The Show Won’t Go On, the new book by Jeff Abraham and Burt Kearns, got a surprise boost mid-January when the Montreal Times announced its Best Books of 2019. And yes, the compendium of “The Most Shocking, Bizarre, and Historic Deaths of Performers Onstage” is among them.
Critic Stuart Nulman wrote:
The Show Won’t Go On by Jeff Abraham and Burt Kearns – Who knew that a collection of true stories about well-known or obscure entertainers who literally faced their final curtains onstage could be such a morbidly-fascinating, read-in-one-sitting book? This duo has managed to take a depressing subject on the surface and turn it into a bizarre, yet engrossing catalogue of more than 300 years of final curtain calls ranging from heart attacks to onstage mishaps, which befell upon a variety of unsuspecting performers, whether they were comedian Dick Shawn, British comedian/magician Tommy Cooper, or 1960s entertainment curiosity Tiny Tim.
The Times is only one publication that rated the book from Chicago Review Press as one of the best of 2019.
Sadly, the accolades came days before another performer passed away onstage. Americana singer-songwriter David Olney paused midsong at the 30A Songwriters Festival in S. Walton Florida. He said, “I’m sorry,” and closed his eyes. Forever.
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