My delightful inamorato, Trav S.D.’s second book, Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies, From Nickelodeons to YouTube is available to purchase! I read it a while ago, before he sent it off the the printers, and it’s just great. It accomplishes something I’ve never seen done before, putting silent comedy in a far larger cultural context, all whole being super, super entertaining.
Buy a hard copy here.
And the Kindle version via Amazon.
Here’s the blurb:
Chain of Fools traces the art of slapstick comedy from its pre-cinema origins in the ancient pantomime through its silent movie heyday in the teens and twenties, then on to talkies, television, and the internet. Author Trav S.D. mixes a wicked wit, a scholar’s curiosity, and a keen critical appreciation for laugh-makers through the ages, from classical clowns like Joseph Grimaldi to comedy kings like Mack Sennett, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton…to more recent figures, from Red Skelton, Sid Caesar and Ernie Kovacs to Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey and Steve Carell…all the way down to the teenagers on YouTube whose backyard antics bring us full circle to slapstick’s beginnings. This valentine to the great clowns contains enough insights and surprises to open the eyes of even life-long comedy fans.
And in case you haven’t read it (you should, people!), Trav S.D,’s first book, No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous can be found here.
