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FILMS



The Faking of the President (1976)
Starring: Richard M. Dixon, Marshall Efron
Directed by: Alan Abel and Jeanne Abel

It was open season on disgraced former President Richard Nixon back in 1976. One of the most vicious broadsides levelled against Tricky Dick was the faux documentary, The Faking of the President. Famed Nixon imitator Richard M. Dixon appears in newly-filmed scenes that are strategically placed in context with existing news footage, while the ex-President's voice, sifted from hundreds of hours of interviews, is re-edited word by word to make him utter the most outrageous accusations and non sequiturs.

In this pastiche, the audience is treated to a full confession from a tearful Nixon and such vignettes as the ex-president siphoning gas from Senator Ted Kennedy's car and stealing flowers from the grave of Fala — Franklin D. Roosevelt's scotch terrier — to place them on the tombstone of his own dog, Checkers. Also making cameo appearances are actors pretending to be Ron Ziegler (dressed as a Nazi) and Donald Segretti.
- Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Jeanne and Alan Abel have written and directed a crazy, superb 80-minute satire of President Richard M. Nixon."
- Daily Variety

"An outrageous send-up of ex-President Nixon and his Watergate troubles."
- Hollywood Reporter

 Related Links:
 - Missing Tapes Hoax
 - Deep Throat Hoax

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BOOKS





Don't Get Mad...Get Even!: A Manual for Retaliation
By Alan Abel (1983)

Are you insulted daily by some clod who dumps every possible indignity on you? Are you sick and tired of being pushed around? Livid with rage? Don't Get Mad...Get Even!

Alan Abel, master provocateur, shows how to retaliate against the constant intimidations we all encounter. His finely honed satirical rapier successfully attacks over one hundred familiar aggravations such as: billed for a debt already paid, stood up on a date, crowded out of line, baggage lost by an airline, apartment or house vandalized, accosted by a pushy panhandler, landlord harassment, credit card cancelled, short-changed in a store, ripped off by an auto mechanic, ignored at a party, about to be mugged, received an unwanted gift, obscene phone calls, noisy neighbors, incompetent waiters and arrogant public servants.

If you've had enough aggravation in life, use that frustration to turn your psyche completely around. Don't get mad...get even!




The Panhandler's Handbook
By Omar the Beggar (1977)

Omar Rockford, founder of Omar's School for Beggars, teaches out-of-work men and women how to creatively panhandle for a living. Successful, high-income begging on the streets requires imaginative deception. Omar demonstrates hundreds of foolproof methods in this handbook. You've got to have a glib tongue, a sense of urgency and a believable story — also proper dress and courtesy are a must. The first few weeks can be rough, since one isn't easily adjusted to the embarrassment of being turned down. It takes about a month to become a real pro and practice does make perfect. With this practical guide, you'll never need to work a real job again.

 Related Links:
 - Omar the Beggar Hoax




Is There Sex After Death?
By Jeanne and Alan Abel (1976)

What is the calorie content of a male ejaculation? Is it dangerous to have a wet dream under an electric blanket? Can a person suffocate from fellatio? What should a person think about to delay orgasm? Will the sex organs wear out from too frequent use?

If these and other questions have been bothering you, the zany film, Is There Sex After Death? supplies appropriate answers as it spoofs the sexual revolution. This book, based on the film, grabs American sexuality by the seat of its pants, turns it upside down and lets everything hang out, exposing what Vincent Canby of The New York Times called "good dirty satire."

 Related Links:
 - Is There Sex After Death?, screenplay
 - International Sex Bowl Hoax



The Fallacy of Creative Thinking
By Dr. Bruce Spencer (1972)

Are males unnecessary? Is the earth moving? Was your doctor a D-minus student? These are all pertinent questions which constantly disturb us but which for some reason or other never seem to be answered. Dr. Bruce Spencer and his co-researchers, aware of this problem, set up the Spencer Research Bureau with the very purpose of answering the unanswerable.

The result... The Fallacy of Creative Thinking, a collection of fifty essays dealing with questions on every conceivable or, perhaps, even better, every inconceivable topic.


Confessions of a Hoaxer
By Alan Abel (1970)

Alan Abel, one of the funniest men in America, has perfected a form of lunacy known as the spoof, or put-on. From his first prank in college when he successfully kidnapped bandleader drummer Gene Krupa, Alan Abel has racked up an amazing record of unbelievable farces, all reported seriously in the nation's press and on radio and television. Whether lecturing in London's Hyde Park or on The Tonight Show, this practical joker continues to baffle and amuse audiences around the globe.

Alan Abel has parlayed his puckish wit into an international phenomenon. He is one of our rarest natural resources, whose soul-searching Confessions of a Hoaxer should be required reading — in the interests of national self-defense.


