DANCERS BUILDINGS AND PEOPLE IN THE STREETS by EDWIN DENBY (First Edition)
Horizon Press, 1965. 287 pages. SCARCE! Frank O'Hara intro. Edwin Denby was a poet and the most influential American dance critic of this century (some say!) He studied gymnastics in Austria in the 1920s, and participated in modernist dance performances in Germany. He was well suited to critique both traditional and emerging dance forms. His most influential writings on dance appeared in his column for The Herald Tribune. Denby witnessed the legendary clash in America of modern dance and classical ballet. He was especially enamored of the choreographers Martha Graham and George Balanchine. He was also photographer Rudy Burckhardt’s lifelong friend and collaborator. Not to be confused with former Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby, who was caught up in the Teapot Dome scandal and probably never wore a leotard in his life.
CONDITION: Interior is clean with no marks or underlining, tight binding. You can see some erased pencil notes upper right corner of title page. An area about 3" by 3" on right front endpaper has residue from some kind of sticker. Blue cloth cover has some fading to edge and bumping to corners. Non price-clipped dust jacket has some chips and small tears along top and bottom edges, especially on spine. Some wear and dirt on dustjacket and creases upper left corner of jacket. $25

WORLD OF LAUGHTER: THE MOTION PICTURE COMEDY SHORT, 1919-1930 by Kalton C. Lahue (First Edition)
University of Oklahoma Press, 1966. 240 pages with index and lots of photos. A fascinating studio-by-studio history of silent comedy short subjects. Information about major films, firms, actors, and directors of the period. Includes still- famous stars such as Chaplin, Ben Turpin, Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, and the Keystone Cops. Also more obscure figures including Waddy and Arty, Fay Tincher, John Bunny, and Billy West (a Chaplin imitator). The books ends with the passing of silent comedy. Too bad many of these talented folks did not fare well in the age of sound. It just makes me want to throw a custard pie!
CONDITION: Clean interior with crisp white pages and tight binding. No marks. Pink cloth cover has slight wear to top and bottom edge of spine. Previous owners name and address stamped on inside front cover. Price-clipped dust jacket has wear to edges and corners and a few scrapes and a bit of dirt. $12

WAKE UP I'M FAT by CAMRYN MANHEIM (First Edition)
Broadway Books, 1999. Stated First Edition. Oprah lost weight. Ricki Lake lost weight. Carnie Wilson had a gastric bypass. Who still maintains her large loveliness and gutsy sense-of-humor? Camryn Manheim, that's who! The Emmy Award-winning costar of The Practice, chronicles her journey from self-hatred to self-acceptance. This is her intelligent, candid, and funny take on being fat in a society obsessed with being thin. She discusses her life experiences, her career, her problems with drugs and alcohol, her weight (of course!), and her views on the beauty aesthetic. Today she is a lesbian political activist single mom with her own website, who can be seen playing cards on Celebrity Poker Showdown.
CONDITION: Simply put, this book is like-new. $10

HIGH ANXIETY by MEL BROOKS
Grosset and Dunlap, 1978. Novelization by Robert H. Pipel. Mel Brooks's infamous take on Alfred Hitchcock, complete with tons of screenshots from the film. This was back when he was making the really funny movies (pre-Spaceballs). Way before The Producers on Broadway and the introduction of the $100 theater ticket. Set at the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, this film stars such favorite Brooks players as Cloris Leachman, Madeleine Kahn, Mel himself, Harvey Korman, and Howard Morris. References to such Hitch classics as Spellbound, Vertigo, Psycho, The Man Who Knew Too Much and The Birds. Oh, Mel Brooks, I just want to pinch his punim! (Nothing dirty: it's Yiddish for face!)
CONDITION: Interior is clean and crisp with no marks and a tight binding. Oversized paperback has shelfwear and light scraches on cover. The upper right corner of front cover is bent with some paper splitting (about 1/2 inch from corner.) $8

TALLULAH, DARLING by DENIS BRIAN (First Printing)
Macmillan Publishing, 1980. Stated first printing. Biography of stage, screen, and gossip column legend Tallulah Bankhead. "A beautiful young woman with the manners of a Southern belle, the language of a drill sargeant, the daring of a trapeze artist, and the talent to become the greatest actress of her time." It's hard to top Tallulah in the vice department: cocaine, chain smoking, bourbon, a long list of lovers of both sexes, and a taste for scandal--she liked to walk around at parties naked and often gave theater audiences a glimpse of something unexpected as she didn't like to wear panties. (She was far more interesting than Colin Farrell could ever hope to be.) She crossed paths with lots of famous people including Sir Laurence Olivier, Joan Crawford, Alfred Hitchcock, Burgess Meredith, Otto Preminger, Noel Coward, John F. Kennedy, Truman Capote, and Tennessee Williams. But she had a soft side, too: my favorite quote in the book is, "I think dolphins are the most divine people in the world."
CONDITION: Interior is clean with white crisp pages and tight binding. Not price-clipped. Dust jacket is in mylar sleeve which is taped to the inside front and back covers. Looks like there is some shelf wear to the red cloth cover. Dustjacket has wear to some of the corners and top of spine edge. $5