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Behind the Lens: My Life
by David SuchetDaily Mail Showbiz Memoir of the Year'A beautiful book' Chris Evans'Terrifically entertaining' Mail on Sunday'An arresting photographic voyage through the life and loves of this enigmatic English star' S magazine'Though not a conventional autobiography, we learn what makes the national treasure tick' Daily ExpressIn the early days of my career, I didn't think I stood a hope in hell. Look at me: I'm short, stocky, slightly overweight, deep of voice, passionate, dark haired, olive skinned, hardly your typical Englishman. What chance did I have, going into the world of British theatre?David Suchet has been a stalwart of British stage and screen for fifty years. From Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde, Freud to Poirot, Edward Teller to Doctor Who, Harold Pinter to Terence Rattigan, Questions of Faith to Decline and Fall, right up to 2019's The Price, David has done it all. Throughout this spectacular career, David has never been without a camera, enabling him to vividly document his life in photographs. Seamlessly combining photo and memoir, Behind the Lens is the story of David's remarkable life, showcasing his wonderfully evocative photographs and accompanied by his insightful and engaging commentary.In Behind the Lens, David discusses his London upbringing and love of the city, his Jewish roots and how they have influenced his career, the importance of his faith, how he really feels about fame, his love of photography and music, and his processes as an actor. He looks back on his fifty-year career, including reflections on how the industry has changed, his personal highs and lows, and how he wants to be remembered. And, of course, life after Poirot and why he's still grieving for the eccentric Belgian detective. An autobiography with a difference, this is David Suchet as you've never seen him before - from behind the lens.'The book offers more insight into the mind and philosophy of this remarkable man than a more conventional biographical approach could have achieved' Country Life
Behind the Lens: My Life
by David SuchetDaily Mail Showbiz Memoir of the Year'A beautiful book' Chris Evans'Terrifically entertaining' Mail on Sunday'An arresting photographic voyage through the life and loves of this enigmatic English star' S magazine'Though not a conventional autobiography, we learn what makes the national treasure tick' Daily ExpressIn the early days of my career, I didn't think I stood a hope in hell. Look at me: I'm short, stocky, slightly overweight, deep of voice, passionate, dark haired, olive skinned, hardly your typical Englishman. What chance did I have, going into the world of British theatre?David Suchet has been a stalwart of British stage and screen for fifty years. From Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde, Freud to Poirot, Edward Teller to Doctor Who, Harold Pinter to Terence Rattigan, Questions of Faith to Decline and Fall, right up to 2019's The Price, David has done it all. Throughout this spectacular career, David has never been without a camera, enabling him to vividly document his life in photographs. Seamlessly combining photo and memoir, Behind the Lens is the story of David's remarkable life, showcasing his wonderfully evocative photographs and accompanied by his insightful and engaging commentary.In Behind the Lens, David discusses his London upbringing and love of the city, his Jewish roots and how they have influenced his career, the importance of his faith, how he really feels about fame, his love of photography and music, and his processes as an actor. He looks back on his fifty-year career, including reflections on how the industry has changed, his personal highs and lows, and how he wants to be remembered. And, of course, life after Poirot and why he's still grieving for the eccentric Belgian detective. An autobiography with a difference, this is David Suchet as you've never seen him before - from behind the lens.'The book offers more insight into the mind and philosophy of this remarkable man than a more conventional biographical approach could have achieved' Country Life
Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey: The Official Backstage Pass to the Set, the Actors and the Drama
by Emma RowleyExperience the making of the first four seasons of the beloved Emmy Award–winning historical family drama—includes exclusive photos and in-depth interviews.This official behind-the-scenes guide brings you back to the world of Downton, with unprecedented access to inside information about the scripts, sets, cast, locations, music, and even props, hair, and makeup. Discover how the unforgettable series about the Crawleys and their staff, friends, and relations was created, and the people who made each weekly episode so eagerly awaited by legions of fans on PBS Masterpiece.Complete with never-before-seen photos, Emma Rowley’s Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey delves into the inspirations behind the details seen on screen. In addition, in-depth interviews offer insight into the actors’ experiences on set as well as the celebrated creative team on the other side of the camera—providing a rich look at all aspects of the making of the show.Featuring a foreword by Gareth Neame, executive producer of Downton Abbey
Behind the Scenes of Indie Film Marketing: A FilmSnobbery Field Guide
by Nicholas LaRueThis book provides current and incoming filmmakers with a comprehensive overview of how to create business and marketing plans to prepare their movies for distribution. Nicholas LaRue combines experienced insights into aesthetics and creativity with logical data-driven conclusions to provide an analysis of independent film promotion.The book first presents a view of sales and marketing in the independent film industry, as well as exploring the new digital tools available to filmmakers and tried-and-true methods that have served industry professionals well for years in promoting their films. This is then complemented by a wide array of testimonials from veteran filmmakers (Kevin Smith, Brea Grant, Joe Lynch, Roger Corman, and more) as well as interviews from film festival directors, publicists, film critics, and other industry professionals, who provide insights into working within the independent film industry.Given this diversity of perspective, this text will be an integral resource for new indie filmmakers, as well as those wishing to perfect their craft in whatever facet of independent filmmaking promotion they choose to pursue.
