Fuzzy St. John: Our Fuzzy Q. Jones - Bobby J. Copeland

The subject of Al “Fuzzy” St. John came up on the WesternPulps email group a while back. Fuzzy is one of my favorite B-Western movie sidekicks, so when one of the group’s members suggested I read Bobby J. Copeland’s book about him, FUZZY ST. JOHN: OUR FUZZY Q. JONES, I didn’t waste any time hunting down a copy.

It’s an excellent look at St. John’s life and career, with lists and reviews of many of his films, essays about the B-Western stars he supported in more than a hundred movies, and scores of photos from those movies and from St. John’s personal life. Fuzzy, who got his start in silent comedies starring his uncle, the notorious Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, never made it out of those Poverty Row Westerns, but he created a distinctive character with his improvised, acrobatic slapstick and his dryly humorous way with a line of dialogue. He always makes me laugh, every time I see one of his movies. I need to get around to watching more of them. In the meantime, I really enjoyed reading FUZZY ST. JOHN: OUR FUZZY Q. JONES. If you’re a B-Western fan, it’s well worth your time and used copies are available on Amazon.