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Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Individual actors & performers
On 29 September 1981, Peter Turner received a phone call that would
change his life. His former lover, Hollywood actress Gloria
Grahame, had collapsed in a Lancaster hotel and was refusing
medical attention. He had no choice but to take her into his
chaotic and often eccentric family's home in Liverpool. Liverpool
born and bred, Turner had first set eyes on Grahame when he was a
young actor, living in London. Best known for her portrayal of
irresistible femme fatales in films such as The Big Heat, Oklahoma
and The Bad and the Beautiful, for which she won an Oscar, Grahame
electrified audiences with her steely expressions and heavy lidded
eyes and the heroines she bought to life were often dark and
dangerous. Turner and Grahame became firm friends and remained so
ever after their love affair had ended. And it was to him she
turned in her final hour of need. Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
is an affectionate, moving and wryly humorous memoir of friendship,
love and stardom.
People only have good things to say about Tom Hanks, and Everything
I Learned in Life I Learned From Tom Haks collects many of those
kind words so you can be more like Tom Hanks. There is only one Tom
Hanks, no one else can be him, but we can all strive to be more
like him by emulating his most endearing and admirable traits.
Hanks's iconic, award-winning roles are unforgettable. How does he
do it? Learn about his approach to work and life through insights
from family, friends, and co-stars. Everything I Learned in Life I
Learned From Tom Hanks collects the countless kind words that have
been uttered about him for decades so you can be more like him.
With a career that has spanned multiple generations, which is why
he remains so popular with people young and old, everyone can come
together over this book.
A Sunday Times Book of the Year 'For anyone interested in Lee's
legacy, this is a roundhouse kick of a biography' - Sunday Times
'At last, Bruce Lee has the powerful biography he deserves... It
will thrill Lee's fans and fascinate the unfamiliar' - Jonathan
Eig, author of Ali: A Life and Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of
Lou Gehrig 'Meticulously researched' - Jimmy McDonough, author of
Shakey: Neil Young's Biography and Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al
Green 'You won't find a better match for a biographer with his
subject than Matthew Polly and Bruce Lee... A definitive biography,
told with passion and punch' - Brian Jay Jones, author George
Lucas: A Life and Jim Henson: The Biography. More than forty years
after Bruce Lee's sudden death at age 32, journalist and author
Matthew Polly has written the definitive account of Lee's life.
It's also one of the only accounts; incredibly, there has never
been an authoritative biography of Lee. Following a decade of
research that included conducting more than one hundred interviews
with Lee's family, friends, business associates and even the
mistress in whose bed Lee died, Polly has constructed a complex,
humane portrait of the icon. There are his early years as a child
star in Hong Kong cinema; his actor father's struggles with opium
addiction and how that turned Bruce into a troublemaking teenager
who was kicked out of high school and eventually sent to America to
shape up; his beginnings as a martial arts teacher, eventually
becoming personal instructor to movie stars like Steve McQueen; his
struggles as an Asian-American actor in Hollywood and frustration
seeing role after role he auditioned for go to white actors in eye
makeup; his eventual triumph as a leading man; his challenges
juggling a sky-rocketing career with his duties as a father and
husband; and his shocking end that to this day is still shrouded in
mystery. Polly breaks down the myth of Bruce Lee and argues that,
contrary to popular belief, he was an ambitious actor who was
obsessed with martial arts-not a great kung-fu master who just so
happened to make a couple of movies. The book offers an honest look
at an impressive yet flawed man whose personal story was even more
entertaining and inspiring than any fictional role he played
on-screen. Praise for Matthew Polly 'Hypnotic...Tapped Out manages
to humanize a sport once demonized as "human cockfighting" by
deconstructing the stereotype of the martial-arts tough guy.' - New
York Times 'Tapped Out is a knockout for MMA fans, who will laugh
at the intimate portraits Polly sketches of some of the sport's
most famous personalities. But it also works for those not familiar
with the sport...You won't be disappointed.' - OpposingViews.com 'A
delight to read.' - TheFightNerd.com 'Polly's self-deprecation in
the painful learning process stands out as much as the witty prose.
His delivery is Plimpton-esque.' - ESPN.com 'Smoothly written . . .
Polly has a good eye for characters.' - Publishers Weekly
When Simon Cadell announced to the world that he may have only days
to live, it signalled the end of a twenty-year stage career that
had just seen its finest hour-winning an Olivier Award for `Travels
With My Aunt'. The British public had fallen in love with the
charms of Cadell as Jeffrey Fairbrother, part of the hugely
successful sitcom `Hi-de-hi!', constantly dodging the amorous
advances of Ruth Madoc's Gladys Pugh. But behind the lop-sided
smile lay a man full of nerves and insecurity about the looks that
ultimately defined his television career. As the hapless civil
servant Mr Dundridge, in `Blott on the Landscape' he displayed
perfect incompetence played to perfection, brought to triumph by
his naked escape from the clutches of Lady Maud as played by
Geraldine James. Equally adept at Shakespeare and Chekhov as he was
with Whitehall-style farces, Cadell's was a highly respected stage
career achieved via a relentless workload. His many appearances as
Noel Coward earned him a reputation as the definitive Coward
interpreter, something he had first turned his hand to at the
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. With access to family photographs
and documentation, and sourced by numerous interviews, `Simon
Cadell: The Authorised Biography' tells for the first time the
story of a fourth generation actor who oozed charm and had a zest
for a life that was cut tragically short at the peak of his powers.
With his topical jokes and his all-American, brash-but-cowardly
screen character, Bob Hope was the only entertainer to achieve
top-rated success in every major mass-entertainment medium of the
century, from vaudeville in the 1920s all the way to television in
the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He virtually invented modern stand-up
comedy. Above all, he helped redefine the very notion of what it
means to be a star: a savvy businessman, an enterprising builder of
his own brand, and a public-spirited entertainer whose Christmas
military tours and unflagging work for charity set the standard for
public service in Hollywood. As Richard Zoglin shows in this
"entertaining and important book" (The Wall Street Journal), there
is still much to be learned about this most public of figures, from
his secret first marriage and his stint in reform school, to his
indiscriminate womanizing and his ambivalent relationships with
Bing Crosby and Johnny Carson. Hope could be cold, self-centered,
tight with a buck, and perhaps the least introspective man in
Hollywood. But he was also a tireless worker, devoted to his fans,
and generous with friends. "Scrupulously researched, likely
definitive, and as entertaining and as important (to an
understanding of twentieth- and twenty-first-century pop culture)
as its subject once genuinely was" (Vanity Fair), Hope is both a
celebration of the entertainer and a complex portrait of a gifted
but flawed man. "A wonderful biography," says Woody Allen. "For me,
it's a feast."
Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable
addiction. It wasn't drugs, alcohol, or sex: it was film. After
moving to Los Angeles, Oswalt became a huge film buff (or as he
calls it, a sprocket fiend), absorbing classics, cult hits, and new
releases at the famous New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid
became Patton's life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting,
writing, comedy, and relationships. Set in the nascent days of LA's
alternative comedy scene, Silver Screen Fiendchronicles Oswalt's
journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom
actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective and a cast of
now-notable young comedians supporting him all along the way.
"Clever and readable...Oswalt's encyclopedic knowledge and frothing
enthusiasm for films (from sleek noir classics, to gory B movies,
to cliche-riddled independents, to big empty blockbusters) is
relentlessly present, whirring in the background like a projector"
(TheBoston Globe). More than a memoir, this is "a love song to the
silver screen" (Paste Magazine).
A talented young dancer and his brilliant teacher In this
long-awaited memoir, dancer and choreographer John Clifford offers
a highly personal look inside the day-to-day operations of the New
York City Ballet and its creative mastermind, George Balanchine.
Balanchine's Apprentice is the story of Clifford-an exceptionally
talented artist-and the guiding inspiration for his life's work in
dance. Growing up in Hollywood with parents in show business,
Clifford acted in television productions such as The Danny Kaye
Show, The Dinah Shore Show, and Death Valley Days. He recalls the
beginning of his obsession with ballet: At age 11 he was cast as
the Prince in a touring production of The Nutcracker. The director
was none other than the legendary Balanchine, who would eventually
invite Clifford to New York City and shape his career as both a
mentor and artistic example. During his dazzling tenure with the
New York City Ballet, Clifford danced the lead in 47 works, several
created for him by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and others. He
partnered famous ballerinas including Gelsey Kirkland and Allegra
Kent. He choreographed eight ballets for the company, his first at
age 20. He performed in Russia, Germany, France, and Canada.
Afterward, he returned to the West Coast to found the Los Angeles
Ballet, where he continued to innovate based on the Balanchine
technique. In this book, Clifford provides firsthand insight into
Balanchine's relationships with his dancers, including Suzanne
Farrell. Examining his own attachment to his charismatic teacher,
Clifford explores questions of creative influence and integrity.
His memoir is a portrait of a young dancer who learned and worked
at lightning speed, who pursued the calls of art and genius on both
coasts of America and around the world.
