In this superb collection of essays edited by Luc Sante, author of Lowlife, and Melissa Holbrook Pierson, writers as diverse as John Updike, Patti Smith, and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Simic pay to homage the famous and the lesser known actors (some megastars, some lesser lights) who illuminate our Hollywood dreams.

From a side-splitting tribute to Elmer Fudd to an earnest lament at the absence of great fat actors today, O.K. You Mugs is a dazzling anthology that focuses on those remarkable talents who gave some of the most memorable performances in the history of Hollywood. These essays are sure to delight any reader who claims to care about the movies.      

Including:
o Jacqueline Carey on Margaret Dumont
o Dana Gioia on Movie Fat Men
o David Hajdu in Elmer Fudd
o Greil Marcus on J.T Walsh
o Patti Smith on Jeanne Moreau
o Charles Simic on Gene Tierney
o John Updike on Doris Day "O.K. You Mugs ends up celebrating the word as much as the image."--Time Out New York

"[A] stylish ode to characters bigger than life--"--Library Journal

"I plead for a follow-up volume."--The San Diego Union-Tribune