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Jack Be Nimble: The Accidental Education of an Unintentional Director
by Jack O'BrienA warm, witty tell-all and history of American regional theater, from one of our best-loved directorsFor Jack O'Brien, there's nothing like a first encounter with a great performer, nothing like the sound of an audience bursting into applause. In short, there's nothing like the theater. Following a fairly normal Midwestern childhood, O'Brien hoped to make his mark by writing lyrics for Broadway but was instead pulled into the growing American regional theater movement by the likes of John Houseman, Helen Hayes, Ellis Rabb, and Eva Le Gallienne. He didn't intend to become a director, or to direct some of the most brilliant—and sometimes maddening—personalities of the age, but in a charming, hilarious, and unexpected way, that's what happened. O'Brien has had a long, successful career on Broadway and as artistic director of San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, but the history of the movement that shaped him has been overlooked. In the middle of the last century, some extraordinary people forged a link in the chain connecting European influences such as the Moscow Art Theatre and Great Britain's National Theatre with the flourishing American theater of today. O'Brien was there to see and record it all, in beautifully vivid detail. Funny, exuberant, unfailingly honest, Jack Be Nimble is the tale of those missing heroes, performances, and cultural battles. It is also the irresistible story of one of our best-loved theater directors, growing into his passion and discovering what he is capable of.
Jack Benny
by Mary Livingstone Benny Hilliard Marks Marcia BorieA biography of the famous comedian by his wife.
Jack Benny and the Golden Age of American Radio Comedy
by Kathryn H. Fuller-SeeleyThe king of radio comedy from the Great Depression through the early 1950s, Jack Benny was one of the most influential entertainers in twentieth-century America. A master of comic timing and an innovative producer, Benny, with his radio writers, developed a weekly situation comedy to meet radio’s endless need for new material, at the same time integrating advertising into the show’s humor. Through the character of the vain, cheap everyman, Benny created a fall guy, whose frustrated struggles with his employees addressed midcentury America’s concerns with race, gender, commercialism, and sexual identity. Kathryn H. Fuller-Seeley contextualizes her analysis of Jack Benny and his entourage with thoughtful insight into the intersections of competing entertainment industries and provides plenty of evidence that transmedia stardom, branded entertainment, and virality are not new phenomena but current iterations of key aspects in American commercial cultural history.
Jack Benny: An Intimate Biography
by Irving A. FeinFein joined Benny in 1947 as publicity and advertising director of his company, which was sold to CBS. Fein then became executive producer of Benny's programs, winning an Emmy in 1961.
Jack Benny: The Radio and Television Work
by The Editors at the Museum of Television and RadioDetailed descriptions of over 150 radio and TV programs, a section on his historic 'radio feud' with Fred Allen, reprints of scripts, and critical analyses of his work by the curators of the museum.
Jack Gelber: Consider This (Routledge Studies in Edward Albee and American Theatre)
by John Patrick BrayJack Gelber: Consider This explores the works of American playwright Jack Gelber (1932–2003), whose groundbreaking, immersive play The Connection (produced by The Living Theatre in 1959) served as the link between the Art Theatre/Beat Generation and the Off-Off-Broadway movement.With The Connection, Gelber provided a Pirandellian framework in which actors playing junkies demonstrated what it was like to wait for a fix. This play forever cemented Gelber’s status in the American theater, and yet his subsequent works have been overlooked. This study, the first monographlength work dedicated to Gelber’s plays, will consider Jack Gelber’s theatrical works as important social humanist absurdist parables that force the audience to consider how the systems we create are flawed, to the extent that some addictions are permissible (even championed), and how we have an obligation to recognize that our social structures are upheld by, to use Gelber’s word, “phonies.” Gelber provides no easy answers. Rather, his plays attempt to shake audiences out of passive spectatorship both in the theater and (as is the hope) in their lives. The plays of Gelber will be analyzed closely, supplemented (where possible) with critical reactions to the plays as produced, while contextualizing each work within its own socioeconomic moment.This book will appeal to scholars, professors, students, and other historians who have an interest in American playwriting.
