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Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life
by Laurence BergreenLouis Armstrong was the founding father of jazz and one of this century's towering cultural figures, yet the full story of his extravagant life has never been told.Born in 1901 to the sixteen-year-old daughter of a slave, he came of age among the prostitutes, pimps, and rag-and-bone merchants of New Orleans. He married four times and enjoyed countless romantic involvements in and around his marriages. A believer in marijuana for the head and laxatives for the bowels, he was also a prolific diarist and correspondent, a devoted friend to celebrities from Bing Crosby to Ella Fitzgerald, a perceptive social observer, and, in his later years, an international goodwill ambassador.And, of course, he was a dazzling musician. From the bordellos and honky-tonks of Storyville--New Orleans's red light district--to the upscale nightclubs in Chicago, New York, and Hollywood, Armstrong's stunning playing, gravelly voice, and irrepressible personality captivated audiences and critics alike. Recognized and beloved wherever he went, he nonetheless managed to remain vigorously himself.Now Laurence Bergreen's remarkable book brings to life the passionate, courageous, and charismatic figure who forever changed the face of American music.
Louis Armstrong: An American Genius
by James Lincoln CollierLouis Armstrong. "Satchmo." To millions of fans, he was just a great entertainer. But to jazz aficionados, he was one of the most important musicians of our times--not only a key figure in the history of jazz but a formative influence on all of 20th-century popular music. Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, Chicago, and New York during the "jazz age", Collier re-creates the saga of an old-fashioned black man making it in a white world. He chronicles Armstrong's rise as a musician, his scrapes with the law, his relationships with four wives, and his frequent feuds with fellow musicians Earl Hines and Zutty Singleton. He also sheds new light on Armstrong's endless need for approval, his streak of jealousy, and perhaps most important, what some consider his betrayal of his gift as he opted for commercial success and stardom. A unique biography, knowledgeable, insightful, and packed with information, it ends with Armstrong's death in 1971 as one of the best-known figures in American entertainment.
Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz
by Joshua BerrettThe jazz scholar Joshua Berrett offers a provocative revision of the history of early jazz by focusing on two of its most notable practitioners--Whiteman, legendary in his day, and Armstrong, a legend ever since. Paul Whiteman's fame was unmatched throughout the twenties. Bix Beiderbecke, Bing Crosby, and Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey honed their craft on his bandstand. Celebrated as the "King of Jazz" in 1930 in a Universal Studios feature film, Whiteman's imperium has declined considerably since. The legend of Louis Armstrong, in contrast, grows ever more lustrous: for decades it has been Armstrong, not Whiteman, who has worn the king's crown. This dual biography explores these diverging legacies in the context of race, commerce, and the history of early jazz. Early jazz, Berrett argues, was not a story of black innovators and white usurpers. In this book, a much richer, more complicated story emerges--a story of cross-influences, sidemen, sundry movers and shakers who were all part of a collective experience that transcended the category of race. In the world of early jazz, Berrett contends, kingdoms had no borders.
Louis C.K. and Philosophy
by Mark RalkowskiCharlie Rose has called Louis C.K. "the philosopher-king of comedy," and many have detected philosophical profundity in Louis's comedy, some of which has been watched tens of millions of times on YouTube and elsewhere. Louis C.K. and Philosophy is designed to help Louis's fans connect the dots between his pronouncements and living philosophical themes.Twenty-five philosophers examine the wisdom of Louis C.K. from a variety of philosophical perspectives. The chapters draw upon C.K.'s standup comedy, the show Louie, and C.K.'s other writings. There is no attempt to fit Louis into one philosophical school; instead the authors bring out the diverse aspects of the thought of Louis C.K.One writer looks at the different meanings of C.K.'s statement, "You're gonna be dead way longer than you were alive." Another explores how Louis knows when he's awake and when he's dreaming, taking a few tips from Descartes. One chapter shows the affinity of C.K.'s "sick of living this bullshit life" with Kierkegaard's "sickness unto death." Another pursues Louis's thought that we may by our lack of moral concern "live a really evil life without thinking about it." C.K.'s religion is "apathetic agnostic," conveyed in his thought experiment that God began work in 1982.
Louis Horst: Musician in a Dancer’s World
by Janet Mansfield SoaresFrom his musical beginnings as a piano player in gambling houses and society cafés, Louis Horst (1884-1964) became one of the chief architects of modern dance in the twentieth century. How a musician untrained in dance came to make such a mark is told here for the first time in rich detail. At the center of this story is Horst's relationship with Martha Graham, who was his intimate for decades. "I did everything for Martha," Horst said late in life. Indeed, as her lover, ally, and lifelong confidante, he worked with such conviction to make her the undisputed dance leader in the concert world that Graham herself would later remark: "Without him I could not have achieved anything I have done." Drawing on the conversation and writings of Horst and his colleagues, Janet Mansfield Soares reveals the inner workings of this passionate commitment and places it firmly in the context of dance history. Horst emerges from these pages as a man of extraordinary personality and multifaceted talent: a composer whose dance scores, such as the one for Graham's Primitive Mysteries, became models for many who followed; a concert pianist for American dancers such as Doris Humphrey and Helen Tamiris, as well as their German counterparts; an editor and writer whose advocacy for American dance made him a leading critic of his time; and, above all, a teacher and mentor whose work at the Neighborhood Playhouse, the Bennington School of Dance, American Dance Festival, and Juilliard helped shape generations of dancers and choreographers. Richly illustrated, sensitive to intimate detail and historical nuance, this comprehensive biography reveals the raison d'etre underlying Horst's theories and practices, offering a wealth of insight into the development of dance as an art form under his virtually unchallenged rule.
Louis Malle: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series)
by Christopher BeachA filmmaker whose work exhibits a wide range of styles and approaches, Louis Malle (1932–1995) was the only French director of his generation to enjoy a significant career in both France and the United States. Although Malle began his career alongside members of the French New Wave like François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Claude Chabrol, he never associated himself with that group. Malle is perhaps best known for his willingness to take on such difficult or controversial topics as suicide, incest, child prostitution, and collaboration with the Nazis during World War II. His filmography includes narrative films like Zazie dans le Métro, Murmur of the Heart, Atlantic City, My Dinner with Andre, and Au revoir les enfants, as well as several major documentaries. In the late 1970s, Malle moved to the United States, where he worked primarily outside of the Hollywood studio system. The films of his American period display his keen outsider’s eye, which allowed him to observe diverse aspects of American life in settings that ranged from turn-of-the-century New Orleans to present-day Atlantic City and the Texas Gulf Coast. Louis Malle: Interviews covers the entirety of Malle’s career and features seventeen interviews, the majority of which are translated into English here for the first time. As the collection demonstrates, Malle was an extremely intelligent and articulate filmmaker who thought deeply about his own choices as a director, the ideological implications of those choices, and the often-controversial themes treated in his films. The interviews address such topics as Malle’s approach to casting and directing actors, his attitude toward provocative subject matter and censorship, his understanding of the relationship between documentary and fiction film, and the differences between the film industries in France and the US. Malle also discusses his sometimes-challenging work with such actors as Brigitte Bardot, Pierre Blaise, and Brooke Shields, and sheds new light on the making of his films.
Louise Brooks
by Barry ParisLouise Brooks left Wichita, Kansas, for New York City at age fifteen and lived the kind of life of which legends are made. From her beginnings as a dancer to her years in Hollywood, Berlin, and beyond, she was hailed and reviled as a new type of woman: independent, intellectually daring, and sexually free. In this widely acclaimed, first and only comprehensive biography, Barry Paris traces Brooks's trajectory from her childhood through her fall into obscurity and subsequent "resurrection" as a brilliant writer and enduring film icon.
Louise Trapeze Can SO Save the Day
by Micol Ostow Brigette BarragerSpunky, sweet, and totally brave (mostly)! Louise Trapeze dazzles and delights emerging young readers. Perfect for fans of IVY AND BEAN and JUNIE B. JONES, Louise Trapeze is adorably illustrated by Brigette Barrager, illustrator of the New York Times bestseller UNI THE UNICORN. Fact: The Sweet Potato Circus is in trouble. (Or at least that's what Louise heard through the tent flap.) Louise and her best friend, Stella, will do anything to save their circus--even if it means joining forces with their sworn enemy, Ferret-breath Fernando! These three have big ideas and big tricks that will surely save the day in a big, big way! "Perfect for Ivy and Bean fans. A high-flying series." --Booklist "Lighthearted and cheery. Readers will clamor for the next one." --Kirkus ReviewsFrom the Hardcover edition.
Louise Trapeze Did NOT Lose the Juggling Chickens
by Brigette Barrager Micol OstowSpunky, sweet, and totally brave (mostly)! Louise Trapeze dazzles and delights emerging young readers. Perfect for fans of IVY AND BEAN and JUNIE B. JONES, Louise Trapeze is adorably illustrated by Brigette Barrager, illustrator of New York Times bestseller UNI THE UNICORN. Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Feast your eyes on the one, the only Louise Trapeze! Louise is seven years old now, which means she is super mature. Ready for big responsibilities! Her BFF Stella gets to watch Clementine the Elephant, and even Ferret-Breath Fernando is trusted with errands for the ringmaster. But Louise has nada, nothing important at all to do. Until she gets her chance! She is asked to watch the three juggling chickens. Louise knows she will make a superb babysitter. Too bad Oona, Loona, and Maude have other ideas. . . .
Louise Trapeze Is Totally 100% Fearless
by Brigette Barrager Micol OstowSpunky, sweet, and totally brave (mostly)! Louise Trapeze dazzles and delights emerging young readers. Ladies and gentleman! Boys and girls! Feast your eyes on the one, the only, Louise Trapeze! Louise performs with her parents and her best friend, Stella, in the Sweet Potato Circus. And today is Birthday Eve! That means tomorrow, Birthday Day, Louise officially turns seven. Seven is old enough to fly on the real flying trapeze. The big one. The one way high up in the sky, that makes her stomach flop-flip at the very sight . . . Uh-oh! Could it be that Louise is not 100% fearless after all? Might she actually, gulp, be afraid of heights . . . ? Perfect for fans of IVY AND BEAN and JUNIE B. JONES, Louise Trapeze is adorably illustrated in two-color by Brigette Barrager, illustrator of New York Times bestseller UNI THE UNICORN.
Louise Trapeze Will NOT Lose a Tooth
by Brigette Barrager Micol Ostow“Perfect for Ivy and Bean fans. A high-flying series.” —Booklist The Louise Trapeze chapter books are perfect for circus-lovers and fans of JUNIE B. JONES, with adorable illustrations from Brigette Barrager, illustrator of the New York Times bestseller UNI THE UNICORN. Fact: Louise Trapeze never loses anything. Things just go missing! Like her dazzling light-up hula hoop and her polka-dot sandals. But Louise isn’t going to lose another thing, ever. No way! Not even if an amazing fortune-teller predicts that she will lose something priceless. And especially not when her tooth starts to feel wiggly-jiggly . . .
Louisiana's Zydeco
by Sherry T. BroussardThe bayou sings and the trees sway with the untold stories of many unsung heroes, including Louisiana's amazing Zydeco musicians. The music is an extraordinary blend of the accordion, the bass and electric guitars, the drums, the rub or scrub board, and other instruments. It tells stories about finding and losing love, life lessons, and other revelatory events that rise from the skillful hands of musicians playing the diatonic and piano accordions. The diverse population of Louisiana creates a rich culture with Zydeco festivals, Creole foods, and the unique music that fills the air with a foot-stomping beat like no other. Louisiana's Zydeco is a snapshot of some of the many musicians who live and play the homegrown music known as Zydeco.
Louisville Television
by David InmanT-Bar-V Ranch went off the air in 1970, but ask any Louisville baby boomer to sing the theme song and you'll instantly hear, "Brush your teeth each morning / Get lots of sleep at night / Mind your mom and daddy / Cause they know what is right." Such is the power of homegrown television. This book is a look at Louisville television history over the last 50 years, from T-Bar-V to Tom Wills's retirement. Along the way, you will catch a glimpse of Diane Sawyer (as the WLKY "weather girl") and dozens of images of locally produced musical shows, game shows, talk shows, children's shows, and newscasts--not to mention all the lyrics to the T-Bar-V Ranch opening and closing theme song.
Lourdes Portillo: The Devil Never Sleeps and Other Films
by Rosa Linda FregosoFilmmaker Lourdes Portillo sees her mission as "channeling the hopes and dreams of a people." Clearly, political commitment has inspired her choice of subjects. With themes ranging from state repression to AIDS, Portillo's films include: Después del Terremoto, the Oscar-nominated Las Madres: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead, The Devil Never Sleeps, and Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena.<P><P>The first study of Portillo and her films, this collection is collaborative and multifaceted in approach, emphasizing aspects of authorial creativity, audience reception, and production processes typically hidden from view. Rosa Linda Fregoso, the volume editor, has organized the book into three parts: interviews (by Fregoso and Kathleen Newman and B. Ruby Rich); critical perspectives (essays by Fregoso, Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano, Sylvie Thouard, Norma Iglesias, and Barbara McBane); and production materials (screenplays, script notes, storyboards, etc.).
Love All the People (New Edition): Letters, Lyrics, Routines
by Bill HicksBill Hicks was arguably the most influential stand-up comedian of the last 30 years. He was funny, out of hand, impossible to ignore and genuinely disturbing. His work has inspired Michael Moore, Mark Thomas and Robert Newman among others. The trade paperback published in February 2003 was the first collected work and included major stand-up routines, diary, notebook and letters extracts, plus his final writings, most previously unpublished. This smaller format paperback has extra material discovered subsequently.
