Books by Mel Simons

"Hey, did you hear the one about the honest lawyer?…""So, this priest says to a rabbi…" When it comes to comedy, nobody knows the comics and their jokes as well as Mel Simons. Mel has spent his entire career enjoying, collecting and chronicling the best of the best, whether it be the comedy of radio, TV, nightclubs or stand-up comedians. Take These Jokes, Please! is the latest in Mel's prolific series of books, which cover radio, television, music, and comedians.Take These Jokes, Please! includes the jokes of the greatest of the greats, including comics who Mel knew personally, including entertainers like Milton Berle, Red Buttons and Joan Rivers. If you just like jokes for jokes' sake, he has also placed humor into categories, such as "Lawyer Jokes" and "Bar Jokes." Mel, an entertainer, lecturer, author and radio personality lives in Boston. His home boasts one of the largest collections of entertainment memorabilia any-where.

You will revisit TV personalities who filled your living rooms with comedy, drama and music, personalities like Milton Berle, Red Skelton, Perry Como and Jackie Gleason. Pick up a pen and test your TV knowledge while you reminisce about great bygone days.

MEL SIMONS IS AT IT AGAIN. Lovers of old-time radio can more feast on morsels of trivia. The Old-Time Radio Trivia Book IV stretches our memory skills as you tackle Mel's well-researched quizzes. His knowledge of the shows and radio personalities of mid-20th-century radio is endless. An avid listener in the '40s and '50s, Mel later became a renowned collector and friend to many of the beloved radio actors and comedians. You will love re-living the days when radio challenged the imagination as you work your way through the book. At the same time you will be treated to rare photos from Mel's vast collection. Mel Simons is an entertainer, musician, radio personality, author, and collector of trivia of all kinds. He is a fixture on WBZ radio where, as a regular contributor, he has amazed his audiences with his unique approach to trivia. He is a life-long Boston resident who relishes life and the good old days!

Hold old did Jack Benny claim to be?What was Blondie's last name?Cecil B. DeMille hosted what radio show?If you liked Mel Simons' The Old-Time Radio Trivia Book, you will LOVE The Old-Time Radio Trivia Book II. Once again, Mel has extracted the best of yesteryear and has delivered a book that will keep you engaged and amazed for hours. See how well you remember tidbits about the likes of Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and other radio icons. Take the quizzes yourself and then see how well friends and family do. And while you're at it, you will enjoy classic photos of radio stars, many of them autographed to the author.Mel Simons is also a humorist, musician, radio personality and popular lecturer whose programs include The Golden Days of Radio, The Golden Days of Television, The Big Bands and The Great Entertainers. Mel, a regular on WBZ radio, lives in Boston.

"Hello?""Hello, Milton Berle, this is Mel Simons.""Which Mel Simons is this?"Which Mel Simons? It's the Mel Simons from Boston who is the humorist, accordionist, emcee, radio personality and show business historian. It's the Mel Simons who has authored four books on the greats of early television and radio. Yes, that Mel Simons.In this follow-up to his acclaimed volume Old-Time Radio Memories, Mel prompts such television greats as "Uncle Miltie," Morey Amsterdam and Steve Allen to share their remembrances of a time when Television was considered to be little more than "radio with pictures" and "vaudeville in a box."The transcripts of these revealing telephone interviews read like conversations between close friends. Clayton Moore recites "The Lone Ranger Creed"; Gale Storm (My Little Margie) opens up about her courageous battle with alcoholism; Larry Storch (F Troop) comments on the state of today's off-color comedy; eighty-year-old George Jessel tries to steal Mel's girlfriend; and legendary crooner (and former barber) Perry Como offers to give Mel "a good haircut." Mel Simons' telephone interviews are so vivid and so fun, you'll think you're eavesdropping on a party line. And if you're old enough to remember party lines, then you'll certainly love this book.