Behind the Screen
by Patrick Vonderau Petr SzczepanikConceptualizing production studies from a European perspective, the book evaluates the history of European thought on production: theories of practice, the languages, grammars, and poetics of film, practical theories of production systems such as film dramaturgy, and the self-theorizing of European auteurs and professionals.
Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood 1920-1969
by William J. MannWILLIAM J. MANN'S Behind the Screen is a thoughtful and eye-opening look at the totality of the gay experience in studio-era Hollywood. Much has been written about how gays have been portrayed in the movies, but until now, no book has looked at their influence behind the screen. Whether out of or in the closet, gays and lesbians have played a significant role in shaping Hollywood from the very beginning. Gay actors--from the screen's first matinee idol, J. Warren Kerrigan, through Ramon Novarro, Marlene Dietrich, Clifton Webb, and Rock Hudson--have defined movie stardom. Gay directors and producers--such as George Cukor, James Whale, Dorothy Arzner, and Ross Hunter--have long been among the most popular filmmakers. In fact, gay set and costume designers--Adrian, Travis Banton, Orry-Kelly, and George James Hopkins, among many more--created the very look of Hollywood. Based on seven years of exacting research--scrupulously documented--Behind the Screen chronicles an era never before seriously or thoroughly considered. With a historian's precision, Mann sets the story of Hollywood's gays in context with their times--from the free-loving Roaring Twenties through the conservative Depression years to the progressive flowering of World War II and the turbulent backlash of the McCarthy era. He describes which fields offered gays the most freedom and which de facto barred their entrance. Mann examines not only the working conditions of Hollywood's gays but also their after-hours' pursuit of Los Angeles's rowdy gay underground. With the recollections of dozens of survivors, Mann has woven together unpublished memoirs, personal correspondence, oral histories, and scrapbooks to assemble the first thoughtful analysis of the gay experience during cinema's initial fifty years. While always conscious and sensitive to the shifting social construction of homosexual desire and identity, Behind the Screen remains a platform for a whole new way of seeing both the Golden Age of Hollywood and the history of American gay men and lesbians. It is destined to become a classic of film literature. WILLIAM J. MANN is the critically acclaimed author of Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines, Hollywood's First Openly Gay Star, as well as the novels The Men from the Boys and The Biograph Girl. He lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Behind the Screens: Illustrated Floor Plans and Scenes from the Best TV Shows of All Time
by Neal E. Fischer Iñaki Aliste LizarraldeHand-drawn floor plans and richly imagined architectural illustrations tell the story of television’s most memorable on-screen sets and scenes.Come explore where Lucy and Ethel baked a monstrous loaf of bread, where Phoebe performed "Smelly Cat," where Jim and Pam fell in love, and countless other homes, offices, and towns as familiar to you as your own living room. Illustrator Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde has expertly rendered thirty-five of the most memorable television floor plans in modern history—puzzling together the layouts with an architect’s eye for detail and a director’s sense of storytelling.TV fans will delight in the interiors and exteriors from shows like Friends, Seinfeld, and The Simpsons, where characters and plotlines converge to create worlds so mesmerizing you want to binge-watch season after season. With immersive illustrations from shows across decades and countries, this truly unique art collection offers hilarious TV moments, Easter eggs, and behind-the-scenes trivia to test even the biggest superfans.GIFT OF AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE: