![]() ![]() She says it could double as a textbook on comedy. The humor and wit were there, but he didn't use it often.'Īlthough her half of the book could be subtitled 'Life With Daddy,' in promoting the book Joan talks mostly about her father's autobiography. Sometimes someone would give him a straight line almost as a dare to be funny. ![]() 'Daddy seldom tried to be funny off-camera. 'I talked to many of his contemporaries and friends for my part of the book and they were wonderful at remembering anecdotes. Strangers called him Jack, which was fine with him. He didn't know which were the best tables. He never demanded the best table at a restaurant. 'He would wait in line with other people to see a movie and think nothing of it. He was like a horse with blinders, always focussed on next week's show. ![]() 'He was the least egotistical man in the business, yet one of the most egocentric. Joan, now a chic matron with four grown children, remembers her father as a devoted husband and kindly papa who generally was funny only when performing. She chose instead to flesh out the self-portrait he authored, then left to gather dust in a closet. Joan, however, does not deify her father, who died at 80 in 1974. No entertainer enjoyed a longer run in the electronic media. ![]()
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