A Ribald Adventure by Thorne Smith
The books were later adapted into a 1953 television series, Topper, starring Leo G. Carroll as Cosmo Topper, Lee Patrick as his wife, and the husband and wife team of Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys as the fun-loving ghosts, George and Marion Kerby. In 1979, another husband and wife team, Andrew Stevens and Kate Jackson, executive produced and starred in a made-for-television movie that didn't quite measure up to the film and episodic versions. A new Disney film featuring Steve Martin as Cosmo Topper is slated for production and release in 2010.
Thorne Smith may not be a household name, but his works have definitely had a lasting influence on the American entertainment industry. Thorne Smith's book The Passionate Witch (published posthumously) was made into the 1942 film I Married a Witch, starring Fredrick March and Veronica Lake. That film inspired the long-running television comedy series, Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead. Bewitched was immensely popular with viewers—254 episodes of the show were produced between 1964 and 1972. Thorne Smith's literary works were a combination of satire and wit, balanced with humor and sexual innuendo. His writing style has been endlessly imitated, but never fully duplicated.
Thorne Smith
Thorne Smith
A Few Facts Courtesy of Wikipedia
Best known today for his creation of Topper, Smith's comic fantasy fiction (most of it involving sex, lots of drinking, and supernatural transformations, and aided by racy illustrations) sold millions of copies in the early 1930s. Smith drank as steadily as his characters; his appearance in James Thurber's The Years With Ross involves an unexplained week-long disappearance. Smith was born in Annapolis, Maryland the son of a Navy commodore, attended Dartmouth College, and after hungry years in Greenwich Village working part-time as an advertising agent, Smith achieved meteoric success with the publication of Topper in 1926. He died of a heart attack in 1934 while vacationing in Florida.
Topper by Thorne Smith
Available in Paperback
The Topper Movies on Squidoo
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Topper Returns
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In the third of producer Hal Roach's Topper comedy films, most of the action takes place in an old, dark mansion, complete with trap doors and secret passageways. Roland Young returns as banker Cosmo Topper, and along with his chauffeur Eddie, offers...
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Topper
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In 1937, film producer Hal Roach was in search of a screwball comedy, and chose to adapt Thorne Smith's racy novel Topper. The resulting film was a huge success with audiences worldwide. Cary Grant and Constance Bennett were cast as George and Marion...
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Topper Takes a Trip
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In the first of two sequels to the original film, wealthy banker Cosmo Topper's life is once again complicated by ghosts. Topper Takes a Trip opens in divorce court, where Clara Topper has accused her husband of infidelity. Topper attempts to explain...
The Topper Movie Series
Topper Takes a Trip by Thorne Smith
Available in Paperback
Topper Takes a Trip (Modern Library Paperbacks)
Amazon Price: $19.00 (as of 12/18/2009)
Avg. Customer Rating: 
The Topper TV Series on Squidoo
Robert Sterling, Anne Jeffreys, Leo G. Carroll, and Lee Patrick with Neil
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The Topper TV Series
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Thorne Smith's lively characters enjoyed an international audience through a trio of popular Topper movies, and gained new fame when CBS Television produced the episodic comedy series, Topper, in 1953. Veteran character actor Leo G. Carroll was cast...
Vote For Your Favorite Topper
Topper: In Development
From the Internet Movie Database:Steve Martin attached to play Cosmo Topper, an up-tight estate liquidator who's hired to sell off the estate of George and Mimi Kirby, a recently-deceased wealthy young socialite couple who have no intention of letting their ghostly forms stop them from partying... or from trying to show Topper what life's all about.
A New Topper Movie in 2010?
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Topper: In Development
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Comedian Steve Martin is scheduled to reteam with Bringing Down the House director Adam Shankman for a remake of the supernatural comedy Topper, based on Thorne Smith's novel. The original 1937 film starred Roland Young as Cosmo Topper, a stuffy, he...
A New Cosmo Topper?
Thorne Smith Books on eBay
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Welcome, Thorne Smith Fans
Have you ever read any of the "Topper" books?
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Reply
- DAD1104 DAD1104 Sep 21, 2008 @ 10:51 am
- Funny thing, i just watched the circa 1920's last Friday.
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Reply
- bdkz bdkz May 2, 2008 @ 2:27 pm
- Very interesting lens!
Courtesies
English-Test.netThorne Smith.net
The Ultimate Kate Jackson Site
Internet Movie Database: Topper
Reader's Digest (Steve Martin Photo)
Internet Movie Database: Topper (2010)
Internet Movie Database: Topper Returns
Internet Movie Database: Topper (1979)(TV)
Internet Movie Database: Topper Takes a Trip
Internet Movie Database: Topper TV Series (1953-55)
Haunts & By-Paths: A Site for Fans of Author Thorne Smith
Creative Commons License
Plagiarism is No Laughing Matter
© 2009 Kim GiancaterinoThis Squidoo Lens by Kim Giancaterino is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Mona Lisa Simpson © FOX Broadcasting Company
About the Author
Lensmaster KimGiancaterino has been a member since October 30 2006, has rated 8,333 lenses, favorited 4,075, and has created 291 lenses from scratch. Kim Giancaterino donates their royalties to Asante Africa Foundation. This member's top-ranked page is "Yearbook Yourself: See How You'd Look in 1950s-1990s Yearbooks". See all my lenses
by KimGiancaterino
Producer Hal Roach brought Thorne Smith's zany characters to life in three films: Topper (1937), Topper Takes a Trip (1938) and Topper Returns (1941... (more)
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