Here is a thorough deep dive and binge-worthy art collection for television superfans, cinephiles, fans of the Warner Brothers' studio tour, and anyone who likes to watch hours of TV at a time. A NEW WAY TO BINGE YOUR FAVORITE TV: Rediscover your love of the classics like I Love Lucy and Little House on the Prairie; revisit childhood favorites like The Brady Bunch and Sesame Street; or explore recent classics like The Office, Sex and the City, and Friends.HAND DRAWN, HIGHLY INTRICATE: Imagine living and working in your favorite fictional worlds—these floor plans are drawn as if they could exist in your neighborhood or town rather than on a soundstage. Created from memory and research by a trained architectural illustrator, each image gives you a sense of place in the context of the show’s world.INTERNATIONAL APPEAL: Throughout the book you’ll find fan favorite shows from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Shows like Kim’s Convenience, Schitt’s Creek, Killing Eve, and Sherlock appear alongside U.S. favorites like Seinfeld, Gilmore Girls, New Girl, and The Big Bang Theory.Perfect for:TV fans and cinephilesPop culture enthusiastsFans of Hollywood studio tours and interactive set re-creation experiences (like Friends or The Office)Gift for TV lovers who already have multiple streaming subscription services (like Netflix and HBO)Anyone interested in interior design
Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones
by Dolly PartonNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A beautiful celebration of Dolly Parton&’s iconic sense of style through entertaining personal stories and 450 full-color photographs, including exclusive images from her private costume archiveIn Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, global superstar Dolly Parton shares, for the first time, the full story behind her lifelong passion for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Dolly style, which has defied convention and endeared her to fans around the world. Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton&’s life and career, and the largest reveal of her private costume archive, this gorgeously photographed book spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now. The sky-high heels, famous wigs, bold makeup, eye-catching stage clothes—she shares them all. Along the way, Parton discusses memorable outfits from her past, from the clothes her mother would sew out of feed sacks (including her &“Coat of Many Colors&”) and the bold dresses and hairdos that shook up Nashville, to the bunny suit on the cover of Playboy, evening wear at Studio 54, costumes from her most famous film and TV roles, and the daring styles that continue to entertain and inspire today. Filled with candor, humor, and lots and lots of rhinestones, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones is a shining tribute to one of the most beloved musicians in history, a treasured keepsake for anyone who loves Dolly Parton, and an indispensable guide to forging your own path to beauty and confidence.
Behind the Sequins: My Life
by Shirley BallasLeave it all on the floor...Queen of Latin Ballroom, Shirley Ballas has a spectacular dance career spanning over 40 years – she has Cha-Cha'd her way across the world's dance floors to become a multi-award-winning ballroom champion and one of the most renowned dancers in the world. In 1996, Shirley retired from competitive dancing to become a highly-acclaimed coach and now holds the enviable position of Head Judge on BBC One's prime time show Strictly Come Dancing.In Behind the Sequins, she leads us through her dramatic and determined life, from growing up in a rough estate on the Wirral and leaving home at 14 years old, to conquering the high-octane world of ballroom and coping with betrayal, bullying, two broken marriages and a personal tragedy that left Shirley and her family devastated. Speaking from the heart, Shirley leaves her dancing shoes at the door to tell you the story of a fiery, strong-willed grafter who could make the brat pack blush.
