OK, I give up. I tried to read this book. I thought it would be a memoir of Gary Owens, a former member of the "Laugh-In" show from the '60's, and an accomplished voice of radio and T.V. And to be honest, it sometimes is. But the heart of the matter is it is exactly what the tiltle impiles it is. That is, a how-to book for aspiring voices desiring to break into show business.
In this vein, I could probably give it a thumbs up, (in the vein of Ebert and Roeper). It has some promise, to be sure. The opening lines are the essence of pure comedy.
"The entire text was scrawled on butcher paper with a chicken claw, then transferred by hooded scribes using an Underwood manual typewriter, and then blotted."
I mean, it is the essence of offbeat comedy. But once I started reading, although the comedy is still there, it still remains a how to book. Given that Gary Owens is still a legend in my own mind, I won't give this a completely negative reveiw, but I would definitel;y have enjoyed the memoirs much more than this.
I rate this one 5½ stars. Next book is "Little Chapel on the River" by Gwendolyn Brooks
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