Topic: One Fine Stooge: Larry Fine's Frizzy Life in Pictures

[Larry Fine Fan]

I recently bought this book from Amazon, and absolutely love it! The pictures won me over, and the text is wonderful!

What are your comments on this book?

Sara

[falsealarms]

It blew my mind when I read it. It's arguably the best Stooge-related book ever published. It was so well done and worth a buy for anyone here who doesn't have it.

[Justin T]

It's probably the best Stooge biography/history book written yet, right up there with The Scrapbook
and Moe's book (despite the errors in both books). I learned some new stuff reading it, it's a wonderful book.
Every Stooge fan should read it.

[FineBari3]

I said it on this board when the book came out, that it was the best of all of the Stooge books! 

Steve is a great guy, too!  He's out there in Hollywood or LA...aren't you there too? You may be able to find him at a movie collector's show or film screening somewhere.

[Dog Hambone]

I absolutely loved the book. Probably the best Stooge book out there. I also liked the way it attempted to clear up that story in The Three Stooges Scrapbook about how Emil Sitka supposedly blew his chance to become a third Stooge.   

[Rich Finegan]

I recently bought this book from Amazon, and absolutely love it! The pictures won me over, and the text is wonderful!

What are your comments on this book?

Sara

I say: It's excellent, essential, and highly recommended! Especially if one knows the story behind Larry's feeling about the book "Stroke of Luck". How we wish he could have lived to see it done right by Steve Cox.

[Seamus]

You guys have sold me on this one.  Just ordered my copy from Amazon.

The only book on the Stooges I've read is Michael Fleming's Illustrated History, and I remember being mostly disappointed with it.  Fleming obviously loved the boys, but his book came across a bit superficial (probably to be expected from a guy who meticulously indexes the number of eye-pokes and pie hits for each episode - news I can use, thanks Mike).  Based on the comments here, sounds like One Fine Stooge offers the depth I was hoping for but failed to get with the Illustrated History.

[falsealarms]

That Fleming book is mediocre at best.... just not very impressive and generally a lackluster effort.

[BenStooge9]

I'm really looking forward to Joan and Paul's new book - anybody know when that's coming out?

[locoboymakesgood]

I'm really looking forward to Joan and Paul's new book - anybody know when that's coming out?

I didn't even know they were having a new book coming out.

[busybuddy]

I didn't even know they were having a new book coming out.

I think Joan has been talking about doing a book called "Stooge Kids" for about 11 years now. I'm still waiting. On a side note, I just got "Stooges Among Us" in the mail this morning. I was surprised to see a chapter by Stever Stoliar, who wrote an excellent book about his days as Groucho's secretary in "Raised Eyebrows" and Randy Skredvet (sic?), who wrote which was at one time the definitive Laurel and Hardy filmography. I bought "Among us" and "Stoogeology" for my dad for xmas.

[Rich Finegan]

Randy Skredvet (sic?), who wrote which was at one time the definitive Laurel and Hardy filmography.

Randy Skretvedt is alive & well and currently working on an updated & revised version of his great Laurel & Hardy book "The Magic Behind the Movies".

[busybuddy]

Randy Skretvedt is alive & well and currently working on an updated & revised version of his great Laurel & Hardy book "The Magic Behind the Movies".

He wrote a great chapter. I finished reading this book last night! lol I've read THe Magic Behind The Movies" and it is the best Laurel and Hardy book about their films, and I can't wait to see the updated version. Didn't Randy do some of the commentaries on the Laurel and Hardy FOX years DVD's?

But back to "A Fuzzy Life In Pictures," it is the best Stooge related biography ever written. I'd say that "The Complete Three Stooges" by Jon Solomon is the closest thing to a Stooges Bible we have, in terms of the making of their films as opposed to their life stories.

[Rich Finegan]

He wrote a great chapter. I finished reading this book last night! lol I've read THe Magic Behind The Movies" and it is the best Laurel and Hardy book about their films, and I can't wait to see the updated version. Didn't Randy do some of the commentaries on the Laurel and Hardy FOX years DVD's?

Yes, Randy provided the commentaries for three of the six Fox Laurel & Hardy features on DVD (Scott MacGillivray did the remaining three). And an excellent job each one did, too.

And yes, Randy's Laurel & Hardy book is one of the very best and most essential for coverage of their films. Randy admits he was too harsh in his criticism of Laurel & Hardy's post-1940 films in his original book, and will give them a much fairer evaluation in the new version, along with lots of other new info.

For biographies on Stan & Ollie you need John McCabe's "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy". For coverage of their early solo films you can't beat the book "Laurel Or Hardy" by Rob Stone. And for the best coverage of their post-Hal Roach careers (1940 onward) the essential book there would be "Laurel and Hardy: From the Forties Forward" by Scott MacGillivray (just out on a new expanded and updated version). This excellent book covers not just Stan & Ollie's post-1940 film careers, but everything else they did: tours, stage, television, etc.
The Laurel & Hardy book referred to sometimes by their fans as "The Bible" is another essential volume, if one wants great coverage of their films in pictures. This one is called "Laurel and Hardy" and its authors & compilers were John McCabe, Richard Bann and Al Kilgore.

And just to stay on-topic with The Three Stooges, I also agree that Steve Cox's Larry book is one of the very best!

[Dolemite]

When my brother and I were kids we thought the guy living across the street looked like Larry.  Hopefully we never told him that.