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Happiness and Tears: The Ken Dodd Story
A definitive life one of the best-loved and most enduring figures of British comedy, the eccentric genius and national treasure Ken Dodd, whose seven-decade career straddled the end of the era of variety and the golden age of television comedy.
'I suffer from acute kleptomania. But when it gets bad, I take something for it.' Ken Dodd was a legend of British comedy. He launched his career in 1954, adopted his trademark 'tickling stick' two years later and went on to enjoy a sixty-year career as the nation's jester. Dodd's act was frenzied and zany, exploiting his saucer-eyed, buck-toothed appearance and deploying a repertoire of one-liners, whimsical and verbal inventions and liberal doses of saucy – but never dirty – jokes.
Louis Barfe charts Dodd's life and extraordinarily long career, revealing him to be the last of the great variety acts – and a comic phenomenon who delighted his audiences across seven decades.
Reviews for Happiness and Tears:
'The definitive account' The Times.
'An industriously thorough, entertaining biography' The Spectator.
'Sure to delight Dodd's many admirers' TLS.
'Fascinatingly odd' Daily Express.
'An absolute joy' Choice.
'I suffer from acute kleptomania. But when it gets bad, I take something for it.' Ken Dodd was a legend of British comedy. He launched his career in 1954, adopted his trademark 'tickling stick' two years later and went on to enjoy a sixty-year career as the nation's jester. Dodd's act was frenzied and zany, exploiting his saucer-eyed, buck-toothed appearance and deploying a repertoire of one-liners, whimsical and verbal inventions and liberal doses of saucy – but never dirty – jokes.
Louis Barfe charts Dodd's life and extraordinarily long career, revealing him to be the last of the great variety acts – and a comic phenomenon who delighted his audiences across seven decades.
Reviews for Happiness and Tears:
'The definitive account' The Times.
'An industriously thorough, entertaining biography' The Spectator.
'Sure to delight Dodd's many admirers' TLS.
'Fascinatingly odd' Daily Express.
'An absolute joy' Choice.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published November 14, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 27, 2020
A bit disappointing.
All rather distant and remote. Nothing much in the way of new material or facts. Could have been cobbled together with a very good collection of news clippings. The most interesting feature is the listing of appearances, although not 100% accurate to me.
All rather distant and remote. Nothing much in the way of new material or facts. Could have been cobbled together with a very good collection of news clippings. The most interesting feature is the listing of appearances, although not 100% accurate to me.
April 5, 2021
A very well researched and conscientiously written biography. Louis Barfe explains why Ken Dodd could entertain for four hours or more a sellout audience in a surreal world of happiness not knowing why they were laughing their socks off. It was an experience I was addicted to and as others have said before this comic genius should have been prescribed on the NHS. I prescribed it to myself on at least twelve occasions.
My disappointment was that his wife and closest friends made such a small contribution to the book that he really did keep his private life and the joy of this life utterly private. Although the conclusion was that he lived a fulfilled life on his own terms, including being continually late, and doing what gave him happiness, there is little to suggest he was really enjoying himself off stage. It's worth a read to understand his genius and the chapter about the tax trial and verdict is enthralling.
My disappointment was that his wife and closest friends made such a small contribution to the book that he really did keep his private life and the joy of this life utterly private. Although the conclusion was that he lived a fulfilled life on his own terms, including being continually late, and doing what gave him happiness, there is little to suggest he was really enjoying himself off stage. It's worth a read to understand his genius and the chapter about the tax trial and verdict is enthralling.
December 31, 2019
As thorough a look as possible, at someone as guarded as Ken Dodd, Louis Barfe chronicles and examines a career which was not of its time, but was its time and its place. Never were the jam butty mines richer.
November 29, 2020
A stunning book I've been eking out over a few weeks. A breezy yet incredibly well researched history into the life of a mysterious yet incredibly familiar face. A must read for all comedy history fans.
June 17, 2023
Generally an enjoyable read, and the author has clearly done their research. Does feel slightly cheeky to pad the last 100 pages with a list of Dodd’s shows rather than more about his life, but then perhaps that’s a reflection of who he was - always on the road.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews