The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
WITZ KRIEG
Allan sucked in his lower lip. Did Mom really say, “Your father and I are getting a divorce. Which of us do you want to live with?”
“Rose, the boy’s only eight,” said Dad.
Looking from one parent to the other, sensing no affection from either, Allen blurted out, “I want to live with Grandma and Grandpa Sherman. They love me.”
In the midst of his warped and disjointed world, being shuffled from house to house and school to school, Allan Sherman found comfort in food, writing and humor.
In 1962 his writing and humor made him an overweight success.
***
Allan Sherman’s bright star fizzled after President Kennedy’s assassination. In 1973 his poor life choices caught up with him and he passed away ten days shy of his forty-ninth birthday.
Allan Sherman has been called Weird Al Yankovic’s “Founding Faddah.” Reportedly, President John F. Kennedy was a fan of Mr. Sherman’s parody songs. To know a little more about the man under the beanie CLICK HERE.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
Loved “overweight success”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Neil. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Truly fascinating, with thd touch of tragedy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Ain,
There was so much more about this man, but the 100 words restrained me. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Clever stuff Rochelle, interesting and informative!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Shrawley,
He was an interesting person. So much beneath the surface. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
I’m sure he had plenty to be sarcastic about.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dear Reena,
Oh yes. Much more than could be fit into 100 words. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
He’s such a fine childhood memory. I was just listening to ‘Here’s To the Crabgrass’ yesterday. Whoever Harvey and Sheila are, He’s made them so famous
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Larry,
Allen Sherman truly was a genius. It’s sad that his career and life were waaaay too short.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
We need more humor like that now . Shalom
LikeLike
Great little biopic. I think a lot of very funny people had a difficult start.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Trent,
Humor is an effective way of masking deep pain, isn’t it? Freddy Prinze and Robin Williams come to mind. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Humour and wackiness can help a person deal with unhappy situations. I image a lot of comedians and writers had troubled childhoods to draw upon for their work. Yes, here I am in Camp Granada . . .
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Lorraine,
Humor can mask the deepest pain, can’t it? A friend of mind who was a comedian himself told me the comics were the most depressed people in Hollywood. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
That makes sense; the outer and the inner don’t necessarily mirror each other. And, by making people laugh, it relieves, perhaps for a moment or two, the deep pain and depression.
LikeLike
Your charming tale tempted me to delve a little deeper. A short but very full life. Thanks once again, Rochelle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Keith,
Allen Sherman was an interesting person. What a crazy mixed up childhood he had. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Rochelle,
Goes to show… Knew the tune but not the guy who sang it. You do have a way of bringing relative unknowns to life! And like Trent said, many comedians have “issues”…
Shalom and lotsa sad to funny love,
Dale
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dear Dale,
I was told by comedian friend Dennis Allen who’d been on Laugh In back in the day that the most depressed people in Hollywood were the comedians. So sad. Thank you.
Shalom and lotsa upbeat and happy hugs,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I believe it. They need to laugh or they’d cry all te time…
LikeLike
Biological parents do not necessarily make a Mother & Father. Love is a main factor for parenthood. Unfortunately, I know of too many examples of this. Good read M’Luv.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Jan,
Some people should never be parents. Thanks, m’luv. ❤
LikeLike
Never heard of him, but what a wise 8 year old. Are the ‘poof’ life choices deliberate?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Jen,
The man had such a fractured childhood and adulthood. It’s amazing he achieved the success he did. If only he could’ve lived his entire childhood with his grandparents.
Not surprised you never heard of him. Definitely before your time and probably not the sensation in England that he was in America.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember that song but knew nothing of the person behind it. We are, each of us, shaped by those experiences, in both good and bad ways. Anyone who survives childhood is blessed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Lisa,
I once heard that if all the faulty parents were recalled we’d all be orphans. 😉 Mr. Sherman, however, might have been better off without his. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rochelle, that’s funny. Some who have come from the harshest upbringings can go on to the greatest success; at the same time some who have been raised in ideal circumstances (whatever that is) can turn out to be monsters. All things considered, his don’t sound too bad and he turned out ok.