Jack Nicholson: The Early Years (Screen Classics)
by Robert Crane Christopher FryerA biography based on personal interviews with the actor as well as his friends and fellow filmmakers: &“Entertaining . . . A must for cinema students.&” ―Hollywood Reporter In 1975, Jack Nicholson was just becoming a household name after starring in, writing, or producing twenty-five films including Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail, and Chinatown. At the time, Robert Crane and Christopher Fryer interviewed Nicholson for what began as a thesis for a University of Southern California film class—but quickly morphed into a larger portrait of Nicholson&’s unique craft. It would become the first book about the icon, and the only one done with his participation. Crane and Fryer conducted their interviews with Nicholson with the intent of showcasing the young star as he saw himself, while also interviewing many of Nicholson&’s close friends and fellow filmmakers, including Dennis Hopper, Roger Corman, Hal Ashby, Ann-Margret, Robert Evans, and Bruce Dern, providing a comprehensive profile of the actor's early years in the industry. The result is a unique portrait of the life and career of a man who has to date earned three Academy Awards and twelve nominations, seven Golden Globes, and the American Film Institute&’s Life Achievement Award. &“A true insider&’s look at Nicholson not only as a writer, director, and actor, but also as a private man who desires a private life.&” ―Los Angeles Daily News Includes photographs Originally published as Jack Nicholson: Face to Face
Jack in the Box: or, How to Goddamn Direct
by Jack O'BrienThe Tony Award–winning director gathers memories of people, productions, and problems surmounted from his fifty-year career in this one-of-a-kind how-to handbook.What do directors do? Jack O’Brien, the winner of Tony and Drama Desk Awards and the former artistic director of San Diego’s historic Old Globe theatre, describes it like this: “You stand before a situation in which something is presented to you. You’re afforded a challenge. Like catching an enormous ball. And you respond. You come up with a vision of some kind. That is, if you respond to the material at all, and one must, or it’s doomed. You sort of feel that since you relate to the material at hand, you might as well try to be helpful.”In Jack in the Box, O’Brien’s follow-up to his memoir Jack Be Nimble, the director collects stories from the many productions he has worked on, the great talents he encountered and collaborated with (including Tom Stoppard, Mike Nichols, Jerry Lewis, Marsha Mason, and many others), and the choices he made, on the stage and off, that have come to define his career. With humor, warmth, and contagious excitement, O’Brien takes the reader by the shoulder, pulls them in, and tells them how to become a director—or, at the very least, relates an unfailingly honest story of how he did.
Jack's Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson
by Patrick Mcgilligan"Volatile Jack Nicholson has found the perfect biographer in Patrick McGilligan, who gives us a rich, absorbing portrait of one of the greatest movie stars ever." --Patricia Bosworth No male American film star of the post-Brando era has demonstrated the talent, the charisma, the larger-than-life audacity, and the string of screen triumphs of Jack Nicholson. In Jack's Life, Patrick McGilligan, one of our finest film historians, has produced the definitive biography of this most private and public of stars, from his tangled Dickensian upbringing in New Jersey, his formative years as an actor and screenwriter, his near-accidental breakthrough to stardom in Easy Rider, and his string of great roles in Chinatown, Five Easy Pieces, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Last Detail, The Shining, and other films that mark him as a searching, complex artist. Here as well is the often Rabelaisian life behind the smiling mask, the legendary romances and appetites for sex and drugs, the obsessions with money and control, and the perpetual restlessness.
Jackie Robinson: American Hero
by Sharon RobinsonJust in time for the major motion picture release, discover everything you wanted to know about Jackie Robinson!To tie- in with the April 2013 release of the movie 42, the life story of Jackie Robinson, this full-color comprehensive biography will feature everything there is to know about this inspiring American hero. The movie, featuring high-profile actors such as Harrison Ford, Christopher Meloni, and T.R. Knight, explores Robinson's history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey. The biography will explore what led up to Robinson's signing and what happened after. As the first black man to play major league baseball, his progress monumentally influenced the desegregation of baseball. Because of this, Robinson became an icon for not only the sport of baseball, but also for the civil -rights movement. Featuring photos throughout, this biography will be a sports tale and a history lesson. It will coincide with the movie and also provide many more Robinson details, introducing him to a new generation of readers.
Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops
by Tony DouglasTo his many fans, he was known simply as "Mr. Excitement," a singer whose music and stage presence influenced generations of performers, from Elvis Presley to Michael Jackson. Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops looks at the life and career of this deeply troubled artist. Published briefly in a limited edition in the United Kingdom, this Routledge edit
Jackson Pollock
by Frank O’haraThis slim, but richly illustrated, biography of Jackson Pollock has stood the test of time since its first publication in 1959. Still a sound, but laudatory, study of all of Pollock's periods; which are weighed and appreciated in chronological order. Frank O'Hara was a well-known and universally respected poet who was an integral part of the New York artistic scene until his death in 1966.
