Double Bill

It's my great honor to have Pine-Thomas Productions: A History and Filmography chosen as one of Classic Images' Best Books of the Year. The "Dollar Bills" and I are in great company here, as you can see below.

The real achievement, of course, belongs to Bill Pine and Bill Thomas, two guys who loved movies, and loved making them. I hope it would please them that their work is remembered and enjoyed in the 21st century.

One Grateful Author

My first holiday gift of the season came early this year, with the publication of Classic Images' November issue. While I'm always happy to see some love for that cinematic guilty pleasure House of Horrors, the biggest treat for me was the review of Gale Storm: A Biography and Career Record that appeared in Laura Wagner's "Book Points" column.

Since I have been reading and admiring Tom Weaver's books for at least 20 years, it came as a huge compliment when Ms. Wagner spotlighted us side-by-side, saying that our mutual publisher McFarland "has two of the best authors of show business history writing for them right now." My book, she says, "gives us a clear sense of who Storm was as a person," adding, "I'll be honest, his recounting of Gale's final years brought a tear to my eye." Throw in her reference to the author's "impeccable research skills," and I might feel a little verklempt myself.

"A Terrific Writer"

I'm honored that Classic Images and reviewer Laura Wagner have named my book on Martha Raye to their "Best Books of the Year" list. Congratulations to the other authors with whom I share this accolade -- Candace Hilligoss, Michael Gregg Michaud, Scott O'Brien, and Tom Weaver. My friend Derek Sculthorpe also received some much-deserved praise for his excellent book on Brian Donlevy.

Here's hoping for more good reading in 2018!

An Encouraging Word

After a long week of researching and writing  (I'm actually working on two books simultaneously), this was a sight for weary eyes. Thank you, Classic Images and Laura Wagner! My fellow McFarland author Derek Sculthorpe, whose books I've spotlighted in reviews on this blog, gets a well-deserved shout-out in the same column.

Keep this sort of thing up, and I just might write more books!

Thank You, Classic Images!

Color me flattered. My book Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television: Thirty Sitcoms That Faded Off Screen was named one of the Best Books of the Year by Classic Images and its longtime reviewer Laura Wagner. She wrote, "Tucker is blessed with a writing style that is very distinct, informative, clean-cut, to the point, and easy to understand. I learned a lot from this book." To paraphrase the great Groucho Marx, if Classic Images continues to publish such nice things about me, I may be compelled to get a subscription.