It Only Hurts When I Laugh

I am a long standing Freberg fan, going back to the mid-fifies when my brother used to buy his latest 78 release. Mr Freberg's book does not disappoint, still plenty of laughs, I do wish there was more of it 'tho!

At the beginning of this autobiography, Stan Freberg talks about the difficulty he has filling in the blank on application forms that asks for "occupation". He's been a comedian, cartoon voice artist, ad man, playwrite, satirist, writer and ethicist. He has created ad campaigns that lampooned the very industries they promoted. And he's stood up to the Darth Vader's of business, refusing to treat the consumer like an idiot.The most refreshing aspect of this book is the fact that so much of his humor survives the test of time. One of the photos he uses is from a commercial for Chun King Chow Mein, where the voice-over proclaimed that "nine out of ten doctors recommend Chun King Chow Mein." I remember the ad, but I still found myself laughing out loud as I realized that the picture of ten men in medical garb was comprised of nine Asians and one Caucasian.Unfortunately, there is the realization that anti-Frebergian forces still hold influence over our media, even after so many years of Stan leading the charge for truth and honesty. He doesn't need to make things up, the words of his antagonists are more absurd than any of his thousands of characters. As other reviewers have noted, this volume ends in 1963, with much of his best work yet to come. Please Stan, please give us more!

Stan Freberg tells the interesting story of why he is someone noteworthy. I first encountered Freberg on the radio talking about his United States of America album. It was so clever that I subsequently got a hold of his Greatest Hits album and radio show album. The book is just as entertaining as it reveals good stories on how he came to be an advertising man and revolutionize television commercials.He spends a great deal of the book discussing his plans with David Merrick to put United States of America on Broadway. The delay stopped what would have been a series of comedy history albums. Unfortunately the book ends in the 1960s, before his biggest ad campaigns even started. I bought this book in a bargain bin and I fear we may never see volume 2. This was a well-written and fast paced book. One of the better entertainment autobiographies I have ever read.

Stan Freberg's writing style in book form is just as engaging as his writing in audio/video form, and although it is an autobiography -- no new sketches here -- it is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Clocking in a 273 pages (hardcover) and 22 chapters (plus 28 pages of B & W photos), "It Only Hurts" just brings us up to about 1963, with a very abrupt ending and a brief promise for another volume -- much like his hit album "The United States of America" ended. Of course, "Volume 2" of this series was only released recently (although it was written 25 year before) and, even though Freberg says it won't be the same here, Volume 2 has yet to see the light of day. However, overall, Freberg has a very mish-mash life and checking out this book is definitely worth your while. Freberg has done things many people don't know he did -- like star in most of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons with Mel Blanc. So check this book out. It may not be "An Introduction to Accounting," but, as Freberg says in his Introduction, don't reject this quite yet - you may enjoy it more.