MARK TWAIN: America’s greatest writer.
Why is this signal distinction bestowed on this American original? Was it because he dared to capture the native dialect of his countrymen and make it part of our literature? Was it because he boldly incorporated humor in his writing, using it with devastating effect to puncture the pretensions and hypocrisies that his young American nation had assumed were prerequisites of literature and polite society?
Twain said, “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” Twain blended humor with rare insight and vision as he examined the foibles and fribbles that beset mankind, in the process creating a body of work that is so vast and diversified that it continues to fascinate historians and literary scholars almost a hundred years after his death.
Julian Caplan draws on this rich legacy as he shares with his audiences the often outrageously funny stories as well as the pungent wit and caustic commentary that Samuel Clemens delivered to a delighted and bemused world in the person of his most celebrated invention: the quintessential American persona that became famous worldwide as “Mark Twain.”
About Dr. Julian Caplan:
Quoting Mark Twain, Dr. Caplan says his mission is “�to excite the laughter of God’s creatures.” A retired lawyer, corporate business executive, and professor of business, he was born in Houston, Texas where he appeared in school plays with Ann Miller and Gale Storm. Later he studied acting with the famous exponent of method acting Stella Adler at the Dramatic Workshop in New York. Among his classmates were Marlon Brando, Elaine Stritch, and Maureen Stapleton. Now in his golden years, Dr. Caplan has responded to a yearning to tickle the funny bones of his fellow humans. Not incidentally, he believes with the late Norman Cousins (and the Readers Digest) that laughter is truly the best medicine.
Caplan lived on 42nd Avenue (Poplar Street) in Douglaston.
What the “Critics” Were Saying
“See Caplan become Clemens and the ‘Twain’ become one compelling recreation.” – Henry Stoeckert, President, Cedar Grove Historical Society
“Your impersonation of Mark Twain is uncanny!”
“Julian Caplan’s time warp carries us back almost a hundred years, and we laugh again with Mark Twain.” – Dr. Louis Budd, Duke Professor Emeritus of English, Duke University. Distinguished Mark Twain scholar.
“We were all impressed with the authenticity of your performance and appreciated the wit, humor and intelligence with which you brought to life the words of Mark Twain.” – Rozanne Storms, The Adult School of Montclair.