I Almost Killed George Burns!: And Other Gut-Splitting Tales from the World's Greatest Comedy Event «Just for Laughs»

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

The expression, “You had to be there,” certainly applies to Andy
Nulman’s personal reminiscences about his 15-year involvement with
Montreal’s Just for Laughs comedy festival. And the use of the term
“gut-splitting” in the subtitle is an excellent example of
entertainment business hyperbole as most of Nulman’s supposedly
humorous anecdotes merit a polite smile at best. Again, maybe you had to
be there.

In the first couple of chapters, Nulman, the festival’s former CEO,
provides a bit of his own history as well as that of Just for Laughs. In
the remaining 11 chapters, he utilizes a thematic approach, with
chapters focusing on such topics as his favorite festival acts, various
mini-disasters, and moments of success or on such big-name performers as
John Candy, Jerry Lewis, Roseanne, Milton Berle, and, of course, George
Burns. Like a joke that goes on too long and then falls flat, the
long-awaited tale about George Burns fails to deliver. Perhaps the only
lasting memories readers will have of this book are Nulman’s
portrayals of the huge egos possessed by some of the performers who
obviously took themselves and their importance too seriously.