Overweight Sensation: The Life and Comedy of Allan Sherman (Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life) - Hardcover

"An interesting and engaging biography of a complicated man."--Women's Wear Daily "Sherman has been rediscovered as often as he has been forgotten, but Cohen's book is exhaustively definitive, offering enough detail to satisfy even the most annoyingly punctilious comedy nerd." --Tablet .".. lively and meticulously researched... "--Chicago Tribune .".. lively and meticulously researched... " Chicago Tribune .".. told with intimate details, an affectionate touch of humanity and lots of [Sherman's] parody lyrics in the well-researched book Overweight Sensation."-- The Hollywood Reporter "Mark Cohen's masterful, critical biography, 'Overweight Sensation.'"--The Jewish Advocate ..". lively and meticulously researched... "--Chicago Tribune ..". told with intimate details, an affectionate touch of humanity and lots of [Sherman's] parody lyrics in the well-researched book Overweight Sensation."--The Hollywood Reporter Chicago Tribune" Booklist" The Jewish Advocate" Choice" "Lively and meticulously researched." "Chicago Tribune"" "[A] masterful, critical biography." "The Jewish Advocate"" Lively and meticulously researched.-- "Chicago Tribune" (1/1/2013 12:00:00 AM) In bringing context to the life of a now largely forgotten one-hit wonder, Cohen adds a valuable chapter to the history of American popular culture."-- "Booklist" (1/1/2013 12:00:00 AM) [A] masterful, critical biography.-- "The Jewish Advocate" (1/1/2013 12:00:00 AM) Writer and journalist Cohen here captures the complex life of musical satirist Allan Sherman. . . . The author delves into the history of Jewish comedy in the 20th century, exploring Sherman's role in this complex story. . . . Highly recommended.-- "Choice" (1/1/2013 12:00:00 AM) "Sherman's story offers a "fascinating encapsulation of a lot of major trends in American life," including "immigration, assimilation, and the ethnic revival of the '60s," as well as Sherman's personal background of a "dysfunctional family and dysfunctional son."--The Examiner "A penetrating biography by a savvy observer of show business.--The Jewish Journal (Los Angeles) "Mark Cohen has written a most comprehensive and accessible biography, "Overweight Sensation: The Life and Comedy of Allan Sherman" (Brandeis University Press), complete with lyrics of songs recorded and others that were never released. Cohen succeeds in presenting the fullness of Sherman's larger-than-life personality, the family background that led to his original take on Jewish life and the connection of his life's work to the world of American Jewish humor."--New York Jewish Week "[Allan Sherman] did as much as anyone to bring Jews out of the American pop-culture closet. One can hope that, thanks to Cohen, his legacy is now safe."--Tabletmag.com "Writer and journalist Cohen here captures the complex life of musical satirist Allan Sherman. . . . The author delves into the history of Jewish comedy in the 20th century, exploring Sherman's role in this complex story. . . . Highly recommended." --Choice "[A] masterful, critical biography."--The Jewish Advocate "In bringing context to the life of a now largely forgotten one-hit wonder, Cohen adds a valuable chapter to the history of American popular culture."--Booklist "Lively and meticulously researched."--Chicago Tribune A penetrating biography by a savvy observer of show business. The Jewish Journal (Los Angeles)" "[A] masterful, critical biography." The Jewish Advocate" "Lively and meticulously researched." Chicago Tribune"

Allan Sherman was the Larry David, the Adam Sandler, the Sacha Baron Cohen of 1963. He led Jewish humor and sensibilities out of ethnic enclaves and into the American mainstream with explosively funny parodies of classic songs that won Sherman extraordinary success and acclaim across the board, from Harpo Marx to President Kennedy. In Overweight Sensation, Mark Cohen argues persuasively for Sherman's legacy as a touchstone of postwar humor and a turning point in Jewish American cultural history. With exclusive access to Allan Sherman's estate, Cohen has written the first biography of the manic, bacchanalian, and hugely creative artist who sold three million albums in just twelve months, yet died in obscurity a decade later at the age of forty-nine. Comprehensive, dramatic, stylish, and tragic, Overweight Sensation is destined to become the definitive Sherman biography.