GOOD NIGHT, MRS. CALABASH.

ByWilliam Cahn '34. New York: DuellSloan & Pearce, 1963. 191 pp. $4.95.

In the closing paragraph of an introduction to his 1955 book, Einstein: A PictorialBiography, William Cahn '34 wrote: "He belonged to the universe... as a farmer belongs to the soil. Perhaps this is what won him such a warm place in the hearts of the common people of all lands."

Although Jimmy Durante is no Einstein —by any stretch of the imagination—he has the same common touch and the same warm-hearted love of his fellow humans that Einstein displayed. And Cahn's most recent pictorial biography, Good Night,Mrs. Calabash (The Secret of Jimmy Durante), captures in prose, photographs, clippings, and sketches the inimitable and very human qualities which made Durante a star in our firmament for more than four decades.

"I don't want nobody," Jimmy Durante has been quoted as saying, "to put me on a pedasill." Nobody ever really has. Durante belongs to each of us who laugh as much at him as with him. For years the fabulous "Schnozzola" (Durante 'even copyrighted his nose and name for trademark purposes) has been noted for avoiding poking fun at anyone except himself - and for his clean approach to comedy.

Good Night, Mrs. Calabash houses a rare collection of memorabilia on Durante and his era - old clippings, rare and unusual photographs and sketches, some 200 in all - which vividly recreates his brightest moments from childhood to the present. Durante, the book seems to reveal, has many of the great qualities of Charlie Chaplin, without the bitterness and tragedy which in later years was to shadow Chaplin's life and career.

Bill Cahn has created an enormously vital and interesting book, one which we predict will receive wide and enthusiastic acclaim.

Near the end of the volume there is an unforgettable full-page photograph of Jimmy Durante, standing alone on stage in a spotlighted circle. His hands are thrust deep into his pockets. His battered felt hat perches at a rakish angle, his head is cocked to one side, and there's a wanly quizzical look on his face. "When Jimmy Durante says 'Good night, Mrs. Calabash,'" writes author Cahn, "he is expressing a sad clown's bond of friendship and sympathy with members of the human family everywhere. He is saying good night not only to Mrs. Calabash, but to you and to me."

Cahn's perceptiveness throughout does full justice to a great comedian and a great man.