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A Conversation with the Mann
What do you want?
"I want the Ed Sullivan Show."
At the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, like a lot of black Americans, comedian Jackie Mann wanted to be somebody. And for him there was only one way to achieve to make it big. Make it, no matter the friends, family, one's own self-esteem and self-respect. This is the story of a young man's journey from Harlem to stardom, a story of Hollywood royalty, New York glitterati, Vegas Mafiosi, Northern bigotry, and Southern racism. This is a story of love, honor, betrayal, and redemption; of fame bought and paid for by any means necessary. It is the story of one man's desire and an entire race's demands, and the incredible moment when the two came together as one. This is the story of Jackie Mann.
"I want the Ed Sullivan Show."
At the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, like a lot of black Americans, comedian Jackie Mann wanted to be somebody. And for him there was only one way to achieve to make it big. Make it, no matter the friends, family, one's own self-esteem and self-respect. This is the story of a young man's journey from Harlem to stardom, a story of Hollywood royalty, New York glitterati, Vegas Mafiosi, Northern bigotry, and Southern racism. This is a story of love, honor, betrayal, and redemption; of fame bought and paid for by any means necessary. It is the story of one man's desire and an entire race's demands, and the incredible moment when the two came together as one. This is the story of Jackie Mann.
- GenresFiction
433 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
John Ridley
219 books92 followersJohn Ridley IV (born October 1965)[2] is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for 12 Years a Slave, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed anthology series American Crime. His most recent work is the documentary film Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992.
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Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 16, 2025
A gem; strongly recommended.
Author Ridley debuted as New York stand-up comic in the late-1980s before moving to the West Coast as TV writer, producer, and novelist. Ridley draws on his stand-up experience for Conversation with the Mann, a fictional autobiography of Jackie Mann, a Harlem-born Black who seeks fame in the comedy clubs of the 1950s and 60s.
Mann is born into poverty only partially mitigated by a hard-working, loving mother, and when she dies from an early heart attack he is left with his abusive father, an unpredictable drunk and drug-user. Through a friendly neighbor, Mann discovers the TV show Toast of the Town and is star-struck by Sammy Davis, Jr. Finding that he can avoid bullying by drawing on his natural wit and comedy routines learned from TV, Mann dreams of stardom as a comic, his way to escape his father and the oppressive racism of the '50s.
Ridley is a natural story-teller and the reader is quickly in thrall to Mann's struggles as he develops his comic chops, seeking to move up from a first gig as 2 a.m. filler between dance routines in a tawdry strip-club. Mann's gradual progress as comic artist is interwoven with the broader theme of what it means to succeed. Mann yearns for the power that will come from commercial success: big venues, top salaries, a slot on the Ed Sullivan Show. Two woman in his life, both aspiring singers, see it differently: they want to remain true to themselves, finding their own voice rather than going commercial.
Through the course of Conversation, Mann finds success on his terms and a measure of power - albeit within the confines of what was possible for Black stars in the pre-Civil Rights era. Then, despite getting what he thought he wanted, he realizes he wants to go further.
Despite Ridley's gripping writing and the compelling storyline, a few points fall flat. Mann's impoverished Harlem childhood of the 1940s feels unconvincing and he survives the trauma of his father's alcohol and drug abuse with surprisingly few psychic wounds as an adult; instead, the worst suffering in his life comes from whites, including searing examples of racist violence where he barely escapes lynching. At times, Ridley's emphasis on the racism that surrounds Mann seems formulaic, not in the sense of being exaggerated, but rather a constraining lens through which the world is seen: thus, when Mann has the epiphany that he must be true to himself, this is to become a comic who focuses on racism as his material.
Despite these quibbles, a fantastic novel. Highly recommended.
Author Ridley debuted as New York stand-up comic in the late-1980s before moving to the West Coast as TV writer, producer, and novelist. Ridley draws on his stand-up experience for Conversation with the Mann, a fictional autobiography of Jackie Mann, a Harlem-born Black who seeks fame in the comedy clubs of the 1950s and 60s.
Mann is born into poverty only partially mitigated by a hard-working, loving mother, and when she dies from an early heart attack he is left with his abusive father, an unpredictable drunk and drug-user. Through a friendly neighbor, Mann discovers the TV show Toast of the Town and is star-struck by Sammy Davis, Jr. Finding that he can avoid bullying by drawing on his natural wit and comedy routines learned from TV, Mann dreams of stardom as a comic, his way to escape his father and the oppressive racism of the '50s.
Ridley is a natural story-teller and the reader is quickly in thrall to Mann's struggles as he develops his comic chops, seeking to move up from a first gig as 2 a.m. filler between dance routines in a tawdry strip-club. Mann's gradual progress as comic artist is interwoven with the broader theme of what it means to succeed. Mann yearns for the power that will come from commercial success: big venues, top salaries, a slot on the Ed Sullivan Show. Two woman in his life, both aspiring singers, see it differently: they want to remain true to themselves, finding their own voice rather than going commercial.
Through the course of Conversation, Mann finds success on his terms and a measure of power - albeit within the confines of what was possible for Black stars in the pre-Civil Rights era. Then, despite getting what he thought he wanted, he realizes he wants to go further.
Despite Ridley's gripping writing and the compelling storyline, a few points fall flat. Mann's impoverished Harlem childhood of the 1940s feels unconvincing and he survives the trauma of his father's alcohol and drug abuse with surprisingly few psychic wounds as an adult; instead, the worst suffering in his life comes from whites, including searing examples of racist violence where he barely escapes lynching. At times, Ridley's emphasis on the racism that surrounds Mann seems formulaic, not in the sense of being exaggerated, but rather a constraining lens through which the world is seen: thus, when Mann has the epiphany that he must be true to himself, this is to become a comic who focuses on racism as his material.
