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A Funny Thing Happened to Me on My Way to the Grave
Comedy writer continues his healthy sense of humor with this autobiography.
- GenresHumor
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
77 people want to read
About the author
Jack Douglas
96 books37 followersJack Douglas (born Douglas Linley Crickard , July 17, 1908 - January 31, 1989) was an American comedy writer who wrote for radio and television while additionally writing a series of humor books.
On radio, he was a writer for Red Skelton, Bob Hope and the situation comedy, Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou (1938–46), in which Riggs switched back and forth from his natural baritone to the voice of a seven-year-old girl.
Continuing to write for Skelton and Hope as he moved into television, Douglas also wrote for Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, Woody Allen, Johnny Carson, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , The Jack Paar Show , The George Gobel Show, and Laugh-In .
The producer of Laugh-In , George Schlatter, said, "He saw the world from a different angle than the rest of us. He was not only funny, he was nice." Douglas won an Emmy Award in 1954 for best-written comedy material.
He was best known for his frequent guest appearances on Jack Paar's shows of the late 1950s and early 1960s. On one such appearance, when Douglas was well established as a Paar guest, he was chastised by Paar for holding a stack of file cards with his jokes while talking with Paar.
When Paar returned to television in 1973 and was confronted by unexpected low ratings, he engaged Douglas to contribute monologue material by mail. One week, there was no mail from Douglas; but his next package contained a "Sorry I didn't send anything last week. I forgot you were on."
Douglas and his third wife Reiko, a Japanese-born singer and comedian, were regular guests on shows hosted by Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, and Johnny Carson.
On radio, he was a writer for Red Skelton, Bob Hope and the situation comedy, Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou (1938–46), in which Riggs switched back and forth from his natural baritone to the voice of a seven-year-old girl.
Continuing to write for Skelton and Hope as he moved into television, Douglas also wrote for Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, Woody Allen, Johnny Carson, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , The Jack Paar Show , The George Gobel Show, and Laugh-In .
The producer of Laugh-In , George Schlatter, said, "He saw the world from a different angle than the rest of us. He was not only funny, he was nice." Douglas won an Emmy Award in 1954 for best-written comedy material.
He was best known for his frequent guest appearances on Jack Paar's shows of the late 1950s and early 1960s. On one such appearance, when Douglas was well established as a Paar guest, he was chastised by Paar for holding a stack of file cards with his jokes while talking with Paar.
When Paar returned to television in 1973 and was confronted by unexpected low ratings, he engaged Douglas to contribute monologue material by mail. One week, there was no mail from Douglas; but his next package contained a "Sorry I didn't send anything last week. I forgot you were on."
Douglas and his third wife Reiko, a Japanese-born singer and comedian, were regular guests on shows hosted by Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, and Johnny Carson.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 16, 2019
Speaking of funny, Jack Douglas' last work before he lost his spunk. I'm not going to blame Reiko because I have no idea of their dynamic, but it seems like every book after he married her has her front and center in a contrived and unfunny plot and yeah I kind of blame her for that. I blame him more for mixing work and home life; it's not like she MADE him write all his books about her.
In this book, Jack specifically mentions he doesn't like sitcoms and never writes them, but after this book it's all sitcoms starring him and his wife and kids. And he was right. He's no good at them.
Anyway, this book is excellent and Jack doing what he does best; telling stories about things that happened while making it sound like they couldn't possibly have actually occurred. This time he has the pictures to prove some of it! It's the best kind New York humor, the kind written by someone who has lived almost none of his life in New York. This is him at the height of his talent and success telling about how he got there.
In this book, Jack specifically mentions he doesn't like sitcoms and never writes them, but after this book it's all sitcoms starring him and his wife and kids. And he was right. He's no good at them.
Anyway, this book is excellent and Jack doing what he does best; telling stories about things that happened while making it sound like they couldn't possibly have actually occurred. This time he has the pictures to prove some of it! It's the best kind New York humor, the kind written by someone who has lived almost none of his life in New York. This is him at the height of his talent and success telling about how he got there.
November 3, 2014
I bought this in hard cover when it first came out. Douglas was masterful at writing chapter titles and similar descriptive names. Two favorites from this book:
"Old Dusty Tits and Other Stories"
"Never Goose a Rogue Elephant"
"Old Dusty Tits and Other Stories"
"Never Goose a Rogue Elephant"
May 13, 2018
As I re-read the Jack Douglas library in order for the first time, I see how Douglas produced his first books as a collection of avant-garde views. Douglas starts here, writing about his life, coalescing his writing skills as a cohesive narrative. His next books hone these skills to some wonderfully funny and poignant books.
In this autobiography Douglas again presents what he claims happens and that which he wraps in humor. His writing is a bit clunky, but his anecdotes get better throughout.
There are many references to Hollywood celebrities, but not as many as might be found in even a lesser known celebrity biography. Douglas keeps the name dropping to a minimum.
Bottom line: I recommend this book: 6 out of 10 points.
In this autobiography Douglas again presents what he claims happens and that which he wraps in humor. His writing is a bit clunky, but his anecdotes get better throughout.
There are many references to Hollywood celebrities, but not as many as might be found in even a lesser known celebrity biography. Douglas keeps the name dropping to a minimum.
Bottom line: I recommend this book: 6 out of 10 points.
October 30, 2018
I'm "young" compared to those that were familiar with him, so I really knew nothing about him. I bought this because it talked about going to the grave and honestly I love that subject in pretty much all forms, so it became mine. I wasn't as entertained as others. I loved the chapter titles. They were hilarious. The hilarity was not so consistent throughout the chapters though.
I honestly really didn't care much about his life. Not to be mean, but I didn't know him and this area of employment doesn't really interest me either. I thought about not finishing this book, but there was enough here to keep me hanging on until the end... plus it was short.
I honestly really didn't care much about his life. Not to be mean, but I didn't know him and this area of employment doesn't really interest me either. I thought about not finishing this book, but there was enough here to keep me hanging on until the end... plus it was short.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews