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Laugh and Live
A Joss Recording
Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin were the film industry's first superstars. They enjoyed fame and fortune worldwide. LAUGH AND LIVE, Fairbank's autobiography, recounts these times. It stayed on the bestseller lists for two years after its 1917 publication.
Fairbanks writes that "happiness is for all who strive to be happy--and those who laugh are happy. Laughter is a physiological necessity. The nerve system requires it . . . laughing automatically re-oxygenates the blood. . .and relieves the tension from your brain."
"The benefits of laughter decades before Norman Cousins!" (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)
- GenresNonfiction
190 pages, Hardcover
First published April 10, 1917
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62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 10, 2017
Well, let's see. Where do I start? The best answer to that question is usually 'the beginning' so I've gotten off my tuffet and searched for it.
In January 2016 I read a book called The Stag Cookbook. Here is my review to refresh your memory (or to give you a new memory if you have not read it before this) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
While reading, I made a list of the different contributors to the cookbook, and enjoyed my little self finding out what I could about each man. This year one of my reading goals is to complete what I call The Stag Reading List, one book each written by 24 of the many manly men who contributed to the cookbook 'written by men for men'. (By the way, there are only 24 titles on this list because of the 88 contributors to the cookbook, many either did not write any books of their own or the ones they did write did not appeal to me. I may be eccentric with my reading projects, but I'm not going to force myself into reading anything dull and distasteful! LOL)
So by now you must have figured out that Douglas Fairbanks offered a recipe, or else we would not be here. You are right. His recipe was 'Bread Tarts', which sound perfectly horrible unless you like bread crumbs soaked in grape juice and mixed with eggs and some chopped nuts and baked. They could be frosted but I don't care, frosted or not they sounded icky.
But this little book, Laugh And Live, was much easier to swallow than those bread tarts would be. Fairbanks claims to have written it in answer to questions in many of his fan letters. Remember, the book was written in 1917 and at that time he was one of The Big Men in Hollywood.
In 19 friendly chapters he shares his philosophies about laughing, physical fitness, being self-reliant, being honest, positive thinking, and so forth. It was easy reading! With lots of exclamation marks! And plenty of italics! And pictures! But it was also clear that he very much believed in himself and thought that perhaps sharing his thoughts might help other people learn to...well, laugh and live.
There was also a Chapter 20, written by George Creel and previously published in a magazine of the era. This chapter shared some biographical information which confirmed what the other chapters had me thinking: Fairbanks was a hyperactive, somewhat obsessive-compulsive kind of a guy. I have since learned about a modern day biography of the man that I think would be interesting to read, so I will keep my eyes open for The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks.
Now, before I go off and watch Fairbanks in the 1920 silent film The Mark Of Zorro, was there anything he said in this book that would be helpful to someone in these weird modern days? Yes! Fairbanks really did make a lot of sense with many of his opinions: a person needs to be physically healthy and mentally active in order to be a success (and he was always very clear that he did not necessarily mean material success, but rather success as a human being), and....well, let me just close with a couple of quotes, it's easier that way.
From Chapter 11, Self Education By Good Reading
Books that become our "pals" are not necessarily books of the so-called classical type. Little known volumes may prove to have enough thought stored away between their covers to keep us interested all our days. The great books will prove their worth in a short time no matter how poor the binding, how bad the type or how cheap the paper. These things are after all only the outward manifestations and though we like to see our friends dressed well yet we know that the clothes do not make character unless there is character there in the first place. And so it is with books. These little ungainly volumes which we purchase on the stands may be the classics of tomorrow ... who knows?
In choosing our books we must bear in mind one thing—let them be inspiring. Let them be of such a nature that when we read them we will feel like going out into the world to accomplish something big!
From Chapter 10, Keeping Ourselves Democratic
We should not confound greatness, however, with notoriety. A man who by virtue of large publicity has compelled public notice isn't necessarily a great man no matter how hard he may strive to make himself appear so.
(And no matter what public office he holds, right?!)
Oh, one more thing. Fairbanks believed very strongly in the power of positive thinking, even before that was a catchphrase. He mentions Alexander Pope still propped up and writing on his deathbed, and Mark Twain joking with friends while he was dying. I don't know if those things are true or not, but I do think that maybe the belief that Fairbanks had in thinking positively could have been responsible for his famous last words. According to wiki, he had a mild heart attack on December 12, 1939. He died later that same day. He was only 56.
