Steve Stoliar has been a professional writer for more thirty years, providing material for Dick Cavett as well as penning episodes of such television series as MURDER SHE WROTE, SIMON & SIMON, THE NEW WKRP IN CINCINNATI and SLIDERS. He has been a consultant on a number of books and documentaries about Groucho Marx and his various siblings and has also written and produced documentaries on such diverse personages as John Lennon, The Marx Brothers, Elvis Presley, Shemp Howard and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Additionally, he has provided voices for various animated specials including FROSTY RETURNS, THE OZ KIDS and SNOOPY'S REUNION Born in St. Louis, he now makes his home in Studio City, California. In 1996, Mr. Stoliar first published his memoir, RAISED EYEBROWS: MY YEARS INSIDE GROUCHO'S HOUSE The book was reissued with a new Afterword in 2012.
RAISED EYEBROWS is the bittersweet story of the last years in the life of Groucho Marx, told by a young Marx Brothers fan who was fortunate enough to work for Groucho as his personal secretary and archivist, right inside Marx's Beverly Hills home. In addition to getting to know his hero, the author was able to spend quality time with Zeppo, Gummo, Mae West, George Burns, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, SJ Perelman, Steve Allen, and scores of other luminaries of stage, screen, TV and literature. The downside of this dream-come-true was getting close to his idol as the curtain was coming down, and dealing with Erin Fleming - the mercurial woman in charge of Groucho's personal and professional life. RAISED EYEBROWS is filled with never-before-seen photos from the author's collection and never-before-heard anecdotes, with an introduction by DICK CAVETT.
A real page-turner that is by turns startling, shocking and as engrossing as a good novel. What a splendid book it is.
-- DICK CAVETT
It's one of the best books about a show-business icon I've ever read...It makes Groucho live so much more than the conventional bios."
-- WOODY ALLEN
Raised Eyebrows is an intimate account of one of our national treasures - Groucho Marx. It's written by a young man who was fortunate enough to live with and work for Groucho, and if he doesn't know what he's talking about, who would? It has a unique insider's
point of view and is a fascinating study of a man who was one of the kings of comedy.
-- JACK LEMMON
In this delightful report, Mr. Stoliar brings the real Groucho alive with wit, tears and all.
-- STEVE ALLEN
In 2022, it was announced that RAISED EYEBROWS is being made into a motion picture starring Geoffrey Rush (as Groucho), Sienna Miller (as Erin Fleming), and Charlie Plummer (as young Steve Stoliar), to be directed by Oren Moverman, with a screenplay by Stoliar & Moverman.
Steve Stoliar is also the co-author of the 2019 autobiography THE IMPERFECT STORM: FROM HENRY STREET TO HOLLYWOOD, the memoir of famed comedian and director Howard Storm.
In 2022, SALAMIS & SWASTIKAS: LETTERS HOME FROM A G.I. JEW was published. The book is a remarkable collection of letters (and photos) sent by Staff Sgt. David E. Stoliar to his wife and baby daughter in St. Louis during World War II, from North Africa, Italy, France, Germany, and England.
Edited and with commentary by Stoliar’s son, Steve, the letters run the gamut from vivid war reportage to insightful analysis of anti-Semitism in Germany (as well as in the U.S.) to heartwarming adventures with his dog to heartbreaking reminders of how much he sorely misses his family to thumbnail reviews of then-current movies and songs, all filtered through the prism of a secular Jew caught in the middle of war against the Nazis.
Additionally, there are dozens of never-before-seen personal photos that bring to life the colorful people, places, and events that Sgt. Stoliar writes about in his richly detailed letters.
Steve Stoliar's book is a richly satisfying read. The book's heart is a priceless – and, fortunately, preserved – collection of his soldier father's personal letters home from World War II. A rare, moving, colorful, and intimate look at war from inside the beast. A book to remember.
- DICK CAVETT (Author/Talk-Show Host)
I found the book very entertaining, full of good stuff, sad as can be, and eye-opening as to what it was like to be shipped thousands of miles from one’s wife and child and to have to fight missing them, which, for me, would be as hard as fighting Germans. I couldn’t have lived through what the author of these letters lived through. Great fun to read, but also heartbreaking.
- WOODY ALLEN (Writer/Filmmaker)
Just one G.I’s pen to paper and what a revelation! Staff Sgt. David Stoliar’s letters home are dense with humor, love, the right amount of army scuttlebutt, and soulful musings of a young American-Jewish soldier in the war against Hitler. I’m grateful to Steve for making his dad’s World War II story an important addition to the historical record.
- STEVEN KARRAS (Director of ABOUT FACE: THE JEWISH REFUGEE SOLDIERS OF WORLD WAR II)
These humorous and heartbreaking letters home from World War II are a wonder. They not only paint a portrait of the fight and the human face of war, but more importantly, we feel the incredible love for wife and family, which is why we were fighting. Endearing. Moving. Unforgettable.
- STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY (Actor/Author of MY ADVENTURES WITH GOD)
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