Off the Wall: The Newspaper Columns of Ted Gardner

For eight years Gardner ( The Paper Dynasty ) has written a column for Southern California's Peninsula News and Rolling Hills Herald ; 102 of them are reprinted here. Unfortunately, much of Gardner's humor is forced and leaden. Examples: he conjures up a partnership titled Cryer, Mea, River and a lawyer named S. Hy Eister; he does a hackneyed private-eye-and-sexy-blonde parody; he resurrects the old gag about ``I wonder who's Kissinger now.'' There are only a few notable pieces: one on Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden and a script for refilming Casablanca 1990s-style. (May)