And his famous last words?
"I've never felt better."
Now that's positive thinking!
In January 2016 I read a book called The Stag Cookbook. Here is my review to refresh your memory (or to give you a new memory if you have not read it before this) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
While reading, I made a list of the different contributors to the cookbook, and enjoyed my little self finding out what I could about each man. This year one of my reading goals is to complete what I call The Stag Reading List, one book each written by 24 of the many manly men who contributed to the cookbook 'written by men for men'. (By the way, there are only 24 titles on this list because of the 88 contributors to the cookbook, many either did not write any books of their own or the ones they did write did not appeal to me. I may be eccentric with my reading projects, but I'm not going to force myself into reading anything dull and distasteful! LOL)
So by now you must have figured out that Douglas Fairbanks offered a recipe, or else we would not be here. You are right. His recipe was 'Bread Tarts', which sound perfectly horrible unless you like bread crumbs soaked in grape juice and mixed with eggs and some chopped nuts and baked. They could be frosted but I don't care, frosted or not they sounded icky.
But this little book, Laugh And Live, was much easier to swallow than those bread tarts would be. Fairbanks claims to have written it in answer to questions in many of his fan letters. Remember, the book was written in 1917 and at that time he was one of The Big Men in Hollywood.
In 19 friendly chapters he shares his philosophies about laughing, physical fitness, being self-reliant, being honest, positive thinking, and so forth. It was easy reading! With lots of exclamation marks! And plenty of italics! And pictures! But it was also clear that he very much believed in himself and thought that perhaps sharing his thoughts might help other people learn to...well, laugh and live.
There was also a Chapter 20, written by George Creel and previously published in a magazine of the era. This chapter shared some biographical information which confirmed what the other chapters had me thinking: Fairbanks was a hyperactive, somewhat obsessive-compulsive kind of a guy. I have since learned about a modern day biography of the man that I think would be interesting to read, so I will keep my eyes open for The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks.
Now, before I go off and watch Fairbanks in the 1920 silent film The Mark Of Zorro, was there anything he said in this book that would be helpful to someone in these weird modern days? Yes! Fairbanks really did make a lot of sense with many of his opinions: a person needs to be physically healthy and mentally active in order to be a success (and he was always very clear that he did not necessarily mean material success, but rather success as a human being), and....well, let me just close with a couple of quotes, it's easier that way.
From Chapter 11, Self Education By Good Reading
Books that become our "pals" are not necessarily books of the so-called classical type. Little known volumes may prove to have enough thought stored away between their covers to keep us interested all our days. The great books will prove their worth in a short time no matter how poor the binding, how bad the type or how cheap the paper. These things are after all only the outward manifestations and though we like to see our friends dressed well yet we know that the clothes do not make character unless there is character there in the first place. And so it is with books. These little ungainly volumes which we purchase on the stands may be the classics of tomorrow ... who knows?
In choosing our books we must bear in mind one thing—let them be inspiring. Let them be of such a nature that when we read them we will feel like going out into the world to accomplish something big!
From Chapter 10, Keeping Ourselves Democratic
We should not confound greatness, however, with notoriety. A man who by virtue of large publicity has compelled public notice isn't necessarily a great man no matter how hard he may strive to make himself appear so.
(And no matter what public office he holds, right?!)
Oh, one more thing. Fairbanks believed very strongly in the power of positive thinking, even before that was a catchphrase. He mentions Alexander Pope still propped up and writing on his deathbed, and Mark Twain joking with friends while he was dying. I don't know if those things are true or not, but I do think that maybe the belief that Fairbanks had in thinking positively could have been responsible for his famous last words. According to wiki, he had a mild heart attack on December 12, 1939. He died later that same day. He was only 56.
And his famous last words?
"I've never felt better."
Now that's positive thinking!
July 28, 2014
I like Douglas Fairbanks' movies, so I was excited to find out he wrote a book in his relatively short life, but when I got it, I was disappointed to find that rather than a memoir, this book is a feel-good self-help kind of manual which repeats over and over the benefits of positive thinking and laughter. It is a real bore, and rather long.
Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12887/...
Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12887/...
March 1, 2010
look on the bright side of things and you will have "pep."
Without "pep" life is likely to be nasty brutish and short (or perhaps boring, fearful, painful and long....)
Early self-help from the stars.
Without "pep" life is likely to be nasty brutish and short (or perhaps boring, fearful, painful and long....)
Early self-help from the stars.
January 26, 2017
A straight forward common sense perspective from a truly wise early 20th century Hollywood actor. A very well presented formula for finding happiness through self awareness, purpose and decency that motivate the natural principles for loving and enjoying all that life is and offers.
Read
January 12, 20221- Experience is the real teacher, but the matter of how we are going to succeed in life should not be left to ordinary chance while we are waiting for things to happen. Our first duty is to prepare ourselves against untoward experiences, and that is best done by taking stock of our mental and physical assets at the very outset of our journey.
2- It has often been noticed that when we have had a large conception and have with force, character, and strength of will carried it into effect, immediately thereafter a host of people have been able to say: "I thought of that myself!" Most of us have had the same experience after reading of a great discovery that we had thrown overboard because it must not have been "worth while" or someone else would already have thought of it.
3- Failures must come to all of us in some degree, but we may rise from our failures and win back our losses if we are only shrewd enough to realize that good health, sound mind, and a cheerful spirit are necessary adjuncts.
4- Self-analysis teaches us to see ourselves in a true light without embellishments or undue optimism.
5- When we interview the failures we find that all of them give one excuse: "I didn't have the confidence." They may not say it in exactly these words but the meaning is plain. They ran through the whole gamut of self-distrust which is the natural result of not having started early in the study of self—the serious realization of their own capabilities.
6- Poverty and failure are the result of an ignorance of the value of experience. Worry, anxiety, fear of not doing the right thing, lack of insight into character ... these, too, are the result of a lack of experience.
7- New experiences are pushing us forward and previous experiences are helping to move the load. Experience tells us what to do at this point and that—and at last puts its shoulder to the wheel and "over she goes!”
8- The first big experience of life usually makes or breaks us. For this experience we need to be prepared. We must have a strong heart that we may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick—our last breath—not by a jugful!
9- The powers that break down are also the powers that build up.
10- The more the merrier. The greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which brought it about.
11- Personality could never be perfected without living a life of preparedness backed up by our most earnest and honest convictions.
12- Perfect personality requires constant care in its development and constant guard for its safety. It cannot be purchased in the open market. It must be built upon piece by piece and everything we are becomes a part of it.
13- Honest in the huge sense so necessary to the accomplishment of big ideals.
14- The real laugh springs out of the depths of being and comes with a ringing sense of security and faith in one's self. It brightens the sick room.
15- We must remember always to live in a world of clear thought that will stimulate our ambitions.
16- Nothing produces failure quicker than filthiness of mind and body.
17- People who are thoughtful surely brighten the world. They are ever ready to do some little thing at the correct moment and after a time we begin to realize how much their presence means to us.
18- A democratic spirit does not come to the selfish man. He is absorbed in himself and is quite a hopeless case. He is a natural born faultfinder and grouchy by nature.
19- Good books are real ... and as we read we feel, hear, see and understand in the way the author did. If what is said appeals to our way of thinking a new world is unfolded to our vision filled to the brim with things we can think about and add to our stock of knowledge.
20- They strengthen the mind ... their beauty lifts us into a great realism of splendid thought ... and they fill the heart with a longing to do something great.
21- The reading of such a book is like going back over the years and living with them, sharing their troubles and their enthusiasms.
22- The man who neglects to read surely misses the one best means of broadening his mind.
23- What we really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with comfort and a feeling of efficiency.
24- Diffidence is a species of cowardice. It causes a man's courage to ooze out at his toes faster than it comes into his heart. Such men often have big ideas, but having no confidence in themselves they lack the power to compel confidence in others.
25- To build upon one is to build up the others—the human system being constructed on such a basis that if one part is affected all the rest follow suit.
2- It has often been noticed that when we have had a large conception and have with force, character, and strength of will carried it into effect, immediately thereafter a host of people have been able to say: "I thought of that myself!" Most of us have had the same experience after reading of a great discovery that we had thrown overboard because it must not have been "worth while" or someone else would already have thought of it.
3- Failures must come to all of us in some degree, but we may rise from our failures and win back our losses if we are only shrewd enough to realize that good health, sound mind, and a cheerful spirit are necessary adjuncts.
4- Self-analysis teaches us to see ourselves in a true light without embellishments or undue optimism.
