The Lazlo Letters

by Don Novello

In letters to stars, dignitaries, and chairmen of the country's most powerful organizations, Don Novello's alter ego Lazlo Toth pestered his victims for photographs, offered outlandish advice, fired off strange inquiries, and more. The strangest part? Practically everyone answered, leaving Toth with a hilarious collection of outlandish correspondence unmatched in the history of American letters.

The Lazlo Letters contains nearly 100 notes to public figures, including then-President Nixon, Vice President Ford ("I've been Vice President of a lot of organizations myself, so I know how you feel."), Bebe Rebozo, Lester Maddox, Earl Butz, and America's top business leaders. The replies, says the author, "classic examples of American politeness."

In an on-going correspondence with the White House, Toth suggests everything from ridiculously corny jokes for the President to use, to a campaign song sung to the tune of "Tea for Two." He asks the president of a bubble bath company just how to use the product, as the packaging instructions specifically state to "keep dry."

"No matter how absurd my letter was, no matter how much I ranted and raved, they always answered," reports the author. "Many of these replies are beautiful examples of pure public relations nonsense." One is columnist James Kilpatrick has a lone sentiment for Toth-"Nuts to You!" 247,000 copies in print.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Politics, Satire, American, Comedy

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

For such a legendary book, this should have been a lot better.
Perhaps it simply hasn't aged well. Novello's unhinged right-wing fanboy persona may have been hilarious to liberals in the era of Nixon, but in today's atmosphere of Fox News, the conservative blogosphere and internet trolls, Laslo Toth loses some of his bite.

As opposed to Letters From a Nut, where the author crafts bizarre inquiries and requests to solicit comically confused replies from his addressees, Laslo's humor is largely one-sided, ranting disjointedly in his letters, but receiving mostly straight-laced thank yous and form letters in return.

There are definitely a few gems - his letters to Sammy Davis Jr., Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's come to mind, and I do still love a good Nixon joke even though, okay, the first letter is dated two years before my birth.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHEN I FIND OUT WHO "BORROWED" MY COPY OF THIS BOOK AND NEVER RETURNED IT, THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY. As I recall, this was one of my favorite books of all time, and last I checked, it was out of print.

Seriously. The person who stole my book should find a nice dark corner somewhere, 'cause I'm coming to get it back and give you a hearty slap on the wrist, you jerk.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply satisfying and laugh-out-loud funny.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for the I-don't-know-how-manyth time the summer after my son was born and my attention span for reading was consequently diminished. I first read it in the late 1970s, when I was too young to understand a lot of the political jokes. But I liked the tone and the concept and many of the loonier flights of fancy. The book remained a fixture on my shelf for many years, being joined by associated books like the Saturday Night Live script book and the Blues Brothers book. All of them shared a viewpoint, a voice, and a collage-style layout that appealed to me.

Reading it again decades later, it of course shows some sign of age. But an enhancement to my enjoyment that was impossible during earlier readings was the handy reference of the Internet via iPhone. Now all of the names and incidents and political gaffes that provided the basis for the Toth letters were easy to learn on the fly, even when a nearby infant kicks one's train of thought off its tracks every so often. This helped to freshen my reading experience and allowed me to enjoy the humor on levels previously unknown. If only every text had that potential.

[Laura Cayouette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I came by this book sometime around third grade and I'm certain it's not meant for kids. That said, it stands as one of my top 5 favorites from my childhood. I loved how he used logic and sincerity to get responses from CEO's and even a couple U. S. Presidents. His logic was always sound but it was also hilarious. I still remember some of the letters, especially a series about the use of jelly in an ad for the new Egg McMuffin. The imperfect M&M that was clearly a sign of the decline of manufacturing in America - and led to him receiving a LOT of chocolate.

The letters taught me to speak up, to dare to ask. That's an important message for a kid. Adults too.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been many pretenders to the throne ("Letters from a Nut" being the best known), but "The Lazlo Letters" is the king of the epistolary humor books. No one has bested Don Novello (a.k.a. both Lazlo Toth and Father Guido Sarducci) in either choosing targets for his letters or in writing the complaints, compliments and comments he unleashes upon them. Few humor books have aged as well as "The Lazlo Letters" has.

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical deadpan letters to various politicians and celebrities from the fictional Lazlo Toth, in reality Don Novello of Saturday Night Live fame (Father Guido Sarducci). Even funnier than the letters are some of the answers he got.

[Míceál Ó Gealbháin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest books I have read.

[Nshoreendo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don Novello writes to various politicians, institutions, and corporations, posing as Lazlo Toth, a character who is more or less a wack job. He generally makes some kind of insane suggestion to the company, and the replies to Toth's letters try to diplomatically send him on his way (sometimes the "victim" drops the niceties and just tells him to get screwed).

If you like this one, also seek out the much rarer, but even more hilarious "Dear Mr. Mackin" by the "Rev." Richard J. Mackin, an obvious acolyte of Novello/Toth, who writes similarly scathing letters to corporations like Wal-Mart and PepsiCo.

[Mama K · Rating 3 out of 5]

though funny, this got tedious after a while. I appreciated the concept and it was fun to see the historical references, but after a while the whole idea of all these letters got annoying. I began to feel bad for those having to read and respond to this inanity. A friend gave me this and the second collection. Though I got through this first one this evening--same day she gave them to me--I may take a break before I tackle the second one. The original Saturday Night Live Not Ready for Prime Time Players were the best. Unfortunately, Don Novello was not my favorite cast member.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These tongue-in-cheek letters are all from the mid-seventies. Some of the minor politicians to whom he writes are long-forgotten, but you don't need to remember their names to get the joke. The humor is spoofy, goofy mockery instead of stringent vitriol; it's different than what you usually see today, but it remains chuckle-worthy. The often earnest replies help sell the entertainment value of the letters.

[KennyO · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this only if you already "get" Don Novello's topical humor or you'll be in the weeds as I was back when I first read it. BTW Novelo's "Lazlo" is a character reference to Laszlo Toth, the Hungarian/Australian man who, in Rome in 1972, attacked and damaged Michelangelo's Pieta with a rock hammer.

[Zeke · Rating 5 out of 5]

lazlo has a great energy savings ideas from the 60's that could work today, a triple decker mobile mall with a bowling alley on the top floor, it comes to you so you don't have to feel pain at the pump

[Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess you had to be there to appreciate the humor in this strange little book. Don Novello's alter-ego, Father Guido Sarducci, was my favorite SNL character from the early years of the show. This little book is a great addition to those hilarious Don Novello memories.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attention Internet trolls: Don Novello was the master of the troll. This collection, and the 2nd volume, are hilarious compendiums of his bogus, idiotic letters to important people, and their replies.

[Noam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this would have been funnier to me if I had lived through the 70's. It was still pretty funny, though. I hadn't realized that the responses were real responses, I thought Novello wrote everything until I saw it on Goodreads just now.

[Primadonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, this is the first book that I read in 2008. Slipped my mind. ^^;

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like "Letters From a Nut," but he wrote to a lot of historical figures as well.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

great fun

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book inspired me to put jelly on my McMuffin.

[Ryan Heal · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Groundbreaking in it's own way

[amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

My uncle bought this for my 11th(?) birthday. I think it was the perfect gift for me at that age, and I still think of the letters and get the fight song for Nixon stuck in my head time-to-time.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny as hell.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty, pretty funny!

[Ursula! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious!! ;D

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and subversive. A tough combination to pull off.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very amusing. A great bathroom book for the learned man!

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very amusing!