Creating a sensation with her risque nightclub act and strolls down
the Champs Elysees, pet cheetah in tow, Josephine Baker lives on in
popular memory as the banana-skirted siren of Jazz Age Paris. In
Josephine Baker and the Rainbow Tribe, Matthew Pratt Guterl brings
out a little known side of the celebrated personality, showing how
her ambitions of later years were even more daring and subversive
than the youthful exploits that made her the first African American
superstar. Her performing days numbered, Baker settled down in a
sixteenth-century chateau she named Les Milandes, in the south of
France. Then, in 1953, she did something completely unexpected and,
in the context of racially sensitive times, outrageous. Adopting
twelve children from around the globe, she transformed her estate
into a theme park, complete with rides, hotels, a collective farm,
and singing and dancing. The main attraction was her Rainbow Tribe,
the family of the future, which showcased children of all skin
colors, nations, and religions living together in harmony. Les
Milandes attracted an adoring public eager to spend money on a
utopian vision, and to worship at the feet of Josephine, mother of
the world. Alerting readers to some of the contradictions at the
heart of the Rainbow Tribe project--its undertow of child
exploitation and megalomania in particular--Guterl concludes that
Baker was a serious and determined activist who believed she could
make a positive difference by creating a family out of the
troublesome material of race.
Shirley Jones is an American film legend of the first order, having
starred in Oklahoma!, Carousel, The Music Man, and her
Oscar-winning role as a prostitute in Elmer Gantrylong before the
iconicThe Partridge Family.On the show, she portrayed the epitome
of American motherhood, a symbol to generations of families in the
1970s, and she remains a cult icon today. But for those who only
think of Shirley as the prim and proper Marion the librarian or the
chaste and demure Mrs. Partridge, a massive surprise is in store.
Here, in this candid memoir, the realflesh and blood Shirley Jones
is revealed at last. In this hilarious and heart-warming, shocking
and intimate memoir, Shirley dishes the raw truth about her own
highly charged sexuality, her two husbands-the charismatic and
deeply troubled Broadway star Jack Cassidy and the wacky TV comic
Marty Ingels-her legendary Hollywood co-stars, and her interactions
with the cast of The Partridge Family, including her rock star
stepson David Cassidy. From smuggling marijuana across the Mexican
border to infidelity and her wild sexual escapades, movie and
television icon Shirley Jones gives us an unparalleled look beyond
the America's sweetheart exterior.
In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national
treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and
interesting life. Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942,
orphaned by the age of 4, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the
hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of
success against all the odds. Billy found his escape first as an
apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he
became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent
for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell
jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set
him apart. As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was
fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he
saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness
too. His startling, hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing
leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his
appeal. It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in
1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted
Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries,
international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed.
Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50
years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's
Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since
then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary
drawings... and writing. Windswept and Interesting is Billy's story
in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of
hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing,
farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable,
life-affirming story of a true comedy legend. 'I didn't know I was
Windswept and Interesting until somebody told me. It was a friend
who was startlingly exotic himself. He'd just come back from
Kashmir and was all billowy shirt and Indian beads. I had long hair
and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue flairs. He
said: "Look at you - all windswept and interesting!" I just said:
"Exactly!" After that, I simply had to maintain my reputation...'
In this riveting and surprising personal history, John Lithgow
shares a backstage view of his own struggle, crisis, and discovery,
revealing the early life and career that took place out of the
public eye and before he became a nationally known star. Above all,
Lithgow's memoir is a tribute to his most important influence: his
father, Arthur Lithgow, who, as an actor, director, producer, and
great lover of Shakespeare, brought theater to John's boyhood. From
bedtime stories to Arthur's illustrious productions, performance
and storytelling were constant and cherished parts of family life.
"Drama" tells of the Lithgows' countless moves between Arthur's
gigs-John attended eight secondary schools before flourishing
onstage at Harvard - and details with poignancy and sharp
recollection the moments that introduced a budding young actor to
the undeniable power of theater. Before Lithgow gained fame with
the film "The World According to Garp" and the television show "3rd
Rock from the Sun", his early years were full of scenes both
hilarious and bittersweet. A shrewd acting performance saved him
from duty in Vietnam. His involvement with a Broadway costar
brought an end to his early first marriage. The theater worlds of
New York and London come alive as Lithgow relives his
collaborations with renowned performers and directors, including
Mike Nichols, Bob Fosse, Liv Ullmann, and Meryl Streep. His
ruminations on the nature of theater, film acting, and storytelling
cut to the heart of why actors are driven to perform, and why
people are driven to watch them do it. Lithgow's memory is clear
and his wit sharp, and much of the humor that runs throughout
"Drama" comes at his own expense. But he also chronicles the
harrowing moments of his past, reflecting with moving candor on
friends made and lost, mistakes large and small, and the powerful
love of a father who set him on the road to a life onstage.
Illuminating, funny, affecting, and thoroughly engrossing, "Drama"
raises the curtain on the making of one of our most beloved actors.
