Funny Folk: Poems About People

by Robert Fisher, Penny Dann

A collection of poems by American and English authors about a variety of unusual people including "Old Quin Queeribus" and "Jittery Jim."

79 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1986

About the author

One of the most prolific of sitcom writers, Fisher began in television the 1950s by pairing up with a veteran radio writer twenty-five years his senior named Alan Lipscott. Lipscott and Fisher wrote the first episode of the CBS-TV sitcom series Make Room For Daddy (starring Danny Thomas) in 1953, and went on to craft teleplays for The Donna Reed Show, Bachelor Father (which starred John Forsythe), Bronco, How to Marry a Millionaire, and others. Following Lipscott’s death in 1961, Fisher then began writing with Arthur Marx, and that partnership (which lasted for over twenty-five years) produced episodes of McHale's Navy, My Three Sons, The Mothers-in-Law, the short lived ABC-TV series The Paul Lynde Show, and NBC-TV's Life With Lucy in 1986. He and Marx were also story editors and frequent writers on CBS-TV's Alice from 1977-1981.[1]

Fisher also wrote occasionally with Arthur Alsberg (on I Dream of Jeannie and Mona McCluskey) and had three plays produced on Broadway: the hit The Impossible Years (with Marx), Minnie’s Boys (with Marx), and Happiness Is Just a Little Thing Called a Rolls Royce (with Alsberg), which closed after one performance.

Fisher is also the author of the book "The Knight in Rusty Armor". A beautiful tale of man's journey to discover himself through a series of comic and tragic transformations.

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

All jolly fun from 40 years ago when I read these with my children. I bet they remember some and let some slip by the wayside. More fun to read with children but I still had a good few laughs. The better known poets are better known for good reason if this book is the evidence.

Even the masters and mistresses of the craft are invariably guilty of contriving a rhyme or a meter. The weaker ones no doubt will say it’s a nonsense verse, but the masters know that nonsense is no excuse for laziness. The contrived word or phrase really ought to be doing more than allowing another word or two.

And there is often a problem with weak endings. Granted that even Edward Lear gave his limericks lame last lines, but he invented the form; and he wrote The Owl and the Pussycat, The Jumblies, The Quango Wangle’s Hat.

I hope there is a more recent anthology of children’s nonsense. This is better than OK but I don’t think it would stretch a good modern editor to improve on it.

[Sarah Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for young and old. "Funny Folk: Poems about people" by Robert Fisher is a lovely collection of poems which offer an easy introduction to the format to young readers.