5- When we interview the failures we find that all of them give one excuse: "I didn't have the confidence." They may not say it in exactly these words but the meaning is plain. They ran through the whole gamut of self-distrust which is the natural result of not having started early in the study of self—the serious realization of their own capabilities.
6- Poverty and failure are the result of an ignorance of the value of experience. Worry, anxiety, fear of not doing the right thing, lack of insight into character ... these, too, are the result of a lack of experience.
7- New experiences are pushing us forward and previous experiences are helping to move the load. Experience tells us what to do at this point and that—and at last puts its shoulder to the wheel and "over she goes!”
8- The first big experience of life usually makes or breaks us. For this experience we need to be prepared. We must have a strong heart that we may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick—our last breath—not by a jugful!
9- The powers that break down are also the powers that build up.
10- The more the merrier. The greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which brought it about.
11- Personality could never be perfected without living a life of preparedness backed up by our most earnest and honest convictions.
12- Perfect personality requires constant care in its development and constant guard for its safety. It cannot be purchased in the open market. It must be built upon piece by piece and everything we are becomes a part of it.
13- Honest in the huge sense so necessary to the accomplishment of big ideals.
14- The real laugh springs out of the depths of being and comes with a ringing sense of security and faith in one's self. It brightens the sick room.
15- We must remember always to live in a world of clear thought that will stimulate our ambitions.
16- Nothing produces failure quicker than filthiness of mind and body.
17- People who are thoughtful surely brighten the world. They are ever ready to do some little thing at the correct moment and after a time we begin to realize how much their presence means to us.
18- A democratic spirit does not come to the selfish man. He is absorbed in himself and is quite a hopeless case. He is a natural born faultfinder and grouchy by nature.
19- Good books are real ... and as we read we feel, hear, see and understand in the way the author did. If what is said appeals to our way of thinking a new world is unfolded to our vision filled to the brim with things we can think about and add to our stock of knowledge.
20- They strengthen the mind ... their beauty lifts us into a great realism of splendid thought ... and they fill the heart with a longing to do something great.
21- The reading of such a book is like going back over the years and living with them, sharing their troubles and their enthusiasms.
22- The man who neglects to read surely misses the one best means of broadening his mind.
23- What we really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with comfort and a feeling of efficiency.
24- Diffidence is a species of cowardice. It causes a man's courage to ooze out at his toes faster than it comes into his heart. Such men often have big ideas, but having no confidence in themselves they lack the power to compel confidence in others.
25- To build upon one is to build up the others—the human system being constructed on such a basis that if one part is affected all the rest follow suit.
Read
February 13, 2020بعيدًا عن الروايات، كتب تطوير الذات أكثر ما قرأت، وأغلب ما قرأت في هذا المجال لأشخاص مازالو على قيد الحياة، على الأقل أغلبهم، فالعودة لسنوات وسنواتٍ للخلف، كان من باب الفضول، لكن الطريقة في عرض هذا النوع في الحقيقة لم تختلف.
وجدت أن أكثر من قرأت هذا الكتاب، كان من باب حبه وتقديره لكاتبه، دوغلاس فيربانكس، ممثل مشهور مازالت أعماله متوفرة بالأبيض والأسود، أمّا أنا فقرأته من باب الفضول، الكتاب يتحدث عن أهمية اتباع نمط حياة صحي أكثر من أي شيء آخر، بأن يهتم الشخص بصحته الجسدية والنفسية، التي كان ما في الفصول التي تتحدث عنها متعلقة أكثر بالضحك، لا شيء جديد، والجديد لم يكن مطلبا بالعودة للعام 1917 عندما نُشر الكتاب.
متعلق بشكل أكبر بعيش حياة صحية وإيجابية، العنوان للجذب وليس للإشارة لمحتوى الكتاب كاملًا.
إن قرأته، فسترى بلا شك الاختلافات الكثيرة من بين كتب تطوير الذات الآن وحينها، خاصة بساطة السابق وتعقيد الحالي، ولعل ذلك متعلق بتطور الحياة وما فيها.
وجدت أن أكثر من قرأت هذا الكتاب، كان من باب حبه وتقديره لكاتبه، دوغلاس فيربانكس، ممثل مشهور مازالت أعماله متوفرة بالأبيض والأسود، أمّا أنا فقرأته من باب الفضول، الكتاب يتحدث عن أهمية اتباع نمط حياة صحي أكثر من أي شيء آخر، بأن يهتم الشخص بصحته الجسدية والنفسية، التي كان ما في الفصول التي تتحدث عنها متعلقة أكثر بالضحك، لا شيء جديد، والجديد لم يكن مطلبا بالعودة للعام 1917 عندما نُشر الكتاب.