A touching and hilarious memoir by the author of "Carrie and Me: A
Mother Daughter Love Story," " This Time Together"is 100 percent
Carol Burnett - funny, irreverent, and irresistible.
Carol Burnett is one of the most beloved and revered actresses and
performers in America. "The Carol Burnett Show" was seen each week
by millions of adoring fans and won twenty-five Emmys in its
remarkable eleven-year run. Now, in "This Time Together," Carol
really lets her hair down and tells one funny or touching or
memorable story after another - reading it feels like sitting down
with an old friend who has wonderful tales to tell.
In engaging anecdotes, Carol discusses her remarkable friendships
with stars such at Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, and
Julie Andrews; the background behind famous scenes, like the moment
she swept down the stairs in her curtain-rod dress in the legendary
"Went With the Wind" skit; and things that would happen only to
Carol - the prank with Julie Andrews that went wrong in front of
the First Lady; the famous Tarzan Yell that saved her during a
mugging; and the time she faked a wooden leg to get served in a
famous ice cream emporium. This poignant look back allows us to cry
with the actress during her sorrows, rejoice in her successes, and
finally, always, to laugh.
"From the Hardcover edition."
For Ellen Terry, actress-manager Lena Ashwell (1869-1957) was 'a
passionate voice'. From her first appearance on stage in 1891 to
the end of her life, Ashwell was determined to make the theatre
accessible and relevant to everyone, prompting G.B. Shaw to
describe her as possessing an 'awakeningly truthful mind as well as
an engaging personality.' An inspiring and strong woman in a
rapidly changing world, she was crucial both for the advancement of
women in the English theatre and for the formation of the National
Theatre. She presented 'new drama' at the Kingsway and Savoy
Theatres and was active in the Actresses' Franchise League, as well
as being committed to the British Drama League. From the outbreak
of World War 1 she initiated and raised money for thousands of
concert-party troop entertainments at the Front; when peace was
declared, her Lena Ashwell Players set about taking regular theatre
performances into local communities throughout London and beyond.
Long before educational drama and public subsidy for the arts were
realities, she engaged local authorities in the provision of
facilities and support for her work.Although she wrote four books
about her work, her achievements have been largely unsung. Margaret
Leask's book, however, skilfully presents Ashwell in the historical
and cultural contexts in which she worked and which she helped to
transform. Immaculately researched, abundantly illustrated and
lucidly written, this biography is the first book-length treatment
of its subject and will be the definitive account for many years to
come.
This book opens a new interdisciplinary frontier between religion
and theatre studies to illuminate what has been seen as the
religious, or spiritual, nature of Polish theatre director Jerzy
Grotowski's work. It corrects the lacunae in both theatre studies
and religious studies by examining the interaction between the two
fields in his artistic output. The central argument of the text is
that through an embodied and materialist approach to religion,
developed in the work of Michel Foucault and religious studies
scholar Manuel Vasquez, as well as a critical reading of the
concepts of the New Age, a new understanding of Grotowski and
religion can be developed. It is possible to show how Grotowski's
work articulated spiritual experience within the body; achieving a
removal of spirituality from ecclesial authorities and relocating
spiritual experience within the body of the performer. This is a
unique analysis of one of the 20th Century's most famous theatrical
figures. As such, it is a vital reference for academics in both
Religion and Theatre Studies that have an interest in the spiritual
aspects of Grotowski's work.
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Emilia
(Paperback)
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm; Edited by Elizabeth Schafer
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R424
Discovery Miles 4 240
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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‘A spicy work of biographical conjecture ... It's also a rousing
reminder of the countless creative women who have been written out
of history or have had to fight relentlessly to make themselves
heard.’ EVENING STANDARD ‘The great virtue of Lloyd Malcolm’s
speculative history lies in its passion and anger: it ends with a
blazing address to the audience that is virtually a call to arms.
It is throughout, however, a highly theatrical piece ... In
rescuing Emilia from the shades, [the play] gives her dramatic life
and polemical potency.’ GUARDIAN The little we know of Emilia
Bassano Lanier (1569 - 1645) is that she may have been the Dark
Lady of Shakespeare's Sonnets, mistress of Lord Chamberlain, one of
the first English female poets to be published, a mother, teacher
who founded a school for women, and radical feminist with North
African ancestry. Living at a time when women had such limited
opportunities, Emilia Lanier is therefore a fascinating subject for
this speculative history. In telling her story, Morgan Lloyd
Malcolm represents the stories of women everywhere whose narratives
have been written out of history. Originally commissioned for
Shakespeare's Globe with an all-female cast, Emilia is published
here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition with commentary and notes
by Elizabeth Schafer, Professor of Drama at Royal Holloway,
University of London, UK.
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