where
- he
- wrote
- for
- the
- school
- paper,
- as
- well
- as
- writing
- school
- shows
- which
- starred
- his
- classmate
- Ricardo
- Montalban.Sherman
- survived
- as
- a
- volunteer
- in
- World
- War
- II
- (in
- Camp
- Wolters,
- Texas,
- where
- he
- was
- discharged
- as
- medically
- unfit
- --
- he
- claimed
- for
- an
- allergy
- to
- Brazil
- nuts).
- Then,
- while
- studying
- at
- the
- University
- of
- Illinois,
- he
- got
- expelled
- from
- for
- breaking
- into
- a
- campus
- sorority
- house.Then
- he
- moved
- to
- New
- York,
- where
- for
- several
- years,
- he
- struggled
- as
- a
- free-lance
- $5-a-joke
- gag
- writer
- for
- nightclub
- comedians
- like
- Joe
- E.
- Lewis
- and
- Jackie
- Gleason.
- Later
- he
- wrote
- or
- produced
- television
- shows
- including
- the
- long-running
- primetime
- number-one
- hit
- "I've
- Got
- a
- Secret"
- (which
- he
- co-created).During
- those
- years,
- just
- for
- fun,
- Sherman
- wrote
- and
- sang
- funny
- parody
- songs
- at
- his
- own
- parties,
- or,
- to
- quote
- him,
- “on
- the
- rare
- occasions
- when
- I
- was
- invited
- to
- someone
- else’s
- parties”.
- After
- a
- couple
- more
- years
- of
- unemployment,
- he
- got
- invited
- to
- a
- party
- at
- Harpo
- Marx’s
- house,
- where
- some
- of
- Harpo’s
- Hollywood
- friends
- suggested
- Sherman
- put
- out
- a
- record
- of
- his
- songs.
- Other
- party
- guests
- sent
- him
- to
- Warner
- Brothers
- Records
- which
- was
- struggling
- at
- that
- time.
- Sherman
- made
- a
- deal
- with
- Warners
- for
- a
- $1,500
- advance,
- which
- after
- expenses,
- netted
- him
- just
- a
- few
- hundred
- dollars.Then,
- on
- one
- fateful
- night,
- after
- picking
- up
- his
- unemployment
- check,
- he
- recorded
- an
- album
- of
- his
- parodies
- he
- called
- "My
- Son,
- the
- Folk
- Singer",
- which
- sold
- over
- one
- million
- copies,
- and
- became
- the
- fastest-selling
- album
- of
- all
- time.A
- few
- of
- Sherman’s
- crazy
- songs
- soon
- outranked
- the
- Top
- Forty
- hits
- on
- rock’n’roll
- radio
- stations.
- President
- John
- F.
- Kennedy
- was
- even
- heard
- singing
- one
- of
- those
- songs,
- Sarah
- Jackman,
- a
- parody
- of
- Frere
- Jacques.Sherman’s
- next
- two
- albums
- were
- also
- smash
- hits,
- making
- him
- the
- only
- artist
- ever
- to
- have
- three
- consecutive
- Billboard
- #1
- Hit
- Albums.
- His
- third
- album,
- "My
- Son,
- the
- Nut"
- contained
- the
- top-ten
- hit
- "Hello,
- Muddah!
- Hello,
- Fadduh!
- -
- A
- Letter
- from
- Camp
- Granada"
- --
- a
- summer
- camp
- anthem
- which
- is
- still
- loved
- 50+
- years
- later.He
- sang
- at
- Carnegie
- Hall
- -
- twice!
- And
- the
- Hollywood
- Bowl
- -
- twice!
- He
- made
- over
- 100
- television
- appearances,
- including
- guest-hosting
- The
- Tonight
- Show.
- In
- addition
- to
- the
- U.S.,
- he
- toured
- Canada,
- England,
- Germany,
- Australia,
- and
- South
- Africa.
- He
- performed
- with
- and
- conducted
- The
- Boston
- Pops
- (notable
- because
- he
- can't
- read
- music),
- entertained
- Presidents
- and
- Supreme
- Court
- Justices,
- and
- amused
- and
- delighted
- millions
- of
- regular
- folk.The
- surprising
- popularity
- and
- overnight
- success
- of
- Sherman’s
- song
- parodies
- influenced
- generations,
- paving
- the
- way
- for
- new
- generations
- of
- comedians,
- including
- parodists
- like
- Weird
- Al
- Yankovic
- and
- Adam
- Sandler,
- as
- well
- as
- helping
- start
- Dr.
- Demento’s
- novelty
- song
- radio career.
