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Title: Barnaby and Me by Linn Sheldon, Nat Howard, Mike Olsiewski, Richard Osborne, Ed Walsh ISBN: 1-886228-35-3 Publisher: Gray & Co., Publishers Pub. Date: November, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Somewhat interesting, but overall disappointing
Comment: Linn Sheldon's Barnaby character was probably one of the most sincere of the great 1960's kiddie show hosts. In many ways, his warmth and understanding were predecessor to what Mr. Rogers brought to children's TV -- although an essential difference is that Mr. Roger's entire agenda was about supporting children, whereas Baranaby hosted a show that marketed cartoons to children, and was supported by advertising...
Anyway, I find myself perplexed at the 5-star reviews of this book. Sheldon has collected and strung together a bunch of anecdotes about his life on-the-way, during, and after showbiz. What grabbed his attention and what he seems to find worth writing about are the high points in life. So there are anecdotes are about times of triumph, like performing or hanging out with Bob Hope or Robert Mitchum or Emmet Kelly; or times of despair, like being ripped off as a child during the Great Depression, lost loves, or dealing later with sickness and alcoholism. For me the truest and most vivid parts of the book were of his vagabond childhood in the 20's and 30's, and of regional showbiz in the 40's -- parts of these sections paint colorful pictures and we can identify with his feelings regarding what he went through.
Later this is lost, especially when it comes to Barnaby. There's very little there about Barnaby and what made the character alive, and more importantly what makes Sheldon tick. We're told about his battle with alcoholism and how Barnaby kept him going, but the level of engagement is somehow superficial; Sheldon keeps himself, and therefore engages us, at a distance. After some basic info about how the show started, he goes back again into the anecdotes; a story about Jeanne Dixon, a story about a run-in with a park maintenance worker while in costume...there's surprisingly little meat about the Barnaby Show itself, its development and growth, and little of him or his involvement in it. Indeed, Woodrow the Woodsman, his sidekick, is mentioned only in the photo captions, and not at all in the text!
Maybe it was all lost to him in a blur, and maybe I shouldn't expect so much from someone who is not a writer to begin with, but I think there could have been a lot more here. Perhaps he needed to distance himself from what he went through in order to write about it at all. But given what he has been through, there is enough pain, tragedy, triumph, humor, and history to be of universal interest; whereas all we have now is a minor book of nostalgic interest to those who grew up in Cleveland, with very little in the way of detail.
Rating: 5
Summary: THIS BOOK BRINGS BACK SOME GREAT MEMORIES
Comment: I GREW UP WATCHING BARNABY FOR MANY YEARS AS A SMALL FRY. HE WAS AND STILL IS ONE OF MY HEROES. LINN SHELDON DOES A GREAT JOB DESCRIBING HIS LIFE, CAREER, AND ADVENTURES IN SHOW BIZ. HE IS VERY CREATIVE, HUMOROUS, DETAILED, AND WITTY. HE WRITES WITH CLASS AND DIGNITY. HIS TELLING OF THE DARK SIDE OF HIS LIFE (ALCOHOLISM) IS VERY HONEST, TOUCHING, AND HUMOROUS. I AM A RECOVERING ONE MYSELF. I CAN IDENTIFY WITH HIS FEELINGS AND EXPERIENCES. THIS IS A VERY TOUCHING LOOK AT A VERY LOVING AND CREATIVE MAN WHO BROUGHT A LOT OF JOY TO MANY CHILDREN IN CLEVELAND OVER A FEW DECADES. VERY VERY RECOMMENDED.
Rating: 5
Summary: Barnaby & Me
Comment: Although it is about the life of a television performer,one who was a pioneer in the industry, I feel that this book is an easy read, fun, and hard to leave alone...I find myself referring to favorite chapters many, many times. This is not a book about Cleveland, it is a book about everyone. Someone should do a musical or movie about this author.
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Title: Cleveland TV Memories by Tom Feran, R. D. Heldenfels ISBN: 1886228329 Publisher: Gray & Co., Publishers Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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