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Ron wrote the best-selling biography "COSBY." It's been re-issued in many editions, both hardcover, paperback, large
print, U.K. editions and even foreign language.
Ron wrote a biography of another beloved comedian:
JOHNNY
CARSON: A BIOGRAPHY
"Pleasing...more replenishing than Paul Corkery's "Carson," Smith is much tighter,
more straightforward, touches all the bases and nicely seasoned with that Carson wit."
KIRKUS REVIEWS
"Insightful
portrait." BACKSTAGE
"Anecdote filled. Like Paul Corkery's recent "Carson," Smith's account was
written without the subject's cooperation, but unlike the earlier effort, it manages to be quite juicy." BOOKLIST
STARS OF STAND-UP COMEDY
"A lively biographical encyclopedia that will be in demand...thoroughly entertaining...a
long overdue and perceptively rendered volume that will function as both a valuable reference item and as a fun browsing compendium.
BOOKLIST
"A
standout book on stand-up comedians...he writes with empathy...What gives Smith's book its value is that...he describes the
comic with well chosen excerpts from the routines. Smith can also usually chart the life path and the extenuating circumstances
that produced the style. He is very good and comprehending on Lenny Bruce...and Smith's long entry on Mort Sahl captures remarkably
the incisive style of a comic satirist...there are two kinds of reference books about show business: very good and fairly
awful...good ones answer hard questions, surprise you with facts you didn't know and are impossible to put down because one
revelation leads to another."
CHARLES CHAMPLIN, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Wise and insightful...I'm sure that
as much as I know about the business I'll have frequent occasion to refer to it."
STEVE ALLEN
COMEDY ON
RECORD
"It's intended as a reference work, but Ronald L. Smith's hefty new tome is a compulsively readable book,
informative and often very amusing...Amply fulfilling its stated goal, 'Comedy on Record' lists and rates, often in considerable
detail, virtually every comedy album ever released. Delightful and entertaining...a wealth of solid (and sometimes bizarre)
information...Smith's judgements are on target."
LARRY KART, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"'Comedy on Record' is
a valuable reference...in addition to being a useful resource, this book is fun to read."
LIBRARY JOURNAL
"In
a monumental effort, Garland Publishing, Inc. has provided the ultimate book for fans of comedy records, authored by Ronald
Smith. And Smith's impressive credentials in the comedy field certainly qualify him to delve into such a magnificent task.
He is a joke writer, humorous poetry writer, comedy magazine editor as well as the author of "The Stars of Stand-Up Comedy"
and "Johnny Carson."...Page after page...virtually boggles one's mind...truly an incredible work...a job well done."
MOVIE
COLLECTOR'S WORLD
THE COMEDY QUOTE DICTIONARY (Doubleday)
"A hoot of a book...he has gathered together
some of the brightest moments and lines from the best comedic minds of all time. Many of these bits will make you laugh out
loud...Marvelous!"
THE COAST BOOK REVIEW
"Pick a topic, any topic, and Ronald L. Smith has a zinger
for you...and among the 2,000 or so quotes, quips and jokes from this century's funniest men and women, there's nary a groaner."
LOS
ANGELES DAILY NEWS
THE FIGHT FOR TONIGHT
"Smith's 15th book...is a riveting behind-the-scenes account
of backstabbing, bullying and network nitpicking that goes all the way back to the first successful late night show, "Broadway
Open House," starring Jerry Lester, who was soon upstaged by television's first blonde bombshell, Dagmar. Throughout,
the reader sees producers, agents, network executives and performers at their self-serving, preening worst. But the last are
also seen at their best. Many of the great moments of late night television are faithfully recalled, and they have not lost
their luster."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
COMIC SUPPORT: Second Bananas in the Movies (Citadel)
"This
book is a real sleeper: word-and-picture profiles of 170 comic supporting players, everyone from Iris Adrian and Luis Alberni
to Marie Wilson and Monty Woolley. Yes, 170 of the best-loved players in movie history, most of whom never got the credit
they deserved. But now they do. Ron Smith captures each one with a fine personal and career profile, plus a rare photo. And
no skimping: the average profile runs about one and a half oversized pages. You get elusive birth and death dates, plus valuable
extras...In short, a wonderful reading-and-reference book..."
PREVIEWS
"Full time drunks, society
ladies, prissy sales clerks and silly sidekicks — they're all here from Iris Adrian to Marie Wilson, a collection
of straight men and zanies long unappreciated to all except the ever faithful film buff..its good photos, trim bios and "selected
film and stage appearances" recommends it...There's a certain scandal-drenched joy in these 200 profiles that give it
appeal...Jack Weston's "flag desecration," Carol Wayne's drowning and Walter Catlett's "legendary drinking"
— pithy comments lend notoriety to people too often blended into the anonymity of Tinseltown's various stock companies."
FILMS
IN REVIEW
WHO'D SAY THAT?
"Celebrities say the darndest things. And Ronald L. Smith has collected
their most outrageous quotes in his hilarious new quiz book!"
National Enquirer
COMEDY STARS AT 78 RPM
"A book which should benefit record collectors and vintage entertainment fans...The 89 biographical profiles
are concise and include samples of each performer's routines. Real names and birth and death dates are included...Smith lists
original cylinder or 78 releases, giving titles and original stock numbers...the book provides information on scores of obscure
entertainers...supplies much helpful data and does so entertainingly."
PAST TIMES
"Deals with a curious
but interesting mix of performers...Abbott and Costello, Nora Bayes, Fanny Brice...Butterbeans and Susie, Red Ingle and Robert
J. Wildhack, Arthur Askey, Billy Bennett, Albert Chevalier, Billy Merson, George Robey and others...The author knows his subject
well and provides some fascinating tidbits."
ANTHONY SLIDE, CLASSIC IMAGES
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