Jacky Ha-Ha (Jacky Ha-Ha #1)
by James Patterson Chris Grabenstein KerascoëtIn his new middle grade novel that debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, James Patterson introduces his hilarious new heroine, Jacky Ha-Ha, a class clown who makes people laugh with her so they can't laugh at her.With her irresistible urge to tell a joke in every situation--even when she really, really shouldn't--twelve-year-old Jacky Ha-Ha loves to make people laugh. And cracking wise helps distract her from thinking about not-so-funny things in her life, like her mom serving in a dangerous, faraway war, and a dad who's hardly ever home. But no matter how much fun Jacky has, she can't seem to escape her worries. So one starlit night, she makes a promise to keep her family together...even if she has to give up the one thing that makes her happy. But can she stop being Jacky Ha-Ha, if that's who she really is?
Jacky Ha-Ha Gets the Last Laugh (Jacky Ha-Ha #3)
by James Patterson Chris GrabensteinJacky Ha-Ha is off to theater camp and funnier than ever in this hilarious illustrated novel from James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein's #1 New York Times bestselling series. Jacky Hart finally knows the thrill of having people laugh with her (not at her). She tries to put her comedy and theater skills to use in her summer job, but the boardwalk crowds aren&’t exactly adoring. So Jacky jumps at the opportunity of a lifetime: an all-expense paid trip to theater camp! When Jacky gets to Camp Footlights, she realizes she&’s way out of her depth. The highly trained campers all seem to know everything about performing, and exactly how to command the spotlight. All Jacky wants is to prove she fits in, but the more she tries, the more she stands out—and not in a good way. With help from her new friends, can Jacky Ha-Ha earn her place in the spotlight…or will she flop? Packed with illustrations, jokes, and hijinks, the latest book in the #1 bestselling Jacky Ha-Ha series delivers a hilarious and heartwarming dose of summer fun, perfect for reading all year round!
Jacky Ha-Ha: A Graphic Novel (Jacky Ha-Ha #1)
by James Patterson Chris GrabensteinAdapted from James Patterson's #1 bestselling story, this hilarious and heartwarming graphic novel introduces Jacky Ha-Ha, a class clown who makes people laugh with her so they can't laugh at her!With her irresistible urge to tell a joke in every situation--even when it's a bad idea--Jacky Ha-Ha loves to make people laugh. And cracking wise helps distract her from thinking about not-so-funny things in her life, like her mom serving in a dangerous, faraway war, and a dad who's hardly ever home. But no matter how much fun Jacky has, she can't entirely escape her worries. So one starlit night, she makes a promise to keep her family together...even if she has to give up the one thing that makes her happy. But can she stop being Jacky Ha-Ha, if that's who she really is?Bright, funny, and fast-paced artwork will have readers laughing their way through Jacky's ha-ha-heartwarming story!
Jacky Ha-Ha: My Life Is a Joke (Jacky Ha-Ha #2)
by James Patterson Chris Grabenstein Kerascoët<P>James Patterson's newest hilarious heroine returns in Jacky Ha-Ha: My Life Is a Joke, the sequel to the smash hit Jacky Ha-Ha---a #1 New York Times bestseller! <P>Jacky Hart has found a hidden talent in the performing arts, and she's a triple threat onstage! She wants nothing more than to act and sing all summer--but her parents have other plans for her. Jacky reluctantly signs up for a summer job in her resort town of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, where tourists come to enjoy the beach and fun carnival atmosphere. <P>Now she has serious responsibilities like her job and babysitting her younger sisters, but Jacky longs to perform in the summer stock performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Can she handle all of her important commitments and still have fun with her friends--or will she learn that juggling isn't one of her many talents? <P>James Patterson's middle grade jokester Jacky returns in this wild romp through summer in the Jersey Shore, featuring lively illustrations by French artist duo Kerascoët. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Jacky Ha-Ha: My Life is a Joke (Jacky Ha-Ha #2)
by James Patterson Chris GrabensteinClass clown Jacky Hart is back and ready for the best summer ever in James Patterson's bestselling graphic novel series! But can she juggle family, friends, and work and still find time to act and sing? Living on the shore is all about fun, fun, FUN! With my starring role in the boardwalk's biggest blockbuster performance, a life of fame and fortune is finally within reach. Until I accidentally lose my job, embarrass myself in front of a crush, AND ruin a friendship, all at the same time. My problems can't always be laughed away--but I sure am going to try. After all, they didn't nickname me Jacky Ha-Ha for nothing!
