This book can be ordered from the publisher McFarland & Company, Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640 by sending them $29.95 plus $3 shipping & handling, or by calling on the toll-free number 1-800-253-2187. Or show biz fans can send me, the author, a check for $30 even and I will send an autographed copy postage paid: my address is David Bakish, 2 Bay Club Drive, Apt. 4X, Bayside, NY 11360.

"The Big Reel" says my book "beats all other Durante books by a nose [a big nose]...A staggering amount of information."

From his humble beginnings as a Coney Island piano player, Jimmy Durante was one of America's best-loved entertainers for nearly seven decades. Known for his distinctive "schnozzle" and raspy voice, the multi-talented performer became a stage, screen and recording star.

Every aspect of Jimmy Durante's career is covered here: his early vaudeville and Broadway days; the 38 movies he made; his radio appearances; the mixture of new and old material he brought to television in the 1950s; and his work as a singer and composer.

David Bakish is an English professor at the City University of New York.

P.S. The book does have an extensive chapter on radio and an appendix that is a radio log not only of Durante's various shows but also his many guest appearances on other stars' radio shows. Also the book does answer in detail the question I'm most asked (and do not wish to answer on the Internet), who was Mrs. Calabash?

Jerry Haendiges Productions 1997 - 1998