...This is a Dirty, Rotten Filthy Book!
By Alan Abel (1968)

Thinking dirty may be considered a perversion by some people. However, leading psychologists have often maintained that such people who think thinking dirty is dirty, are themselves thinking dirty.

This is a dirty, rotten filthy book. Most of us want to read lewd and licentious material. That's why naughty nudie magazines sell in the millions. So why fight this trend? Furthermore, it's unfair for a minority of moralists to deny the masses an opportunity for enjoying themselves. Obviously, then, this sexy publication is for the majority.


The Button Book
By Alan and Jeanne Abel (1967)

Buttons, buttons everywhere! They're mad, they're mod, the national craze from coast to coast. Much of their popularity is not with the button wearers, but with the readers... people who stand in front of store windows laughing at the irreverent buttons on display. One reads "Kick me, I'm a masochist," another says "Take a cannibal to lunch."

This Button Book has something for everybody. You can read or you can wear. Just cut out the button to match your mood and fasten to your lapelle. These buttons are also ideal for covering holes in sweaters and pasting on notebooks, windshields or the forehead of a friend who needs attention. And maybe you can think of a few other places to stick a button.


The Great American Hoax
By Alan Abel (1966)

In 1959, G. Clifford Prout appeared on national television and came to the attention of millions of Americans as the founder of an organization whose objective was to clothe all animals from cats to camels for the sake of decency. Incredible? Preposterous? Of course. Yet most people accepted the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals as a genuine movement, and among them were large numbers of crusading zealots who, alarmed by the claims about America's declining morality, expressed their support for SINA's cause.

The Great American Hoax chronicles how Alan Abel pulled off one of the most infamous and longest-running pranks of the century.

 Related Links:
 - S.I.N.A. Hoax



The President I Almost Was
By Yetta Bronstein (1966)

During the summer of 1964, a Bronx housewife, named Mrs. Yetta Bronstein, was involved in a heated, neck-and-neck campaign for the presidency of the United States. From the day she decided to throw her apron into the ring, to the day they threw her out - with it - every American newspaper howled with glee and confusion as she criss-crossed a troubled nation that desperately needed a Jewish mother. The President I Almost Was is the true, uncensored story of Yetta's valiant struggle to become the first female in office.

 Related Links:
 - Yetta for President Hoax



Crazy Ads
By Alan Abel (1961)

This book is a collection of the nonsensical ads that Abel created to fill empty advertising spaces on the interiors of buses and subways around the country. Irritable, sleepy-eyed commuters would awake with pleasant surprise to find such ads as:

SQUID FOR SALE
Harmless and lovable. Wonderful companion for children.

BATHROOM FOR RENT
Private entrance. Near bus stop. Prefer ivy league type.

WANTED: MAN OR WOMAN WITH EXTRA LARGE NOSE
Become an expert cheese and pickle smeller. Job starts immediately.

 Related Links:
 - Crazy Ads, recording

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RECORDINGS


Professor Paradiddle: Drums, Drollery and Drivel
By Alan Abel (1958)

Professor Paradiddle, an expert on the history of the drums, lectured extensively at schools and universities throughout the country for close to a decade. This recording features the Professor (played by Abel) as he deftly combines his tremendous skill for drumming with a dry sense of humor, leading the audience through the six-thousand-year history of the drums in less than 33 minutes.


The Techniques of Percussion
By Alan Abel (1962)

A three-record set, this collection is a serious study of percussion instruments, as demonstrated by Alan Abel. The first album focuses on the snare drum. The second album features the tympani, xylophone, vibraphone and other instruments commonly found in a percussion section. The third album is devoted to Latin rhythms, march music and swing arrangements. Interspersed throughout the final record of the set are performances of Alan's original musical arrangements and drum solos.


Inside SINA
By Alan Abel (1963)

In the late 1950s, a group called the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals set out to clothe every naked dog, cat, horse and cow. Following several years of this moral crusade, the founders of SINA gathered before a live audience to explain the movement in detail. The result is a completely candid and spontaneous revelation of the many moods expressed by the public to this odd organization.

 Related Links:
 - S.I.N.A. Hoax



The Best of Crazy Ads
By Alan Abel (1961)

Recorded live before an audience at the State University College of Education in Plattsburgh, NY, this album features a comedic presentation of Alan's zany ad campaign called Crazy Ads. These pretend ads that Abel created with the intent to amuse actually caused a tremendous stir in cities nationwide.

 Related Links:
 - Crazy Ads, book



The First Percussion Sextet
By Alan Abel (1961)

This group, led by Abel, was one of the first musical ensembles consisting entirely of percussionists. Playing a total of twenty-five different percussion instruments, their repertoire consisted of music that covered jazz to the classics. The album was recorded live at West Virginia University for RCA Victor. They were featured performers on the Ed Sullivan Show in April 1961.