Jacob Elordi: Issue #6 (Scoop! The Unauthorized Biography #6)
by C. H. MitfordIntroducing a new series of unauthorized biographies on the world's biggest names and rising stars in entertainment, sports, and pop culture! Complete with quizzes, listicles, trivia, and a full-color pull-out poster of the star, this is the definitive collection to get the full Scoop! and more on your favorite celebrities.Jacob Elordi is on his way to superstar status:From his breakout role as Noah in The Kissing Booth to his steamy HBO debut in Euphoria followed by an ad campaign for Calvin Klein underwear, things are really starting to heat up for this Aussie actor. But what's next?Get the full Scoop! and more on Jacob Elordi, Hollywood's next heartthrob.
Jacobean Public Theatre (Theatre Production Studies)
by Alexander LeggattJacobean Public Theatre recovers for the modern reader the acting, production and performance values of the public theatre of Jacobean London. It relates this drama to the popular culutre of the day and concludes with a close study of four important plays, including King Lear, which emerge in an unexpected light as the products of popular tradition.
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
by Mary Van Rensselaer ThayerJacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, first published in 1961, is biography of the first-lady, from her early childhood to her meeting and marriage with John F. Kennedy. The book ends with the family’s move into the White House (and before the President’s tragic assassination in November 1963). Author Mary Rensselaer Thayer worked closely with Mrs. Kennedy to produce the book, and it is reported that Jacqueline prepared much of the initial draft. Included are 35 pages of illustrations.
Jacqueline du Pré: A Life
by Carol EastonBiography of the English cellist, one of the world's greatest cellists, a legend in her own lifetime.
Jacques Copeau (Routledge Performance Practitioners)
by Mark EvansThis book examines Jacques Copeau, a leading figure in the development of twentieth-century theatre practice, a pioneer in actor-training, physical theatre and ensemble acting, and a key innovator in the movement to de-centralize theatre and culture to the regions. Noe reissued, Jacques Copeau combines: an overview of Copeau's life and work an analysis of his key ideas a detailed commentary of his 1917 production of Moliere's late farce Les Fourberies de Scapin – the opening performance of his influential New York season a series of practical exercises offering an introduction to Copeau's working methods. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today's student.
Jacques Lecoq and the British Theatre
by Franc Chamberlain Ralph YarrowJacques Lecoq and the British Theatre brings together the first collection of essays in English to focus on Lecoq's school of mime and physical theatre. For four decades, at his school in Paris, Jacques Lecoq trained performers from all over the world and effected a quiet evolution in the theatre. The work of such highly successful Lecoq graduates as Theatre de Complicite (The Winter's Tale with the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Visit, The Street of Crocodiles and The Causcasian Chalk Circle with the Royal National Theatre) has brought Lecoq's work to the attention of mainstream critics and audiences in Britain. Yet Complicte is just the tip of the Iceberg. The contributors to this volume, most of them engaged in applying Lecoq's work, chart some of the diverse ways in which it has had an impact on our conceptions of mime, physical theatre, actor training, devising street theatre and interculturalism. This lively - even provocative - collection of essays focuses academic debate and raises awareness of the impact of Lecoq's work in Britain today.
Jacques Rivette (Contemporary Film Directors)
by Mary M. WilesAs a pioneer of the French New Wave, Jacques Rivette was one of a group of directors who permanently altered the world's perception of cinema by taking the camera out of the studios and into the streets. His films, including Paris nous appartient, Out 1: Noli me tangere, Céline et Julie vont en bateau--Phantom Ladies Over Paris, La belle noiseuse, Secret défense, and Va savoir are extraordinary combinations of intellectual depth, playfulness, and sensuous beauty. In this study of Rivette, Mary M. Wiles provides a thorough account of the director's career from the burgeoning French New Wave to the present day, focusing on the theatricality of Rivette's films and his explorations of the relationship between cinema and fine arts such as painting, literature, music, and dance. Wiles also explores the intellectual interests that shaped Rivette's approach to film, including Sartre's existentialism, Barthes's structuralism, and the radical theater of the 1960s. The volume concludes with Wiles's insightful interview with Rivette.
Jacques Tati
by David BellosThe full story of one of France's greatest cinema legends, a clown whose film-making innovation was to turn everyday life into an art form.Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot, unmistakable with his pipe, brolly and striped socks, was a creation of slapstick genius that made audiences around the world laugh at the sheer absurdity of life. This biography charts Tati's rise and fall, from his earliest beginnings as a music hall mime during the Depression, to the success of Jour de Fête and Mon Oncle, to Playtime, the grandiose masterpiece that left the once celebrated director bankrupt and begging for equipment to complete his final films. Analysing Tati's singular vision, Bellos reveals the intricate staging of his most famous gags and draws upon hitherto inaccessible archives to produce a unique assessment of his work and its context for film lovers and film students alike.