Here's to the Friars: The heart of show business

by Joey Adams

Joey Adams (1911–1999) was an American comedian who wrote "Strictly for Laughs" - a column in the New York Post. His widow, Cindy Adams, is a society/gossip columnist for the same paper. He was the author of many books, including "Borscht Belt". From KIRKUS "I'll tell you one thing about Sinatra,"" Milton Bede shouts at a Friars Club celebrity roast, ""no one has ever been turned away from his door--if--you're over 21 and have big knockers. . . Everything Sinatra touches turns to gold. I'm afraid to go to the toilet with him. . . What a crowd! I would say mob--but you know how sensitive Frank is."" Adams provides a field day of insult humor and boozy camaraderie in his history of the posh Manhattan club for entertainers, their agents and writers (current membership about 1,040). Born in 1904 as The Press Agents Association, it quickly hit upon the guest-of-honor dinner where the guest was boosted and knocked. Famed members tend to be deeply sentimental about their club and its parties for various charities. Mainly quotations from roasts, the book has some very funny pages, especially Jack Benny's, and many that are mere melted chicken fat--or worse, like an all-night booze with Dean Martin spluttering verbal hotfoots over his glass."

186 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly arranged, poorly edited and factually suspect. Its an OK read but at least two thirds of the performers and people mentioned will be unfamiliar to a modern audience, half of the chapters are poor transcripts of famous Friar's Roasts, The historic background of the Club's founding gets short shrift, every non-quote paragraph is marred with extraneous adjectival superlatives, and there is no though-line to the book - the chapters jump back and forth in time with no rhyme or reason.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Great if you love the old OLD days of show biz. Fun stories. So many celebrites and people that today's world long forgot.