The Big Laugh

Novel

by John O'Hara

In her preface, Fran Liebowitz calls this "the greatest Hollywood novel ever written." It's the story of Hubie Ward, who lies, cheats, and seduces his way to the top as a movie actor. But his weak and self-destructive nature eventually defeats him.

Editions of The Big Laugh

ISBN

9780880015752

Binding/Format

Paperback

Publisher

Ecco Pr

Date

1997

Price

$1.00

Used, Acceptable

Publisher Notes

Richard Hubert ("Hubie") Ward is a wily young actor from the Easternmost world of prep schools and summers on the Cape. By the time he is twenty-five, he has lied, cheated, and seduced his way to the big-time on the Coast. Hollywood prizes Hubie for his air of respectability: "He was not a Latin or a Jew...he was not a booze artist...he was not actorish, he was not pugnacious...he was of the theater, he had been given good notices in an Art picture, he was not confused by an oyster fork, he stood up when ladies entered the room..". But Hubie's blind ambition quickly strips away the guise. He blackmails the man who gave him his first acting job, then spends an amorous afternoon with the wife of a studio head who happens to be his boss. Nothing, it seems, can stop the self-destructive philandering that dogs this shooting star.

Review this book!