Behind the Shoulder Pads: Tales I Tell My Friends
by Joan Collins&“I&’ve had many amazing adventures in my life. Some stories, though, I have only ever shared with my friends.… Until now!&”Dame Joan Collins has always believed that one should retain some mystery in life and hide a knowing smile behind one&’s shoulder pads. In her new book, she returns in dazzling form to share her most memorable moments from her eclectic and vibrant life—in and out of the limelight. Behind the Shoulder Pads will take you on a spectacular journey from her early years as a young star in Hollywood to stamping her stilettos in Dynasty; from the glittering heights of Saint-Tropez to the busy Oscars seasons in LA over the years. Joan writes movingly about her adventures with and grief for her sister, Jackie, delves deeper into the ups and downs of love and relationships, and discusses her happiness with husband Percy. Filled with a cast of household names and Hollywood icons, Behind the Shoulder Pads is a spectacularly entertaining tour de force bound to delight and shock in equal measures. Hilarious, intimate, and completely spellbinding, Joan invites you into her life like never before, sharing the stories she only tells her closest friends.
Behind the Smile: My Journey out of Postpartum Depression
by Marie Osmond"I was sitting on the kitchen floor, heaving in sobs, and all I could think was: 'This can't possibly be me.'" In a candid account, Marie Osmond, beloved actress, singing star, and television personality, discloses her heartwrenching battle with postpartum depression and the private pain behind her public persona. Sinking fast into numbing despair after the birth of her last baby, Marie Osmond joined the thousands of women each year who suffer from an illness not often discussed openly. Now she tells her inspiring story...
Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who
by Various Steve BerrySteve Berry decided to do something a little bit different to raise funds for Alzheimer's Research UK. A life-long DOCTOR WHO fan, he began to interview celebrities, writers, actors and people who had worked on DOCTOR WHO, asking for their earliest memories of the show that sent us cowering behind the sofa. Now he presents the fruits of his four years of labour - a beautiful, touching book containing short articles and touching memories of one of the most successful TV shows ever. 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO - this is the perfect way to enjoy those 50 years!This revised and expanded edition includes over 30 new entries from people such as Sophia Myles, Ben Aaronovitch, John Leeson and many moreContributors include comedians Al Murray, Stephen Merchant, and Bill Oddie; actors Lynda Bellingham, Nicholas Parsons, and Rhys Thomas; writers Neil Gaiman, Jenny Colgan, Jonathan Ross and Charlie Brooker and politicians Louise Mensch and Tom Harris. In addition, there is input from a number of the writers, actors and production staff who were involved in creating DOCTOR WHO stories new and old.
Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who
by VariousSteve Berry decided to do something a little bit different to raise funds for Alzheimer's Research UK. A life-long DOCTOR WHO fan, he began to interview celebrities, writers, actors and people who had worked on DOCTOR WHO, asking for their earliest memories of the show that sent us cowering behind the sofa. Now he presents the fruits of his four years of labour - a beautiful, touching book containing short articles and touching memories of one of the most successful TV shows ever. 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO - this is the perfect way to enjoy those 50 years!This revised and expanded edition includes over 30 new entries from people such as Sophia Myles, Ben Aaronovitch, John Leeson and many moreContributors include comedians Al Murray, Stephen Merchant, and Bill Oddie; actors Lynda Bellingham, Nicholas Parsons, and Rhys Thomas; writers Neil Gaiman, Jenny Colgan, Jonathan Ross and Charlie Brooker and politicians Louise Mensch and Tom Harris. In addition, there is input from a number of the writers, actors and production staff who were involved in creating DOCTOR WHO stories new and old.
Behind the Song
by Beth Kephart James Howe Ellen Hopkins Jonathan Maberry Suzanne Young K. M. Walton Elisa Ludwig Ellen Oh E. C. Myers David Arnold Tiffany Schmidt Ameriie Anthony Breznican G. Love Donn TA song to match everyone's heartbeat.A soaring melody, a pulse-pounding beat, a touching lyric: Music takes a moment and makes it a memory. It's a universal language that can capture love, heartbreak, loss, soul searching, and wing spreading-all in the span of a few notes. In Behind the Song, fourteen acclaimed young adult authors and musicians share short stories and personal essays inspired by the songs, the albums, the musicians who move them. So cue up the playlist and crank the volume. This is an anthology you'll want to experience on repeat.
Behind the Tube: A History of Broadcasting Technology and Business (Routledge Library Editions: Broadcasting #5)
by Andrew F. InglisBehind the Tube (1990) tells the story of the unseen foundation of modern radio, TV and cable – the technology that enables programming to reach an audience. It charts the evolution of this technology in all its facets – technical, personal, economic and social. It captures the efforts, strategies, achievements and failures of prominent and unheralded figures and companies in the dynamic and competitive broadcast industry.
