James Curtis

Stanley Kramer's 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World was in many ways a production that proved its title true, but in the end it was a hit, made money for everybody, even if they had to fight each other to get it, and remains a favorite for many who first saw it as kids.

A group that includes James Curtis, who's known for his biographies of people like Spencer Tracy, Buster Keaton, W.C. Fields, and others.

His new book, Comedy is a Grim Business, which is something Stanley Kramer said about the making of his film, tells the story, including why the film won his heart when it first came out.

I started by asking him about his first experience of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

It's a mad, mad, mad, mad.

It's a mad.

Comedy is a Grim Business, The Making of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World by James Curtis is out now from Emmerac Editions.

Links will be in the show post at nitreville.com.

Spencer Tracy, there's, I mean, there has been some writing that he also was bisexual and that in a weird way even though he was married and was supposedly having this long-term affair with Katharine Hepburn, she was actually his beard.

Um, but you know, there's a very good long biography of Spencer Tracy by an author named James Curtis, and he doesn't buy that theory.

He thinks Spencer Tracy's straight.

Straight, yeah.

With Julian Schlossberg, Arthur E. Friedman, Steven J. Rubin, and I'm the guy searching for the big W, your announcer and producer, Mike Faber.

Today we talk to Arthur James Curtis about his book, Comedy is a Grim Business: The Making Of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

And now, here's Steve.

Jim, f- is, thank you so much for joining us today.