From Amazon.com
Capering into fame as Jackie Gleason's sidekick in
The Honeymooners, Art Carney proved later that he was no mere television personality but a real actor. He originated the part of neurotic Felix in Neil Simon's 1965 Broadway smash
The Odd Couple, and his dual role in Brian Friel's
Lovers garnered a 1968 Tony nomination; he won an Academy Award in 1974 for his poignant performance in
Harry and Tonto. Michael Seth Starr traces this varied career with perception and empathy, revealing a hard-drinking, introverted, extremely private man totally unlike the blithely goofy Ed Norton.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
The story of Carney's career as a funnyman overlaps the story of his battle against alcoholism. Starr's workmanlike account of Carney's dual life adopts a friendly tone that jibes with Carney's comfy-old-shoe acting persona, which so well fit his role as a great second banana to Jackie Gleason that people were surprised when he became a star in his own right. Starr dismisses rumors that Gleason plotted to deny Carney recognition--indeed, dismisses them so often that you start to wonder. Carney's battle with the bottle furnishes a better clue to why proper recognition eluded him. Then again, even with the alcoholism, he won six Emmies fairly early in his career and later an Oscar and a Tony nomination. Because he created three classic comic characters--Ed Norton while with Gleason,
The Odd Couple's Felix Unger, and Harry Combes in
Harry and Tonto Carney demands a good biography. Starr's fills the bill very adequately, though not flashily.
Mike Tribby
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