Behind the Wireless: A History of Early Women at the BBC
by Kate MurphyBehind the Wireless tells the story of women at the BBC in the 1920s and 30s. Broadcasting was brand new in Britain and the BBC developed without many of the overt discriminatory practices commonplace at the time. Women were employed at all levels, except the very top, for instance as secretaries, documentary makers, advertising representatives, and librarians. Three women held Director level posts, Hilda Matheson (Director of Talks), Mary Somerville (Director of School Broadcasting), and Isa Benzie (Foreign Director). Women also produced the programmes aimed at female listeners and brought women broadcasters to the microphone. There was an ethos of equality and the chance to rise through the ranks from accounts clerk to accompanist. But lurking behind the façade of modernity were hidden inequalities in recruitment, pay, and promotion and in 1932 a marriage bar was introduced. Kate Murphy examines how and why the interwar BBC created new opportunities for women.
Behind the Yoi: The Life of Myron Cope, Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers Broadcaster
by Dan Joseph Elizabeth CopeMyron Cope was the color commentator for Pittsburgh Steelers radio broadcasts from 1970 to 2005, the second-longest-serving team broadcaster in NFL history. At the peak of his popularity, an estimated 50 percent of Steeler fans turned down the volume on their TVs so they could listen to the radio as Cope, in his one-of-a-kind scratchy, raspy voice, barked out phrases like &“Yoi&” and &“Okle-dokle,&” often fueled by bursts of excitability and his own beautiful brand of homerism. About his voice, Cope said, &“Mine isn&’t a broadcaster&’s voice; it tends to cut through concrete.&” Cope helped forge the unbreakable bond between the city of Pittsburgh and its football team. His evening talk show, one of the first sports talk programs in the nation, dominated its time slot for more than twenty years, and he became the first pro football announcer elected to the National Radio Hall of Fame. Born in Pittsburgh to parents of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, Cope attended the University of Pittsburgh and became a journalist. Though he forged a successful career writing for magazines like Sports Illustrated, football fans grew to know Cope far more through the airwaves. Co-namer of the Immaculate Reception, he also created the Terrible Towel, the flag of Steelers Nation, when in 1975 he urged fans to bring gold towels to wave at a playoff game against the Baltimore Colts. Behind the scenes the Terrible Towel took on a deeper personal meaning, as Cope eventually assigned all royalties from the towels to the facility where his son, who was born with brain damage and never learned to speak, still resides. Throughout his life Cope, who passed away in 2008, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for children with disabilities. Using Cope&’s own papers, correspondence, and tapes, plus interviews with friends and family, Dan Joseph and Elizabeth Cope, Myron&’s daughter, paint the first three-dimensional portrait of the creative, many-faceted man whom Pittsburghers still hold in high esteem and close to their hearts.
Beige
by Cecil CastellucciDad's an aging L.A. punk rocker known as the Rat. Daughter's a buttoned-up neat freak who'd rather be anywhere else. Can this summer be saved? Now that she's exiled from Canada to sunny Los Angeles, Katy figures she'll bury her nose in a book and ignore the fact that she's spending two weeks with her father -- punk name: the Rat -- a recovering addict and drummer for the famously infamous band Suck. Even though Katy doesn't want to be there, even though she feels abandoned by her mom, even though the Rat's place is a mess and he's not like anything she'd call a father, Katy won't make a fuss. After all, she is a nice girl, a girl who is quiet and polite, a girl who smiles, a girl who is, well, beige. Or is she? From the author of BOY PROOF and THE QUEEN OF COOL comes an edgy new L.A. novel full of humor, heart, and music.
