04/25/2007: Read "Out o' Luck" online through Google Books. Click Here.
01/07/2005: I've added a great link to a new H. Allen Smith site designed by Stephen Duff. Duff has set up a great page dedicated to this other great Smith. You'll find it at www.hallensmith.net. It's definitely worth checking out.
11/24/2004: Nancy Coykendall was nice enough to send me several pictures of a young Thorne Smith. Nancy's mother and Thorne were friends and spent time at Montowese House, a summer vacation home. I have more information and pictures to put up shortly concerning this time in Thorne's life. Thanks, Nancy!
10/15/2004: I've put together a beginnings of a more comprehensive biography for Thorne. If any of you Smith experts catch me in a goof, let me know. It is a work in process and I'll be adding to it as I gather more infromation. For now, you have the early years through Grenwich Villiage.
04/20/2004: There is a new and improved message board. Click here to check it out.
04/19/2004: We can now be found at http://www.thornesmith.com. Yep, Thorne has his own domain now. Granted, it'll take you back to this site for now, but it's only fitting Thorne has his own web domain!
03/21/2004: Special thanks to Tim McHugh for the new beach pictures added today. These were shot three days before Thorne's death in June of 1934.
01/28/2004: I've added a new shot of Thorne with the kids, taken sometime back in the early 30's. You'll find this in the PHOTOS section.
10/28/2003: If anyone can manage to get over to Mount Olivet Cemetery in Queens and snap me a picture of Thorne's grave, it would be much appreciated. I will give credit to whomever takes the pic on the website.
10/27/2003: I've added new links to the video section. You'll see links to Amazon.com to buy both DVDs and VHS tapes.
10/27/2003: Sorry I've gone so long without an update. Many kind folks have contacted me with pictures and stories of Thorne that I am going to put on the site just as soon as possible. Many of these shots have never been made available to the public before. I also have just about completed the biography for the site. It'll be one of the longest, most complete bios available on the man to date. I hope to have this online in the next few weeks.
9/09/2002: A new bio is being drafted for the page. Several sources have been tapped for information: Steven Jitomar's dissertation, Joseph Blotner's dissertation, Roland Young's "Thorne Smith: His Life & Times," and Clay Geerde's "Thorne Smith." In other words -- those of you looking for a more extensive biography won't be disappointed!
9/08/2002: I have added a few more books to the Haunts and By-Paths store. Included as quick links to Amazon.com to buy "The Stray Lamb," "Turnabout," "The Bishop's Jaegers," and "The Passionate Witch". I still think Abebooks.com is one of the best sources to order books, Amazon is starting to make it easy to order used books through its own marketplace. I've had good luck utilizing this, so I thought I'd pass it along to those of you that are interested in purchasing through a reliable source.
1/30/2002: A Happy Belated New Year to all you Smith fans out there! The look of the site will be changing slowly during the next several weeks. I'm going to bring Thorne into the 21st century with a little Flash treatment to add a little spark to the site. It'll also be organized a little tighter and will have a more professional (I hope) feel. If any of you have pictures to add to the site - book covers, shots of Thorne, etc... drop me a line and I'd be more than happy to put it on the site. Make sure to check out the links section - I've added a link to Christopher Moore's site. As one of today's best writers of humor, he comes highly recommended. I'm currently finishing up "Island of the Sequined Love Nun" and have fully enjoyed it. His new book "Lamb" is next on my wish list. If you're not familiar with Chris' works, give his site a test drive.
11/28/01: I've added a centralized "store" to allow folks to buy the available Smith books or look for out-of-print books from honest companies. The link to the store is: https://members.tripod.com/~JCHOMA/store.htm. I'll try to change the features on a regular basis to add a little variety. For now, you can buy copies of "Topper," "Topper Takes a Trip," "The Night Life of the Gods," "Bilmore Oswald," and "Out O' Luck".
11/14/01: Wow - lot's has happened since the last update. One item I didn't want to put on the homepage was the 9/11/01 incident. Horrible as this tragedy was, I wanted to keep the page as it was to give folks an alternative to information they were constantly getting bombarded with on a daily basis. One of the many great things about Thorne's writing was the time period for which he wrote. He provided individuals experiencing WWI, the Great Depression and WWII with a brief distraction from the day-to-day hardships. The ability to laugh during these times was a welcome relief. One could argue that Thorne Smith's writings are just as relevant today, if only to allow readers a few hours a day to access the magical world he wrote about. With newspaper headlines and television news reporting all that's wrong with the world - a trip down "Lazy Bear Lane," is needed just as much today as it was 70 years ago.