Despite these quibbles, a fantastic novel. Highly recommended.
December 14, 2019
This is one of the best books I have ever read it reads like an autobiography so realistic that I almost looked the lead character up on Wikipedia
August 1, 2024
Now that I'm done with this one, I have no more John Ridley books to read. That makes me sad. But this one is my second favorite of his (hard to beat Stray Dogs). This one is a biography of someone who never existed. In the intro a fictional John Ridley runs into Jackie Mann, a has-been or never-was comedian, and decides to tell his story. It starts with Jackie as a young Black kid in Harlem being raised by a well-intentioned mother and an abusive father. Unfortunately his mom dies, leaving him at the mercy of his dad, and his only escape is heading to his grandma's to watch Ed Sullivan. He decides that he wants to be a comedian, and his goal is to be on Sullivan. The problem is, he's Black in a Jim Crow world.
Jackie tells his brutal story of starting out doing sets between dancing girls in dive theaters to getting representation in form of Sid, an alcoholic trying to do his best to walk the beam and help his clients. Soon Jackie is doing sets in better rooms until he gets the attention of Frank Costello. Then the attention of Frank Sinatra. And you can see where this is going.
His story gets truly frightening at times, in particular his stretch in FL where he runs into three drunk rednecks who kidnap and terrorize him. Or when Harry Cohn's goons threaten to castrate Jackie over his affair with a European actress. But my favorite parts are the heartbreaking moments. I don't want to spoil any of those, so I'll say no more on the subject. But the epilogue is great. It really is the cherry on top of this book.
The only thing is, if the conceit is to be believed, I don't think a real life Jackie Mann would have told a real life John Ridley about killing a guy and paying a blackmailer over it. I'm also not certain if a real Jackie would have brought up the favor Frank Costello did for him. Also, I can't help but admire the temerity real life Ridley had for writing Jackie as the reason Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., mended their fences.
This is a fun, sometimes terrifying, book. It will break your heart. But you'll love it anyway.
Jackie tells his brutal story of starting out doing sets between dancing girls in dive theaters to getting representation in form of Sid, an alcoholic trying to do his best to walk the beam and help his clients. Soon Jackie is doing sets in better rooms until he gets the attention of Frank Costello. Then the attention of Frank Sinatra. And you can see where this is going.
His story gets truly frightening at times, in particular his stretch in FL where he runs into three drunk rednecks who kidnap and terrorize him. Or when Harry Cohn's goons threaten to castrate Jackie over his affair with a European actress. But my favorite parts are the heartbreaking moments. I don't want to spoil any of those, so I'll say no more on the subject. But the epilogue is great. It really is the cherry on top of this book.
The only thing is, if the conceit is to be believed, I don't think a real life Jackie Mann would have told a real life John Ridley about killing a guy and paying a blackmailer over it. I'm also not certain if a real Jackie would have brought up the favor Frank Costello did for him. Also, I can't help but admire the temerity real life Ridley had for writing Jackie as the reason Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., mended their fences.
This is a fun, sometimes terrifying, book. It will break your heart. But you'll love it anyway.
May 13, 2020
Who would expect an 83-year old white grandmother to love this story about a black comedian trying to make it in show business? Well I did! I believe I picked up this book a while back in a Dollar Store (for $1, what a bargain!) and I thought the author's name was familiar. I was pleased to discover who he is - in addition to being the author of several novels, John Ridley has a very successful background as the screenwriter of Twelve Years a Slave and the series American Crime.
In this book I felt that I was inhabiting the wounded psyche of Jackie Mann, a young black man who tries to outrun his personal demons by telling jokes. His search to "become famous" is hampered by his own inability to take chances and say what he really wants out of life. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Costello, Ed Sullivan, Tammy Terrell and others play prominent roles in this book. How they are woven into the plot is a very interesting aspect of this novel, as the reader is left to try to discern fact from fiction.
In this book I felt that I was inhabiting the wounded psyche of Jackie Mann, a young black man who tries to outrun his personal demons by telling jokes. His search to "become famous" is hampered by his own inability to take chances and say what he really wants out of life. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Costello, Ed Sullivan, Tammy Terrell and others play prominent roles in this book. How they are woven into the plot is a very interesting aspect of this novel, as the reader is left to try to discern fact from fiction.
November 4, 2009
Wow! I am so impressed, by not only the vibrant writing and the merge of history with this character, but with the narration given so brillantly by Dion Graham. Yes, this would have been been a wonderful read, but hearing it as an audio reading with definitive characterizations by its narrator adds even more depth and vigor to this piece that I couldn't stop listening to.
I highly recommended this and may give another listen some time soon.
I highly recommended this and may give another listen some time soon.
August 5, 2016
I have really enjoyed all the other books I've read by John Ridley, but this one was a bit disappointing. It hit very hard on the discrimination issue, which admittedly does need to be done, but then the characters didn't have quite enough meat on them. I stopped reading halfway through. The ending is laid out at the start of the book, and the path to the end was pretty clear. Who knows, though--maybe I missed a big surprise. My loss.
April 22, 2008
This is a wonderful story mixed with fiction and truth and full of historical reference. A story of a "coudl have been", "would have been". But the story reads so real its like youre reading this fictional characters', non fiction life.
April 3, 2008
It was a good enough and engaging tale. It would have earned another star but I kept waiting for the title character to "man up' but he remained punkish and wishy washy throughout..
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews