Please! Don’t get into a panic! Betty Crocker was not even a real person. If you want to be technical she’s alive and well and living in my kitchen closet (ha ha).
Did you know that Betty Crocker is an invented persona? The Washburn Crosby Company created the name in 1921. They came up with the name “Betty” because it was seen as a cheery All-American name. ”Betty” was giving the last name ”Crocker” in honor of William Crocker, the Washburn Crosby Company director. Her name was used as a way of giving personal responses to consumers questions (think Dear Abby, or in this case, Dear Betty Crocker). Today the iconic name is owned by General Mills.
Betty Crocker is Dead is just one of the silly obituaries found in the new book Mr. Ed: Dead and Other Obituaries of the Most Famous People Who Never Lived. How is that for a long title? LOL! For the sake of this review I’ll just stick with Mr. Ed: Dead or my poor Carpal Tunnel will kick in. Ha Ha.
Inside the book you’ll find faux newspaper clippings of both obituaries and newspaper articles telling you about the demise of beloved iconic characters such as Hello Kitty, Snow White, Mr. Magoo and of course Mr. Ed and Betty Crocker.
The book is written by Barry Nelson and Tom Schecker. There is more information about the book available on the website www.TomsChecker.com. There you will find a great synopsis of the book.
Mr. Ed: Dead recounts, in laugh-out-loud detail, the lives and deaths of hundreds of illustrious characters: Mr. Magoo, Holden Caulfield, Snow White, Forrest Gump, Betty Crocker, Hello Kitty, Doogie Howser, and the Fonz. These characters had a fictional life, and, darn it, they deserve an equally creative death!
Fully illustrated and presented in scrapbook form, Mr. Ed: Dead blends obits with news stories, classified ads and police reports. The book unearths long lost diaries, medical histories and product recalls, often using the fictional world to satirize real-life people and events.
Some of the stories are beyond genius. The authors truly have very creative minds and a wicked sense of humor. Some stories are a bit morbid and disturbing, like how Herbie the Love Bug committed suicide because he was distraught over killing Benji. Herbie was found in his garage with his engine running. Yeah, that’s funny, morbid, but funny.
Other stories are laugh out loud funny. To cite a few examples…
- Wilbur the Pig was discovered dead by the farmer’s daughter after a spider web alerted her. The web said “Dead Pig”.
- Lucy Van Pelt (aka Lucy from Charlie Brown) was found dead in her Psychiatrist office. She was pummeled with an old football. Charlie Brown fans will certainly find a good chuckle out of that one.
- 347,000 former summer campers testify to being the real John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. Probate Court erupts in repetitive song. Session lasts for hours.
Other famous “people” found within the pages of the book include Fred Flintstone, Barney, Cruella De Ville, Marty McFly, Jack Beanstalk and many others who you wouldn’t expect.
This is more of an adult book then a children’s book. My 10 and 13 year olds just didn’t “get” most of the stories. Whenever I read something that make me laugh out loud they would ask me what was so funny. When I tried to explain it to them they just stood there with blanks expressions on their faces. You could tell they were trying to process what I just said to them. Meanwhile my husband would start laughing too because he totally understood what I was saying. Most of the characters are only icons that adults would be familiar with.
Mr. Ed: Dead is 187 pages and would make a great summer time read. Be prepared for some strange looks from people wondering what you are laughing at. There is no way you can read this book from cover to cover and not find yourself laughing out loud.
Kudos to the authors for their brilliant imaginations and fantastic sense of humor.
For more information please visit www.TomsChecker.com.
Mr. Ed: Dead is available at most book retail locations including Amazon, B&N and Borders.
Kimberly
*I received a free sample copy of this book for review. There was no other compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
One Response to “Betty Crocker is Dead!”
Very clever! I’d love to read this!