11/14/01: I just wanted to say thank you to each and every individual that has signed the guestbook to date. It's so encouraging to know that so many people appreciate the information provided on this site and still feel a bond with Thorne's books. Thorne's relatives check in from time to time and I know they truly appreciate the kind words you've all left behind. Thank you again!
8/20/01: The site has a new look. This is a work in process, so please bear with the changes. I've tried to make the site a little more user friendly and interative. You'll find a few more polls, the message board and the Yahoo Communities page. Here, fans can post messages, fan fiction, pictures... lots of stuff. I hope you find the new design user friendly. Stop by often, lots of new things coming up!
8/04/01: My, oh my has it been a long time between updates. I've added a Thorne Smith Community to Yahoo and will be posting some unique pictures on the site concerning Smith and his works. The site link is http://communities.msn.com/ThorneSmith. Stop by, sign up and let's get a discussion going!
10/20/00: We are sad to inform you that Thorne Smith's only surviving daughter,Marion Smith Conner, passed away Friday,October 13, 2000 at home in Free Acres New Jersey after a long illness. She is survived by two sons,and three grandchildren and countless friends.
2/15/00: Michael Walker, a writer for Scarlet Street Magazine and a MAJOR Thorne Smith fan has written what I consider to be one of best bios on Smith in quite a while. Mike has scanned the globe (literally!) to get the most complete information on our favorite author. He's put in many hard hours of work on this task and has completed an excellent piece of work. Click HERE to see an excerpt and how to order Scarlet Street's Thorne Smith issue.
1/15/00: I will be adding an H. Allen Smith section to the page. Smith, in his own right, was a wonderful humorist and had the opportunity to interview Thorne Smith before his death. Like Thorne, much of H. Allen's stuff is out of print, but worth tracking down. I'll provide you with links and info shortly.
1/15/00: Happy New Year to everyone. There hasn't been much "new" news lately with the exception of the Random House's Modern Libray's releases of Nightlife of the Gods and Topper Takes a Trip. Nice paperback editions to add to your collection.
9/25/99: I'd love to see other peoples' reviews of Thorne's work. Add your review of any book to Haunts & By-Paths by e-mailing me. I'd be more than happy to include other reviews.
8/18/99: Roland Young information is online. Just about everything you want to know about the man can be found here: :Roland Young
8/18/99: Ebay is a great souce for affordable Thorne Smith Items
7/27/99: Hey ! Tripod just awarded this site with a "best of" nomination! See, people are beginning to take notice!
7/27/99: Check out EBAY - there's an original copy of Haunts & By-Paths up for sale for the next few days.
7/27/99: I'm still plugging away at the Roland Young material.
6/30/99: The Roland Young section is almost complete. Look for in in the next week.
5/10/99: Random House has set up a wonderful section dedicated to Thorne Smith. Take an in depth look at "Topper" and see previews of "Night Life of the Gods" and "Topper Takes a Trip". Great Work!
5/6/99: Sorry for the long delay - I forgot my password and wasn't able to edit anything on the page! Coming soon: Cast Your Vote for Favorite Thorne Smith Book; Information on Roland Young; A new graphics page to include misc. photos and movie posters; and finally, information on the "Topper" television series that aired in the early 50's. I try to keep the page updated monthly, so stay tuned for details!
3/26/99: Well, the old look of the page was starting to get on people's nerves. I admit - it took a while for some of those little books to download! So I took them off the
front page to ensure a faster load time for all browsers.
2/4/99: This is unconfirmed at this point, but Hugh Wilson (director of "First Wives' Club") is laying plans to direct an updated version of "Topper." Only speculationat this point, but mention was made in last months, "Variety." No word yet on the casting either.
12/28/98: A new look will be coming to the Haunts and By-Paths page in the next few weeks. New graphics, faster load times, and better links to search services. Stay tuned!
12/2/98: Carolyn See will be providing the introduction to The Modern Library's edition of "Topper".
11/21/98: "Topper" to be published by Random House in 1999! Click here for a preview.
6/03/01: A link to a great site detailing each episode from the "Topper" TV Series. Click HERE to view.
2/4/99: "Topper" is now available from Random House. They have done a great job with the re-issue. Next will be either "Topper Takes a trip" and "Night Life of the Gods." I'll keep you posted.