Jack Douglas (born Douglas Linley Crickard, July 17, 1908 – January 31, 1989) was an American comedy writer who wrote for radio and television while additionally writing a series of humor books.[1]
On radio, he was a writer for Red Skelton, Bob Hope and the situation comedy Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou (1938–46), in which Riggs switched back and forth from his natural baritone to the voice of a seven-year-old girl.
He was best known for his frequent guest appearances on Jack Paar's shows of the late 1950s and early 1960s. On one such appearance, when Douglas was well established as a Paar guest, he was chastised by Paar for holding a stack of file cards with his jokes while talking with Paar. When Paar returned to television in 1973 and was confronted by unexpected low ratings, he engaged Douglas to contribute monologue material by mail. One week, there was no mail from Douglas; but his next package contained a note: "Sorry I didn't send anything last week. I forgot you were on."
By 1959, Douglas' appearances with Paar gave him a huge audience for his humorous memoirs, published by Dutton and Putnam with many mass market paperback editions by Pocket Books and others.
My Brother Was an Only Child, adapted from a book he privately printed in 1947 and sent to 400 of his friends, stayed on the bestseller lists for months in 1959. Some of his books, including Shut Up and Eat Your Snowshoes (1970), were set in Northern Ontario, where Jack and Reiko Douglas lived for several years after purchasing a wilderness lodge on Bird Lake near Killarney Provincial Park in 1968.[2] The town Chinookville in his Northern Ontario books is based on the Ontario city Sudbury. The book The Neighbors Are Scaring My Wolf (1968) was based on his experiences living in New Canaan, Connecticut, while Benedict Arnold Slept Here (1975) recalled the misadventures of the couple while operating their own inn.
Woody Allen, in his 2003 film Anything Else (as his character David Dobel), references one of Douglas' books, Never Trust A Naked Bus Driver. Dobel recalls, "Years ago, Falk, a very wonderful comedy writer, wrote a very funny book with a deep, a really deep and meaningful title. It was called 'Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver.' Now, you would be amazed how many people do exactly that — and worse."
Published worksedit
No Navel to Guide Him (1947)
My Brother Was an Only Child (1959)
Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver (1960)
A Funny Thing Happened to Me on My Way to the Grave (1962)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Hashimoto (1964)
The Neighbors Are Scaring My Wolf (1968)
Shut Up and Eat Your Snowshoes (1970)
What Do You Hear from Walden Pond? (1971)
The Jewish-Japanese Sex and Cook Book and How to Raise Wolves (1972)
Benedict Arnold Slept Here (1975)
Going Nuts in Brazil (1977)
Rubber Duck (1979)
Personal lifeedit
Douglas's third wife Reiko Douglas (née Hashimoto) was a Japanese-born singer and comedian. Reiko died of cancer on September 9, 2013, in Los Angeles at age 77.[3]
Referencesedit
^"Jack Douglas Papers An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University". Syracuse University Libraries. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
^"Jack Douglas Buys Canadian Island". Ottawa Journal. March 2, 1968. p. 62. Retrieved January 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^Fox, Margalit (September 16, 2013). "Reiko Douglas, Entertainer on TV Talk Shows, Dies at 77". New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
External linksedit
Jack Douglas papers at Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center
January 01, 1970
jack, douglas, writer, other, people, named, jack, douglas, jack, douglas, disambiguation, jack, douglas, born, douglas, linley, crickard, july, 1908, january, 1989, american, comedy, writer, wrote, radio, television, while, additionally, writing, series, humo. For other people named Jack Douglas see Jack Douglas disambiguation Jack Douglas born Douglas Linley Crickard July 17 1908 January 31 1989 was an American comedy writer who wrote for radio and television while additionally writing a series of humor books 1 Jack DouglasBornDouglas Linley CrickardJuly 17 1908Lynbrook New York U S DiedJanuary 31 1989 1989 01 31 aged 80 Los Angeles California U S Pen nameJack DouglasOccupationNovelist short story writer columnist actor television