The Laugh Makers: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope’s Incredible Gag Writers

"In The Laugh Makers, Bob Mills takes us on a delightful, side-splitting journey back to the slapstick sketch comedy of television's golden age—a long-ago era of variety, song-and-dance, brilliant patter, and a seemingly endless parade of laughs—sprung from the genius of 'gag men,' that talented group of wit-blessed wordsmiths to whom the book pays well-deserved homage. The Laugh Makers is a priceless collection of heretofore unpublished recollections revealing untold secrets and goings-on behind the scenes on The Bob Hope Show from Stockholm to Bora Bora, London to Peking. It's jam-packed with stories [and] anecdotes, his guest stars, and his writers—all from a fondly remembered past that will have you chuckling from start to finish. Bob Mills is well qualified to salute the famous corps of gag men who kept the comedian knee-deep in jokes. These firsthand recollections summon up the final phase of Hope's career―and the end of the trail for an entire brand of show business."—Gary Owens, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In