Les Dawson’s Secret Notebooks

“The wife gave me breakfast in bed this morning . . . it flew off the plate when she threw it. I didn’t mind— there’s something vaguely sensuous about a poached egg on quilt. I know why she was angry . . . I’d spilt cocoa all down her nightdress. Serves me right for wearing it.’”

Les Dawson was the comedian’s comedian, a man with a massive following in his lifetime who has become a true cult hero. Who can forget the out-of tune piano playing, the mother-in-law jokes, and his trademark fast-fire gags and routines? Collected by Les’s wife, Tracy, this treasure trove of unseen and previously unpublished Les Dawson material was culled from his notebooks and diaries. Les’s determination to hone his material is clear from the boxes of handwritten gags and routines he left behind, each page funnier and more outrageous than the next. Heading after heading is followed by pages of one-liners as well as inventive letters, radio and television routines, silly drawings, and crazy, off-the-wall stories. Additionally, there are Les’s often poignant diary entries from the early days when he was a Hoover salesman struggling to make it on stage. This is a rich and fabulous feast indeed, and one that will be devoured by Les Dawson’s countless fans.