Jack Oakie

A One-Person Play in Two Acts (The Hollywood Legends, Book 56)

By: Michael B. Druxman

Narrated by: Richard Travis

Jack Oakie’s forte was comedy. He appeared in over 100 motion pictures, mostly as a good-natured, somewhat dim-witted buffoon, and often in his early films, in a college setting. Although he co-starred with the likes of Clara Bow, W. C. Fields, Bing Crosby, Alice Faye, Betty Grable, and Doris Day, his most durable performances were in The Call of the Wild (1935) with Clark Gable and Loretta Young, and The Great Dictator (1940) in which he spoofed Benito Mussolini to Charlie Chaplin’s Adolph Hitler. That role earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Michael B. Druxman’s one-person play, Jack Oakie, joins the long-retired actor in 1973, as he recalls the sparkle and heartbreak of his long career.

©2021 Michael B. Druxman (P)2021 Michael B. Druxman