Memoir Excerpts | The Comic's Daughter

“I was just trying to grow up but people kept getting whacked”

The Comic's Daughter, A Chicago Tale

Funny and dramatic. Based on true events—an iconic, coming of age story, set in the ‘60s.

PROLOGUE

THE OMEN

Growing up in this environment, I understood punch lines much better than fractions; I read Harold Robbins, dirty detective novels, and all the Playboys I could find.

THE
COMIC'S WOMEN

Staring straight ahead and without looking at me, my mother delivered the following: “We’re not going to the dentist. Joni shot Johnny and he’s dead.”

POSTCARDS FROM MIAMI:

THE VERDICT

OPENING FOR SAMMY

There were many girlfriends. One in particular was an overblown blonde bonanza named Mitzi Merman. Mitzi’s mouth was so wide it defied the Amazon River. In fact, I am certain that her mouth did tricks.

He dropped Helen’s luggage and strode over to the front desk, took the yellow Western Union telegram, and ripped it open. This was it. The verdict had been reached in ninety-minutes…

BREAKING
BAD CURSES

To be honest, I was extremely worried. I knew my father was funny but a white, Jewish comic in a shiny suit trying to entertain an all-black audience seemed daunting. After all, it was 1965.

I discovered an innate, built-in thing about curses: They beg to be broken.