Love and Death on Long Island: A Novel
by Gilbert Adair"A literary gem, a tour de force . . . Beautifully constructed, superbly characterized. What disturbs is the sheer elegance of Adair’s prose style -- most of us had probably forgotten English could be written so well.” -- Literary Review (U.K.)
Love and Let Die: Bond, the Beatles and the British Psyche
by John HiggsThe Beatles are the biggest band there has ever been. James Bond is the single most successful movie character of all time. They are also twins. Dr No, the first Bond film, and 'Love Me Do', the first Beatles record, were both released on the same day - Friday, 5 October 1962. Most countries can only dream of a cultural export becoming a worldwide phenomenon on this scale. For Britain to produce two on the same windy October afternoon is unprecedented.Bond and the Beatles present us with opposing values, visions of Britain and ideas about male identity. LOVE AND LET DIE is the story of a clash between working-class liberation and establishment control, and how it exploded on the global stage. It explains why James Bond hated the Beatles, why Paul McCartney wanted to be Bond and why it was Ringo who won the heart of a Bond Girl in the end.Told over a period of sixty dramatic years, this is an account of how two outsized cultural monsters continue to define our aspirations and fantasies and the future we are building. Looking at these touchstones in this new context will forever change how you see the Beatles, the James Bond films and six decades of British culture.
Love and Loss in Hollywood: Florence Deshon, Max Eastman, and Charlie Chaplin (Special Publications of the Lilly Library)
by Florence Deshon, Max Eastman, and Charlie ChaplinIn 1919, Florence Deshon—tall, radical, and charismatic—was well on her way to becoming one of Hollywood's brightest stars. Embroiled in a clandestine affair with Charlie Chaplin, she continued to remain romantically involved with the well-known writer and socialist Max Eastman. By 1922, she was found dead in a New York apartment, rumored to have committed suicide.Love and Loss in Hollywood: Florence Deshon, Max Eastman, and Charlie Chaplin uses previously unpublished letters between Deshon and Eastman to reconstruct their relationship against the backdrop of the "golden age" of Hollywood. Deshon's tragic life and her abuse at the hands of powerful men—including Chaplin, Eastman, and Samuel Goldwyn—resonate with the concerns of today's MeToo movement. Above all, though, this is a book about an extraordinary woman unjustly forgotten: a brilliant writer and campaigner for women's rights, driven both by her ambition to succeed and a boundless desire for life.Rich in tantalizing detail, Love and Loss in Hollywood chronicles crucial years of American film history, overshadowed by the pervasive fear of Bolshevism after World War I, the Red Riots, and the emergence of the big studios in Hollywood. This beautiful edition features dozens of unpublished photographs, among them six mesmerizing full-length portraits of Deshon by Adolph de Meyer, Vogue's first fashion photographer.
Love and Resistance in the Films of Mai Masri (Palgrave Studies in Arab Cinema)
by Victoria BrittainThis book covers Mai Masri’s three decades documenting iconic moments of Palestinian and Lebanese linked history. Her films, unique for giving agency to her subjects, tell much about the untold, unseen people, namely women and children, who lived these experiences of war and occupation. Former Lebanese political prisoner Soha Bechara praised her feature film 3000 Nights as “the ‘Lest we forget’ of Palestine." Her focus on the social and political climates of the vivid lives of unseen people connects to the deepening violence in Palestine today.
Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre: A Biography of the Doors
by Mick WallFrom one of rock's greatest writers, Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre is the definitive biography of the Doors Spanning the entire history of the band, from the birth of its members to the deaths of those who have departed, this book will long remain the definitive history of a band that changed the history of popular music. The band that started out as the "American Rolling Stones," noted for their wildly unpredictable performances, their jazzy vibe, and the crazed monologues of their front man, ended as badly as did the '60s: abruptly, bloodily, cripplingly. Along with evoking the cultural milieu of Los Angeles in the era, bestselling writer Mick Wall captures the true spirit of that tarnished age. From the release of their classic first album, The Doors, to their last with Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman, this band biography is a brilliantly penetrating and contemporary investigation into the real story of the Doors.
Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre: A Biography of The Doors
by Mick Wall'Explodes in to life from the opening paragraph' RECORD COLLECTORThink you know the story of Jim Morrison and The Doors? This revelatory and explosive biography from critically acclaimed rock journalist Mick Wall will make you think again.'The pick of the best guitar tomes: Wall's account pulls no punches, cataloguing each of the primal scenes - early performances, indecent exposure, Jim's sexuality, decline and death' GUITARISTIn 1971, Jim Morrison was found dead in a club toilet in Paris. He was 27 years old. Since then, The Doors have been the subject of a mystery fuelled by sensationalised rumours and empty conjecture.In this definitive account of Jim Morrison and The Doors, critically acclaimed rock writer Mick Wall unravels the myths surrounding the iconic band and its frontman, and captures the unique and unforgettable spirit of the sixties. A brilliantly penetrating and long-overdue biography, Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre questions the idolisation of Jim Morrison and considers the story of The Doors in all of its uncomfortable truth.
Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre: A Biography of The Doors
by Mick Wall'Explodes in to life from the opening paragraph' RECORD COLLECTORThink you know the story of Jim Morrison and The Doors? This revelatory and explosive biography from critically acclaimed rock journalist Mick Wall will make you think again.'The pick of the best guitar tomes: Wall's account pulls no punches, cataloguing each of the primal scenes - early performances, indecent exposure, Jim's sexuality, decline and death' GUITARISTIn 1971, Jim Morrison was found dead in a club toilet in Paris. He was 27 years old. Since then, The Doors have been the subject of a mystery fuelled by sensationalised rumours and empty conjecture.In this definitive account of Jim Morrison and The Doors, critically acclaimed rock writer Mick Wall unravels the myths surrounding the iconic band and its frontman, and captures the unique and unforgettable spirit of the sixties. A brilliantly penetrating and long-overdue biography, Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre questions the idolisation of Jim Morrison and considers the story of The Doors in all of its uncomfortable truth.
Love Brought Me Back: A Journey of Loss and Gain
by Natalie Cole David RitzIN THIS LUMINOUS MEMOIR, LEGENDARY SINGER AND ACTRESS NATALIE COLE TELLS A REMARKABLE STORY OF LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS AND RECOVERY, AND THE STORY OF A DEATH THAT BROUGHT NEW LIFE. In 2009 Natalie Cole was on dialysis, her kidneys failing. Without a kidney transplant, her future was uncertain. Throughout Natalie's illness one of her biggest supporters was her beloved sister Cooke. But then Cooke herself became ill, with cancer. Astonishingly, as Cooke lay dying in a hospital, Natalie received a call that a kidney was available, but the surgery had to be performed immediately. Natalie couldn't leave her sister's side--but neither could she refuse the kidney that would save her own life. This is a story of sisters, Natalie and Cooke, but also of the sisters who made the transplant possible, Patty and Jessica. It was Jessica's death that gave new life to Natalie, even as Natalie experienced the devastating loss of Cooke. Patty, too, suffered her own terrible loss, but when she met Natalie, she found that her sister's spirit still lived. Through the gift of life, Natalie and Patty became sisters in spirit. Love Brought Me Back is a story of loss and recovery, sorrow and joy, success and despair--and, finally, success again. It will touch you as few memoirs ever have.
Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found
by Allegra HustonWhen Allegra Huston was four years old, her mother was killed in a car crash. Soon afterward, she was introduced to an intimidating man wreathed in cigar smoke -- the legendary film director John Huston -- with the words, "This is your father." So began an extraordinary odyssey: from the magical Huston estate in Ireland to the Long Island suburbs to a hidden paradise in Mexico -- and, at the side of her older sister, Anjelica, into the hilltop retreats of Jack Nicholson, Ryan O'Neal, and Marlon Brando. Allegra's is the penetrating gaze of an outsider never quite sure if she belongs in this rarefied world and of a motherless child trying to make sense of her famous, fragmented family.
Love, Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey
by Betty DeGeneres"Mom, I'm gay." With three little words, gay children can change their parents' lives forever. Yet at the same times it's a chance for those parents to realize nothing, really, has changed at all; same kid, same life, same bond of enduring love.Twenty years ago, during a walk on a Mississippi beach, Ellen DeGeneres spoke those simple, powerful words to her mother. That emotional moment eventually brought mother and daughter closer than ever, but not without a struggle. Coming from a republican family with conservative values, Betty needed time and education to understand her daughter's homosexuality -- but her ultimate acceptance would set the stage for a far more public coming out, one that would change history.In Love, Ellen, Betty DeGeneres tells her story; the complicated path to acceptance and the deepening of her friendship with her daughter; the media's scrutiny of their family life; the painful and often inspiring stories she's heard on the road as the first non-gay spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaigns National Coming Out Project.With a mother's love, clear minded common sense, and hard won wisdom, Betty DeGeneres offers up her own very personal memoir to help parents understand their gay children, and to help sons and daughters who have been rejected by their families feel less alone.