"Hey, did you hear the one about the honest lawyer?..." "So, this priest says to a rabbi..." When it comes to comedy, nobody knows the comics and their jokes as well as Mel Simons. Mel has spent his entire career enjoying, collecting and chronicling the best of the best, whether it be the comedy of radio, TV, nightclubs or stand-up comedians. Take These Jokes, Please! is the latest in Mel's prolific series of books, which cover radio, television, music, and comedians. Take These Jokes, Please! includes the jokes of the greatest of the greats, including comics who Mel knew personally, including entertainers like Milton Berle, Red Buttons and Joan Rivers. If you just like jokes for jokes' sake, he has also placed humor into categories, such as "Lawyer Jokes" and "Bar Jokes." Mel, an entertainer, lecturer, author and radio personality lives in Boston. His home boasts one of the largest collections of entertainment memorabilia any-where.

Do you think you know EVERYTHING about television, kid? Remember when Television was all about The Texaco Star Theatre, Your Show of Shows, and The Honeymooners? Trivia expert Mel Simons remembers. Mel, known as one of the world's most renowned collectors of old-time radio shows has also amassed a major collection of old-time television shows.Author of the successful The Old-Time Radio Trivia Book, Mel Simons has now penned The Old-Time Television Trivia Book. Mel has been entertaining audiences for years with his Golden Days of Television, as well as his Golden Days of Radio presentation. He has also created such video shows as The Big Bands, The Great Entertainers, The Golden Days of Rock & Roll, Strictly Sinatra, and The World's Most Generous Cheapskate, Jack Benny. He does a one-man show as well: The Life and Songs of Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Cantor and George M. Cohan. Mel, who also entertains as a humorist and accordionist, lives and is a radio personality in Boston.

Test your OTR knowledge with the ultimate radio trivia book, compiled by long-time radio personality & interviewer, Mel Simons. The book is liberally illustrated with photos of radio stars from the author's personal collection. Reasonably priced, this book will provide hours of fun for the entire family! Mel Simons Simons has interviewed many of the great television stars of the past. Included in his latest book are interviews with Milton Berle, Perry Como, George Jessel, Steve Allen and many others. Simons can also be heard on the Steve LeVeille Show on WBZ radio.

Nothing can lift the spirits like a good joke. And no one is better qualified to author a book filled with the greatest jokes than humorist Mel Simons. Mel, who has delighted his readers with such acclaimed books as Voices From the Philco, The Old-Time Radio Trivia Book, and Old-Time Television Memories, now presents The Mel Simons Joke Book: If It's Laughter You're After, a book that will keep you laughing as you reminisce about the greatest comedians including Milton Berle, Henny Youngman and Red Buttons. Mel Simons is a trivia historian, lecturer, humorist, and a WBZ radio personality. He is also a Master of Ceremonies who introduced, and knew personally, the comedians featured in this book. He is a lifelong Boston resident.

Interviews with Edgar Bergen, Ezra Stone, Lon Clark, Brett Morrison, Rudy Vallee, Julie Stevens, Dennis Day, Don Wilson, Frank Nelson, Mel Blanc, Jackson Beck, Harold Peary, Jim Jordan, Parker Fennelly, Minerva Pious, Kenny Delmar, Peter Donald, Freeman Gosden You've heard their voices, thrilled to their radio shows, but did you ever wonder about the personalities lurking behind your Philco?Boston radio personality, author, trivia expert and humorist Mel Simons has combed through reams of personal interviews with some of the biggest stars of old-time radio and presents them in his latest book, Old-Time Radio Memories.Included in this book are interviews with many of your favorite old-time radio stars, including Edgar Bergen, Henry Aldrich, The Great Gildersleeve, Fibber McGee, and cast members of The Jack Benny Show and the Fred Allen Show.The interviews offer rare insight into these performers' lives as well as provide the reader with never before published memorable anecdotes.Mel Simons, besides amassing one of the world's largest old-time radio and TV show collections, is the author of the acclaimed The Old-Time Radio Trivia Book and The Old-Time Television Trivia Book, and is also a sought after lecturer. Mel lives in Boston and is heard on WBZ radio.