Being Binky
by Binky FelsteadWelcome to the glamorous life of Alexandra 'Binky' Felstead, original cast member and star of the hit TV programme, Made in Chelsea. In this tell-all account she reveals what it's really like BEING BINKY and what it takes to be a real Chelsea Girl. When the show launched in 2011, Binky was catapulted from a nine to five job as a receptionist at a hedge-fund into the limelight of reality TV fame. She's experienced many ups and downs on the show, from feuding with best friend Cheska and a failed romance with Jamie Laing to her new found friendship with Lucy Watson and being swept off her feet by Alex Mytton, the impact of Made in Chelsea on her life was immediate. Charting her overnight rise to fame and exploring her life outside of Made in Chelsea, for the first time, Binky opens up about her childhood, the bullying she was victim to at school and the difficulties of dealing with her parents' divorce. She talks candidly about body image, and dieting, and shares her beauty regime top tips. BEING BINKY lifts the lid on one of the series' favourite characters and provides a backstage pass to the secret and exclusive world of Chelsea.
Being David Archer: And Other Unusual Ways of Earning a Living
by Timothy BentinckTimothy Bentinck has played the part of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers since 1982. He is also the Earl of Portland and the voice of 'Mind The Gap' on the Piccadilly Line. Aimed primarily at the five million regular Archers listeners, Timothy takes the reader behind the scenes of the longest running drama series in the world, a British institution with a theme tune that Billy Connolly wants to be the National Anthem. But that's not all. With wry, self-deprecating humour, Timothy recounts his enormously varied life - a successful actor in TV, film and theatre, a voice specialist working in every vocal medium. He's also been an HGV truck driver, a US tour guide, a computer programmer and website designer, an inventor with UK and US patents, farm worker, house renovator and he sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords for three years.Unlike many acting memoirs, this isn't a succession of thespian tales of freezing digs, forgotten lines and name dropping. This is an articulate, funny and thoughtful account of how to survive an insecure life.
Being David Archer: And Other Unusual Ways of Earning a Living
by Timothy Bentinck'Hilarious' Mail on Sunday'Stylish, very funny memoir' Daily MailTimothy Bentinck has played the part of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers since 1982. He is also the Earl of Portland and the voice of 'Mind The Gap' on the Piccadilly Line. Aimed primarily at the five million regular Archers listeners, Timothy takes the reader behind the scenes of the longest running drama series in the world, a British institution with a theme tune that Billy Connolly wants to be the National Anthem. But that's not all. With wry, self-deprecating humour, Timothy recounts his enormously varied life - a successful actor in TV, film and theatre, a voice specialist working in every vocal medium. He's also been an HGV truck driver, a US tour guide, a computer programmer and website designer, an inventor with UK and US patents, farm worker, house renovator and he sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords for three years.Unlike many acting memoirs, this isn't a succession of thespian tales of freezing digs, forgotten lines and name dropping. This is an articulate, funny and thoughtful account of how to survive an insecure life.
Being David Archer: And Other Unusual Ways of Earning a Living
by Timothy BentinckTimothy Bentinck has played the part of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's The Archers since 1982. He is also the Earl of Portland and the voice of 'Mind The Gap' on the Piccadilly Line. Aimed primarily at the five million regular Archers listeners, Timothy takes the reader behind the scenes of the longest running drama series in the world, a British institution with a theme tune that Billy Connolly wants to be the National Anthem. But that's not all. With wry, self-deprecating humour, Timothy recounts his enormously varied life - a successful actor in TV, film and theatre, a voice specialist working in every vocal medium. He's also been an HGV truck driver, a US tour guide, a computer programmer and website designer, an inventor with UK and US patents, farm worker, house renovator and he sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords for three years.Unlike many acting memoirs, this isn't a succession of thespian tales of freezing digs, forgotten lines and name dropping. This is an articulate, funny and thoughtful account of how to survive an insecure life.