personality comedianPeriod1947 1979GenreComedyNotable workMy Brother Was An Only ChildSpousesReiko Hashimoto 1960 1989 his death Marion Hutton 1949 1954 divorced Merle Dean Crain 1937 1949 divorced Children5 Contents 1 Radio 2 Television 3 Humor books 4 Published works 5 Personal life 6 References 7 External linksRadio editOn radio he was a writer for Red Skelton Bob Hope and the situation comedy Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou 1938 46 in which Riggs switched back and forth from his natural baritone to the voice of a seven year old girl Television editContinuing to write for Skelton and Hope as he moved into television Douglas also wrote for Jimmy Durante Bing Crosby Woody Allen Johnny Carson The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet The Jack Paar Show The George Gobel Show and Laugh In The producer of Laugh In George Schlatter said He saw the world from a different angle than the rest of us He was not only funny he was nice Douglas won an Emmy Award in 1954 for best written comedy material He was best known for his frequent guest appearances on Jack Paar s shows of the late 1950s and early 1960s On one such appearance when Douglas was well established as a Paar guest he was chastised by Paar for holding a stack of file cards with his jokes while talking with Paar When Paar returned to television in 1973 and was confronted by unexpected low ratings he engaged Douglas to contribute monologue material by mail One week there was no mail from Douglas but his next package contained a note Sorry I didn t send anything last week I forgot you were on Douglas and his third wife Reiko nee Hashimoto a Japanese born singer and comedian were regular guests on shows hosted by Merv Griffin Dick Cavett and Johnny Carson Humor books editBy 1959 Douglas appearances with Paar gave him a huge audience for his humorous memoirs published by Dutton and Putnam with many mass market paperback editions by Pocket Books and others My Brother Was an Only Child adapted from a book he privately printed in 1947 and sent to 400 of his friends stayed on the bestseller lists for months in 1959 Some of his books including Shut Up and Eat Your Snowshoes 1970 were set in Northern Ontario where Jack and Reiko Douglas lived for several years after purchasing a wilderness lodge on Bird Lake near Killarney Provincial Park in 1968 2 The town Chinookville in his Northern Ontario books is based on the Ontario city Sudbury The book The Neighbors Are Scaring My Wolf 1968 was based on his experiences living in New Canaan Connecticut while Benedict Arnold Slept Here 1975 recalled the misadventures of the couple while operating their own inn Woody Allen in his 2003 film Anything Else as his character David Dobel references one of Douglas books Never Trust A Naked Bus Driver Dobel recalls Years ago Falk a very wonderful comedy writer wrote a very funny book with a deep a really deep and meaningful title It was called Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver Now you would be amazed how many people do exactly that and worse Published works editNo Navel to Guide Him 1947 My Brother Was an Only Child 1959 Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver 1960 A Funny Thing Happened to Me on My Way to the Grave 1962 The Adventures of Huckleberry Hashimoto 1964 The Neighbors Are Scaring My Wolf 1968 Shut Up and Eat Your Snowshoes 1970 What Do You Hear from Walden Pond 1971 The Jewish Japanese Sex and Cook Book and How to Raise Wolves 1972 Benedict Arnold Slept Here 1975 Going Nuts in Brazil 1977 Rubber Duck 1979 Personal life editDouglas s third wife Reiko Douglas nee Hashimoto was a Japanese born singer and comedian Reiko died of cancer on September 9 2013 in Los Angeles at age 77 3 References edit Jack Douglas Papers An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University Syracuse University Libraries Retrieved March 24 2021 Jack Douglas Buys Canadian Island Ottawa Journal March 2 1968 p 62 Retrieved January 8 2015 via Newspapers com nbsp Fox Margalit September 16 2013 Reiko Douglas Entertainer on TV Talk Shows Dies at 77 New York Times Retrieved March 24 2021 External links editJack Douglas papers at Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center Toynbee Doob s Pal Time June 15 1959 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jack Douglas writer amp oldid 1223132497, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
