Current Read
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. I haven’t seen the movie yet. But I did pick up Chuck Barris’s book. This is a funny read. Written in 1982 but basically forgotten by everyone, except perhaps George Clooney, Barris’ book aged well as it tells a fanciful account of his life as TV host, producer, author and CIA assassin. Too early into the tale to see how far Chuck takes it, but it is a fun read. Like Marsha Willis, Barris interweaves nonfiction bits of his life with fictional accounts to keep the story going. Unlike Willis, Barris takes it to the bizarre and plays for laughs as we try to understand the mind games of the creator of the dating game. Did you know he wrote the 1960s pop hit Palisades Park? Anyway, Barris was a hero for me as a kid when I would watch the Gong Show. If you can track down any episodes of the original Gong Show on the Game Show network try and watch them. Barris is really funny and certainly way ahead of his time. This book is like that as well. Funny, and for 1982 at least, ahead of its time.