Mr. Ed: Dead: And Other Obituaries of the Most Famous People Who Never Lived Reviewed By Dr. Wesley Britton of Bookpleasures.com
- By Dr. Wesley Britton
- Published June 25, 2010
- Humour
Dr. Wesley Britton
Reviewer Dr. Wesley Britton: Dr. Britton is the author of four non-fiction books on espionage in literature and the media. Starting in fall 2015, his new six-book science fiction series, The Beta-Earth Chronicles, debuted via BearManor Media.
In 2018, Britton self-published the seventh book in the Chronicles, Alpha Tales 2044, a collection of short stories, many of which first appeared at a number of online venues.
For seven years, he was co-host of online radio’s Dave White Presents where he contributed interviews with a host of entertainment insiders. Before his retirement in 2016, Dr. Britton taught English at Harrisburg Area Community College. Learn more about Dr. Britton at his WEBSITE
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Authors: Barry Nelson and Tom Schecker
Publisher: Sourcebooks
ISBN-10: 1402237448
“Twinkling Little Star Explodes in Supernova; Scientists No Longer Wonder What It Is”
“Little Engine Could; Brakes Could Not”
“Betty Crocker Dead at 88; Rich But No Longer Moist”
While I’m not given to hyperbole, the above headlines are typical of what readers will find in the funniest book I’ve ever read. And, while I’m not prone to use text abbreviations either, most readers will LOL at least four or five times a page, and that’s for 192 pages of non-stop comedy that’s varied, clever, original, and surprising.
What Barry Nelson and Tom Schecker offer us in this scrapbook of hilarious obits is the utter destruction of nearly every fictional character ever created for nursery rimes, comic strips, TV and films, literature, and mascots for commercials and sports teams. They do this using a number of techniques from playing with a distinguishing aspect of a character doing them in— intestinal blockage for Dagwood Bumstead; parodying the literary contrivances of the original—Inspector Lestrade completely missing the obvious when Sherlock Holmes is run over by a hansom cab; or simply providing obits with a twist at the end. (It would be unfair to point to examples--no spoilers here.) And some passings warrant several notices. For example:
Wilbur, 22 is SOME DEAD PIG
(AP)
— Wilbur, porcine confidant of Charlotte the Spider, died in his
sleep last night. Farmer Zuckerman reported that Wilbur was 22 years
old. An intelligent blue-ribbon winner at 4-H events, the razorback
was, however, considered by many members of the swine community to be
a boar.
Eerily, the farmer's daughter, who discovered the body, was alerted to Wilbur's demise by a spider web woven above his pen that read "Some Dead Pig." The Zuckermans have promised to give Wilbur a proper send-off.
And this is followed by:
Rotary Club Meat Raffle
244 pounds, various cuts of pork for freezer, lickets $5, available at Zuckerman’s Farm.
James Bond, Fred Flintstone, the “Fonz,” Mary Poppins, and Snap, Crackle and Pop are all gone now. The one problem readers might have with these demises is whether or not they‘re familiar with decades of popular culture and all its icons. Younger readers might not have read “Lil Abner” and older readers might not be familiar with the online mascots for computer companies. But this is a book that’s a perfect gift, it really is, for nearly every occasion--with one obvious exception. Because of the range of the dearly departeds, there’s more than enough laughs for every generation, demographic, or taste. It’s one to leave on the coffee table for visitors or party guest to thumb through while waiting for the dining table to be set. If this book doesn’t put you in a good mood, I’m not sure you deserve one.