Fighting Clowns of Hollywood: With Laffs by THE FIRESIGN THEATRE

by David Ossman

David Ossman’s memoir of The Firesign Theatre’s rapid response to the on-coming Reagan Era recounts the quartet’s uneasy transformation from writer-performer-producers of in-studio comic audio masterpieces to theatrical hopefuls and Movieland script-writers. Firesign goes Hollywood with a million $$ MGM movie deal and a string of big stage shows, featuring all-new hot comedy material, performed at the Roxy, premiere rock-club on the Sunset Strip. Here are Firesign’s new sketches from the “Owl & Octopus Show,” all the words to the full-frontal musical revue “Fighting Clowns,” and the one-act play, “Joey’s House.” Nick Danger, “America’s only detective,” re-appears in three confusing episodes and Old Time Radio fans will also dig “The History of the Art of Radio,” and “The American Pageant,” both of which turn American history over in its grave.

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 9, 2018

About the author

David Ossman is an American writer and comedian, best known as a member of The Firesign Theatre and screenwriter of such films as Zachariah.