Being Elvis: A Lonely Life
by Ray ConnollyOn the fortieth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death comes this rocking biography of an iconic artist who fundamentally transformed American culture. Elvis Presley is a giant figure in American popular culture, a man whose talent and fame were matched only by his later excesses and tragic end. A godlike entity in the history of rock and roll, this twentieth-century icon with a dazzling voice blended gospel and traditionally black rhythm and blues with country to create a completely new kind of music and new way of expressing male sexuality, which simply blew the doors off a staid and repressed 1950s America. In Being Elvis veteran rock journalist Ray Connolly takes a fresh look at the career of the world’s most loved singer, placing him, forty years after his death, not exhaustively in the garish neon lights of Las Vegas but back in his mid-twentieth-century, distinctly southern world. For new and seasoned fans alike, Connolly, who interviewed Elvis in 1969, re-creates a man who sprang from poverty in Tupelo, Mississippi, to unprecedented overnight fame, eclipsing Frank Sinatra and then inspiring the Beatles along the way. Juxtaposing the music, the songs, and the incendiary live concerts with a personal life that would later careen wildly out of control, Connolly demonstrates that Elvis’s amphetamine use began as early as his touring days of hysteria in the late 1950s, and that the financial needs that drove him in the beginning would return to plague him at the very end. With a narrative informed by interviews over many years with John Lennon, Bob Dylan, B. B. King, Sam Phillips, and Roy Orbison, among many others, Connolly creates one of the most nuanced and mature portraits of this cultural phenomenon to date. What distinguishes Being Elvis beyond the narrative itself is Connolly’s more subtle examinations of white poverty, class aspirations, and the prison that is extreme fame. As we reach the end of this poignant account, Elvis’s death at forty-two takes on the hue of a profoundly American tragedy. The creator of an American sound that resonates today, Elvis remains frozen in time, an enduring American icon who could “seamlessly soar into a falsetto of pleading and yearning” and capture an inner emotion, perhaps of eternal yearning, to which all of us can still relate. Intimate and unsparing, Being Elvis explores the extravagance and irrationality inherent in the Elvis mythology, ultimately offering a thoughtful celebration of an immortal life.
Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel (Screen Classics)
by Nick DawsonThe story of the director behind Harold and Maude, Being There, and other quirky classics: &“A superb biography of this troubled, talented man.&” —Tucson Citizen Hal Ashby set the standard for subsequent independent filmmakers by crafting unique, thoughtful, and challenging films that continue to influence new generations of directors. Initially finding success as an editor, Ashby won an Academy Award for editing 1967&’s In the Heat of the Night, and translated his skills into a career as one of the quintessential directors of 1970s. Perhaps best remembered for the enduring cult classic Harold and Maude, Ashby quickly became known for melding quirky comedy and intense drama with performances from A-list actors such as Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail, Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn in Shampoo, Jon Voight and Jane Fonda in Coming Home, and Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine in Being There. But Ashby&’s personal life was difficult. After enduring his parents&’ divorce, his father&’s suicide, and his own failed marriage all before the age of nineteen, he became notorious for his drug abuse, which contributed to the decline of his career near the end of his life. Ashby always operated outside Hollywood&’s conventions, and though his output was tragically limited, the quality of his films continues to inspire modern directors as varied and talented as Judd Apatow and Wes Anderson, both of whom acknowledge Ashby as a primary influence. In Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel, the first full-length biography of the maverick filmmaker, Nick Dawson masterfully tells the turbulent story of Ashby&’s life and career.
Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond
by Henry WinklerInstant New York Times Bestseller! From Emmy-award winning actor, author, comedian, producer, and director Henry Winkler, a deeply thoughtful memoir of the lifelong effects of stardom and the struggle to become whole.Henry Winkler, launched into prominence as “The Fonz” in the beloved Happy Days, has transcended the role that made him who he is. Brilliant, funny, and widely-regarded as the nicest man in Hollywood (though he would be the first to tell you that it’s simply not the case, he’s really just grateful to be here), Henry shares in this achingly vulnerable memoir the disheartening truth of his childhood, the difficulties of a life with severe dyslexia, the pressures of a role that takes on a life of its own, and the path forward once your wildest dream seems behind you. Since the glorious era of Happy Days fame, Henry has endeared himself to a new generation with roles in such adored shows as Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Barry, where he’s been revealed as an actor with immense depth and pathos, a departure from the period of his life when he was so distinctly typecast as The Fonz, he could hardly find work. Filled with profound heart, charm, and self-deprecating humor, Being Henry is a memoir about so much more than a life in Hollywood and the curse of stardom. It is a meaningful testament to the power of sharing truth and kindness and of finding fulfillment within yourself.