متعلق بشكل أكبر بعيش حياة صحية وإيجابية، العنوان للجذب وليس للإشارة لمحتوى الكتاب كاملًا.
إن قرأته، فسترى بلا شك الاختلافات الكثيرة من بين كتب تطوير الذات الآن وحينها، خاصة بساطة السابق وتعقيد الحالي، ولعل ذلك متعلق بتطور الحياة وما فيها.
November 26, 2024
When reading this we have to remember it was written in 1917, during the later years of WWI. At the heights of silent film, Fairbanks was considered the king of Hollywood and held in high esteem, later married to the Queen of Hollywood, Mary Pickford. It is a self help book on the order of “the power of positive thinking”. Some of his suggestions, now over 100 yrs later are still true. And today we have science to back it up, some not so much, like exercising right before sleep. It’s an uplifting read, regardless of when it was written.
June 24, 2019
Disappointing!
This book is more about the morals of living a clean, healthy and positive life. The title is deceptive. I think this book should be marketed to the youth and young adults.
This book is more about the morals of living a clean, healthy and positive life. The title is deceptive. I think this book should be marketed to the youth and young adults.
April 5, 2013
I loved this little book of advice penned by Douglas Fairbanks in 1917, so much of it being the type of material Napolean Hill might have read, researching his seminal "Think and Grow Rich" in 1937. If you're predisposed to LOA material, I think you'll enjoy "Laugh and Live."
"Laugh and Live" is also descriptive of the time just prior to Fairbanks making his silent movie classics of the 1920s. America had yet to enter WWI, and there was a boundless enthusiasm that anyone (man) could get ahead in life and the world at large, if they were honest, sincere, and applied themselves diligently. That this message -- which was at the core of every Douglas Fairbanks movie -- appears hopelessly out-of-date and impractical at the least in 2013, shows how far the world has traveled since Douglas Fairbanks created Hollywood with his bride, Mary Pickford. I believe this message is still applicable today, but you have to want to see the good and great potential in all, and not buy-in to the victimhood that is much of society's approach to life, post 9/11.
Full disclaimer, through my father's marriage to Letitia Fairbanks, Douglas Fairbanks' niece, I am related to the author.
"Laugh and Live" is also descriptive of the time just prior to Fairbanks making his silent movie classics of the 1920s. America had yet to enter WWI, and there was a boundless enthusiasm that anyone (man) could get ahead in life and the world at large, if they were honest, sincere, and applied themselves diligently. That this message -- which was at the core of every Douglas Fairbanks movie -- appears hopelessly out-of-date and impractical at the least in 2013, shows how far the world has traveled since Douglas Fairbanks created Hollywood with his bride, Mary Pickford. I believe this message is still applicable today, but you have to want to see the good and great potential in all, and not buy-in to the victimhood that is much of society's approach to life, post 9/11.
Full disclaimer, through my father's marriage to Letitia Fairbanks, Douglas Fairbanks' niece, I am related to the author.
August 6, 2016
"Nothing brings a greater self-reward than a service done in an hour of need, or a favor granted during a day's grind. The generous person who climbs to the top of the ladder helps many others on their way. The more we do for someone else, the more we do for ourselves. The stronger we become—the greater our influence in our communities." - Douglas Fairbanks
Some people might consider the language in this book to be a bit too old-fashioned at times. But other people may find it charming and enjoy the nostalgia. Either way, nothing can take away from the fact that Fairbanks offers very solid advice for how to live a healthy and joyful life. To listen to an excerpt from the book, visit the following link: How to Improve Your Personality.
Some people might consider the language in this book to be a bit too old-fashioned at times. But other people may find it charming and enjoy the nostalgia. Either way, nothing can take away from the fact that Fairbanks offers very solid advice for how to live a healthy and joyful life. To listen to an excerpt from the book, visit the following link: How to Improve Your Personality.
July 20, 2014
i think this is the great book about our daily life and it's nature.
Thank you
Thank you
March 11, 2015
For being nearly 75 years old, the input he offers is as fresh today as it was then!
Read
January 24, 2016re: a silent movie star gives advice on happiness
About the Author:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas...
About the Author:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews