Showing results by publisher "Deadtree Publishing" in Comedy & Humor

Saadat Hasan Manto was born in 1912. As a playwright and author, he wrote in what was then British India until the 1947 partition placed him on the Pakistan side of the new border. He wrote mainly in Urdu and was a prolific short story writer. His writing attracted controversy, and he was arrested and charged with obscenity 6 times but was never convicted.

Bob Hope's monologue for The Pepsodent Show was the result of his hiring from his own pocket - he had an extravagant salary from the sponsor - of a team of eight writers to write top-notch jokes and skits. His comic timing turned him into a sensation. The show was so popular that it had its pick of the best of show business stars. Everyone wanted in. Now it's time to cut the talk and get ready for laughs. It’s time for Bob Hope and his guests.

Bob Hope's monologue for The Pepsodent Show was the result of his hiring from his own pocket - he had an extravagant salary from the sponsor - of a team of eight writers to write top-notch jokes and skits. His comic timing turned him into a sensation. The show was so popular that it had its pick of the best of show business stars. Everyone wanted in. Now it's time to cut the talk and get ready for laughs. It’s time for Bob Hope and his guests.

Bob Hope's monologue for The Pepsodent Show was the result of his hiring from his own pocket - he had an extravagant salary from the sponsor - of a team of eight writers to write top-notch jokes and skits. His comic timing turned him into a sensation. The show was so popular that it had its pick of the best of show business stars. Everyone wanted in. Now it's time to cut the talk and get ready for laughs. It’s time for Bob Hope and his guests.

Rocky, always ready with a wise remark and a tongue-in-cheek approach, is a magnet for trouble. There is usually a beautiful woman involved; some good, some bad. His tough guy stays just inside the law, though we often get a glimpse of a soft heart beneath the hard-boiled exterior.

Frank Sinatra plays private eye Rocky Fortune, a "footloose and fancy-free young man", frequently unemployed, who would then take on a range of odd jobs that would lead into adventurous escapades. Rocky, always ready with a wise remark and a tongue-in-cheek approach, is a magnet for trouble. There is usually a beautiful woman involved; some good, some bad. His tough guy stays just inside the law, though we often get a glimpse of a soft heart beneath the hard-boiled exterior. Rocky usually received job assignments from the Gridley Employment Agency, usually referred to as "the agency".

Frank Sinatra plays private eye Rocky Fortune, a "footloose and fancy-free young man", frequently unemployed, who would then take on a range of odd jobs that would lead into adventurous escapades. Rocky, always ready with a wise remark and a tongue-in-cheek approach, is a magnet for trouble. There is usually a beautiful woman involved; some good, some bad. His tough guy stays just inside the law, though we often get a glimpse of a soft heart beneath the hard-boiled exterior. Rocky usually received job assignments from the Gridley Employment Agency, usually referred to as "the agency".

Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19th, 1809, and was orphaned at an early age. Taken in by the Allan family, his education was cut short by lack of money, and he went to the military academy West Point where he failed to become an officer. His early literary works were poetic, but he quickly turned to prose. He worked for several magazines and journals until in January 1845, The Raven was published and became an instant classic.

Bob Hope's monologue for The Pepsodent Show was the result of his hiring from his own pocket - he had an extravagant salary from the sponsor - of a team of eight writers to write top-notch jokes and skits. His comic timing turned him into a sensation. The show was so popular that it had its pick of the best of show business stars. Everyone wanted in. Now it's time to cut the talk and get ready for laughs. It’s time for Bob Hope and his guests.

Bob Hope's monologue for The Pepsodent Show was the result of his hiring from his own pocket - he had an extravagant salary from the sponsor - of a team of eight writers to write top-notch jokes and skits. His comic timing turned him into a sensation. The show was so popular that it had its pick of the best of show business stars. Everyone wanted in. Now it's time to cut the talk and get ready for laughs. It’s time for Bob Hope and his guests.

Bob Hope's monologue for The Pepsodent Show was the result of his hiring from his own pocket - he had an extravagant salary from the sponsor - of a team of eight writers to write top-notch jokes and skits. His comic timing turned him into a sensation. The show was so popular that it had its pick of the best of show business stars. Everyone wanted in. Now it's time to cut the talk and get ready for laughs. It’s time for Bob Hope and his guests.

Rocky, always ready with a wise remark and a tongue-in-cheek approach, is a magnet for trouble. There is usually a beautiful woman involved; some good, some bad. His tough guy stays just inside the law, though we often get a glimpse of a soft heart beneath the hard-boiled exterior.

Rocky, always ready with a wise remark and a tongue-in-cheek approach, is a magnet for trouble. There is usually a beautiful woman involved; some good, some bad. His tough guy stays just inside the law, though we often get a glimpse of a soft heart beneath the hard-boiled exterior.

Frank Sinatra plays private eye Rocky Fortune, a "footloose and fancy-free young man", frequently unemployed, who would then take on a range of odd-jobs that would lead into adventurous escapades.Rocky, always ready with a wise remark and a tongue-in-cheek approach, is a magnet for trouble. There is usually a beautiful woman involved; some good, some bad. His tough guy stays just inside the law, though we often get a glimpse of a soft heart beneath the hard-boiled exterior.

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24th June 1842 at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were poor but they introduced him to literature at an early age, instilling in him a deep appreciation of books, the written word and the elegance of language. He began his first foray as a fabulist, publishing ‘Fantastic Fables’ in 1899. But tragedy struck two years later when his second son Leigh died of pneumonia relating to his alcoholism. He continued to write short stories and poetry and also published ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’.

Jerome Klapka Jerome was born on the 2nd May 1859 at Belsize House in Caldmore, Walsall, England. His family were reduced to poverty whilst he was a toddler owning to failed investments in the local mining industry. After several moves in declining circumstances Jerome became a pupil at St Marylebone Grammar School. His aim then was to go into politics, or even become a man of letters, but with the death of his father, when he was thirteen, and his mother two years later, now meant that he had to support himself and leave all thoughts of education behind.

There is something about the number 3. The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two. Whatever history and culture says WE think 3, a hat-trick of stories, is a great number to explore themes and literary avenues that classic authors were so adept at creating.

William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4th July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, a town synonymous with the earlier Salem Witch Trials. It was instrumental in Hawthorne’s later use of American Gothic and dark romanticism in his writing. Hawthorne’s short stories were first published in magazines but in 1837 were collected and published as ‘Twice-Told Tales’. A steady literary career still did not come his way and so he worked in a good position at Salem’s port and married the love of his life Sophia Peabody. Finally, in 1850 came spectacular literary and commercial success with ‘The Scarlet Letter.’

Louisa May Alcott was born on 29th November 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She is most definitely a writer of her own experiences. Her father was a transcendentalist, philosopher and educational experimenter who founded, Fruitlands, a utopian community. Well-loved for her classic ‘Little Women’ she was a superb writer in difficult times for any woman, a strong advocate of women’s issues, the anti-slavery movement, temperance and social reform.