From his humble beginnings as a Coney Island piano player, Jimmy Durante was one of America's best-loved entertainers for nearly seven decades. Known for his distinctive ?schnozzle? and raspy voice, the multitalented performer became a stage, screen and recording star. Every aspect of Jimmy Durante's career is covered here: his early vaudeville and Broadway days; the 38 movies he made; his radio appearances; the mixture of new and old material he brought to television in the late 1950s; and his work as a singer and composer.

Not your typical life that moves from childhood to marriage and children, this loner manages to make friends and have a few adventures before marriage in his fifties. Along the way, he experiences small town life as the only son of Sephardic immigrants, scouting, travel, shrinks, lots of education, sex, music, tennis, authorship, an academic career, retirement, illness, Yorkshire terriers, and love.