Friars Testimonial Dinner in Honor of Mike Todd; Waldorf Astoria, Sunday March 23rd, 1958

[New York]: Friars Club. Very Good. 1958. First Edition. Softcover. (plastic-comb binding) [moderate handling wear, plastic comb is cracked in the middle but still holding firm, rear cover is detached and laid in at the front]. (B&W photographs, ads, cartoon drawings, etc.) Tribute book for an event that sadly never took place, having been cancelled following the untimely death (the preceding day) of its honoree, theatrical (and lately movie) producer/impresario Michael Todd, in a plane crash while flying from California to New York to attend this very event, where he was to be presented with the Friars' "Showman of the Year" award. (His then-wife, Elizabeth Taylor, was suffering from a cold and stayed behind in L.A., little suspecting that her next big role would be that of the grieving widow.) The tribute book itself is full of the usual stuff: primarily ads and Friars-related photographs (many with Abbot Emeritus Milton Berle), and with testimonials from a few of his showbiz buddies testifying to what a swell fellow Todd was. Those who contributed these single-page paeans were comedian Joe E. Lewis, Harry Delf (then Dean of the Friars Club), Abel Green (editor of Variety), and Bill Doll (Todd's longtime publicist). It's interesting (and not a little morbid) to note that the full-page ad on the inside rear cover was paid for by Eddie Fisher -- who stepped in to comfort Liz Taylor after Todd's demise, and soon became her next lover (and later husband). .