Shalom,
Lisa
LikeLiked by 1 person
Humor helps a lot of us get through hard times. Not many make a career out of it. You can’t hide forever. Eventually, that pain’s going to catch up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Nobbin,
A sense of humor can go a long way during rough times. However there’s a lot to be said for getting to the heart of issues to heal. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
You made lots of connections for me with this one, Rochelle. I had no idea by whom “Hello Muddah” was written and performed. This is such a sad story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Linda,
Allen Sherman’s success was a bright spot in an otherwise, dysfunctional and tragic life. Too much to cram into 100 words. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Sidewalk Selling Sally W(T)F,
Nice offering this week. I think Allan and I would have made a great team. As you may suspect, I’ve written a few song parodies myself including the less than famous, “Little Red from the Hood.” According to Wikipedia, it was a 100-day diet that killed him. Sounds like a good reason to NOT diet to me.
Call me when dinner’s ready,
Chunky Tuna
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Chunky Tuna,
I have it on good authority Starkist doesn’t want you. I can imagine the parodies you’ve written. You’ll have to regale us with them sometime. I’ll bring my earplugs.
Actually, it was Allen’s morbidly obese father Percy who died on the 100-day diet. Either way, it doesn’t sound like a healthy diet.
Overly-warm greetings from the purple tent,
Sidewalk Selling Sally W(T)F
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Rochelle
A nicely written pocket biography, as always. Like Neil, I liked “an overweight success”. It’s tragic that his childhood was so fractured.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Penny,
Pocket biography. I like that. Thank you for your encouraging comment. .
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Rochelle,
Thanks for sharing this. I had a good chuckle when I watched him singing that famous song, “Hello Muddah, hello Faddah”. What a talent.
Shalom,
Adele
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Adele,
Glad you enjoyed this piece. He was a gifted man who died too young. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t recognise the name, but I did recognise some of his work!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Ali,
I didn’t know how far his influence reached. Glad you at least recognized his work.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a sad, tragic life that had its burst of happy comic brilliance. Loved the ending…overweight success almost read it as overnight. Another well crafted pocket historical fiction, Rochelle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Neel,
I love the term pocket historical fiction. 😀 And of course “overweight success” is meant to be a play on the words “overnight success.” 😉 I’m glad you caught it. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Thanks for another insight into a famous life, Rochelle. You portray a child wiser than his parents. And that line ‘He became an overweight success’! Clever. I’m glad he found comfort in his disjointed world and, in his turn, brought comfort and laughter to many others.
LikeLiked by 1 person
PS I love the title of the story! Sheer class! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Jenne,
I’m so glad you caught the title. I believe it was actually the title of a column he wrote in a college newspaper, if I remember correctly. Thank you for all of your encouraging comments. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
What an interesting person. It’s so sad that his life was so difficult outside the success. Great story, the line “Looking from one parent to the other, sensing no affection from either” broke my heart.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Gabi,
To evoke an emotion is what we strive for as writers, isn’t it? Thank you for your kind comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
humor can indeed hide the sadness within.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Plaridel,
Humor is one way of turning sorrow into happiness, isn’t it? Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Poor little boy grew up to be not so little but still sad. ‘Poof’ in UK means something else!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Liz,
Slapping my forehead. You actually caught a typo. Thank you. That “poof” was supposed to be “poor”. Although I did learn something. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
I love that idea of going to his grandparents instead of either one of his parents. Definitely been there. Sounds like an interesting guy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Anne,
He had one helluva childhood. But he did get his Jewish pride from his mother’s parents…and his great love of food. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Fascinating!
It does show that children are so influenced by family choices, emotional upheaval and upbringing. Great real-life story, Rochelle!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Laurie,
Children are fertile soil, aren’t they? Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
A sad childhood for Allen Sherman, though, he was fortunate to have loving grandparents. It is sad that the funniest of people have had difficult beginnings and/or difficult lives. Thank you for sharing his story!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Brenda,
It’s amazing how much humor is born of pain, isn’t it? And rather sad that so many comedians hide that pain. Thank you for your affirming comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
People can be so interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed, James.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Muddah…I know, Rochelle, and I think it’s great. I don’t know much more about the man and didn’t know he had a traumatic childhood. Thanks, Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Michael,
It’s nice that Allan Sherman’s short-lived fame reached beyond our shores. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Such a wonderful tribute, and well-written as always.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for such an affirming comment, Genia. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I looked him up. His was the story of another gifted yet troubled man who didn’t cope well with sudden fame or the accompanying temptation. Some of the best comedians have such sad lives 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dear Subroto,
I’m glad you took the time to look him up. And it’s so true that the humor of the best comedians is born out of their personal tragedies. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
Witz Kreig is a perfect cameo about Alan’s life, and lead in to the song. I remember that song so vividly I could sing it even now !
LikeLiked by 2 people
Dear Francine,
It’s difficult for those of us of a “certain age” to wipe that song from our memories, isn’t it? Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person