This book traces the extraordinary life and career of Mel Brooks, who has ridden a wave of show business success perhaps unsurpassed by anyone of his generation. Offering many insights into the wacky world of Brooks and his many collaborators, as well as an intimate look into his successful marriage to the brilliant and beautiful actress Anne Bancroft, "It's Good to Be the King" might just be the most delightful, engaging, and entertaining biography you'll ever read.

Savor the inside scoop on over-the-top superstars

"I'm not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. . . . I'm a billionaire!"

"Acting is an empty and useless profession."

"Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere else."

"I'm interested in being provocative and pushing people's buttons."

Which screen icons gave us the quotes above? How do stars get away with self-indulgent, unrestrained behaviors--or do they? In The Hollywood Book of Extravagance, longtime industry insider and Hollywood historian James Robert Parish gives you a provocative look behind the scenes at the lavish indulgences and larger-than-life egos of Tinseltown's rich and famous. The featured celebrities range from heartthrobs to industry tycoons, and from yesterday's matinee idols to today's hottest celebs. The stars are grouped according to their excesses: ego, neurosis, partying, power, rich living, and romancing. You'll devour little-known details on the excesses and exploits of notables ranging from Mae West to Madonna, Greta Garbo to Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando, Bela Lugosi to John Belushi, Zsa Zsa Gabor to Paris Hilton, Errol Flynn to Jude Law, and many more.

"Not only instructive, but intensely pleasurable."
--Wall Street Journal

"A gleefully readable, well-researched study of hubris in Hollywood."
--Publishers Weekly

"A smart, well-researched account of Hollywood's 'iconic flops.' "
--Peter Bart, Variety

"Writing with informative dispassion, Parish avoids the easy temptation to turn his book into bitchy gossip. He even has you cheering for those who narrowly elude impending doom."
--Washington Post Book World

In Fiasco, longtime industry insider and acclaimed Hollywood historian James Robert Parish goes behind the scenes to tell the intriguing stories of 15 of the most spectacular movie megaflops of the past 50 years, including Cleopatra, Popeye, The Cotton Club, Shanghai Surprise, Last Action Hero, and Waterworld.

He recounts, in every gory detail, how enormous hubris, unbridled ambition, artistic hauteur, and bad business sense on the parts of Tinsel Town wheeler-dealers and superstars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, Francis Ford Coppola, Madonna, and Warren Beatty conspired to engender some of the worst films ever.

Half of all marriages end in divorce--and then there are the really unhappy ones.
--Joan Rivers
Do you suppose that the person who first said ""Life is stranger than fiction"" might have had Hollywood marriages in mind? Why watch a romantic film starring a leading man and a leading lady when their real-life romances are so much more interesting? It seems that a celebrity's latest film can have a considerably longer life span in the theater than his or her marriage du jour.
One would almost think that Tinseltown has come to embrace divorce as an accepted pastime. Some celebrities have seemingly collected spouses over the years, systematically adding notches in their belts of divorces. Cases in point: Zsa Zsa Gabor (nine), Lana Turner (eight), Elizabeth Taylor (nine), and Mickey Rooney (eight). This list appears to make Jennifer Lopez a mere novice with only three marriages, two divorces, and one terminated engagement to date.
In The Hollywood Book of Breakups, James Robert Parish looks at scores of hot Hollywood romances that eventually fell apart. From the decade-long union of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to the ""just-for-show"" nuptials of Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates to the four-and-a-half-year marriage of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to the ""other woman"" divorce of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Parish covers it all--from the burning embers to the fizzling fires of Hollywood breakups. You couldn't make this stuff up--and James Robert Parish doesn't need to. Hollywood writes its own drama when it comes to scandalous breakups.

"Half of all marriages end in divorce--and then there are the really unhappy ones."
--Joan Rivers

Do you suppose that the person who first said "Life is stranger than fiction" might have had Hollywood marriages in mind? Why watch a romantic film starring a leading man and a leading lady when their real-life romances are so much more interesting? It seems that a celebrity's latest film can have a considerably longer life span in the theater than his or her marriage du jour.

One would almost think that Tinseltown has come to embrace divorce as an accepted pastime. Some celebrities have seemingly collected spouses over the years, systematically adding notches in their belts of divorces. Cases in point: Zsa Zsa Gabor (nine), Lana Turner (eight), Elizabeth Taylor (nine), and Mickey Rooney (eight). This list appears to make Jennifer Lopez a mere novice with only three marriages, two divorces, and one terminated engagement to date.

In The Hollywood Book of Breakups, James Robert Parish looks at scores of hot Hollywood romances that eventually fell apart. From the decade-long union of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to the "just-for-show" nuptials of Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates to the four-and-a-half-year marriage of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to the "other woman" divorce of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Parish covers it all--from the burning embers to the fizzling fires of Hollywood breakups. You couldn't make this stuff up--and James Robert Parish doesn't need to. Hollywood writes its own drama when it comes to scandalous breakups.

"A gleefully readable, well-researched study of hubris in Hollywood"
--"Publishers Weekly"

A Hollywood insider answers, once and for all, the eternal question: "How in the world did that picture ever get made?"

One thing we movie lovers enjoy almost as much as fireworks on the silver screen is watching a movie go up in flames. And while each season brings its fresh batch of stinkers, it takes years and a rare confluence of forces to give birth to an "Iconic Flop" like Showgirls. While movies such as Gigli are just plain dumb, a bunker-buster like Battlefield Earth can be absolutely dumbfounding in its big-budget awfulness.

In Fiasco, longtime industry insider and acclaimed Hollywood historian James Robert Parish goes behind the scenes to tell the stories of fifteen of the most spectacular megaflops of the past fifty years. No mere financial disappointments these, each of the artistic and financial failures covered was of a magnitude to bankrupt studios, demolish reputations, and, in some cases, totally reconfigure the Hollywood power structure.

With verve and no small measure of edgy wit, Parish dishes up the gossip, the grosses, and the egregious battles connected with these disasters. He recounts, in every gory detail, how enormous hubris, unbridled ambition, artistic hauteur, and bad business sense on the parts of Tinsel Town wheeler-dealers and superstars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Sam Spiegel, Robert Altman, Clint Eastwood, Robert Evans, Francis Ford Coppola, Madonna, Kevin Costner, and Warren Beatty conspired to engender some of the worst films ever. And he vividly recreates the behind-the-scenes melodramas connected with the making of Cleopatra, Paint YourWagon, Popeye, The Cotton Club, Shanghai Surprise, Ishtar, Waterworld, Town & Country, and other unforgettable Hollywood megaflops of the past fifty years.

"Fiasco is a know-it-all backstory of infamous film flops, wittily reminding us how often, and in so many ways, Hollywood can screw up the best laid plans."
--Patrick McGilligan, author of "Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light"

"I always learn something fr5om every juicy, well-researched, and information-packed volume of Parish's studies of Holly wood." - Rex Reed, columinst the New York Observer

"Brooks's probing self-insights and clever quotes abound... Readers will be satisfied with the details unearthed by Parish's exhaustive research." - Publishers Weekly

Fresh, funny, and insightful, It's Good to Be the King traces the extraordinary life and wide-ranging career of Mel Brooks, who has ridden a wave of show business success perhaps unsurpassed by anyone of his generation. From the Golden Age of Television to dazzling film comedy classics such as Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein to the Broadway triumph of The Producer, s Brooks's unique brand of slapstick, satire, and just plain silliness has withstood the test of time.

Offering many stories from the wacky world of Brooks and his colorful collaborators, a s well as an intimate look into Mel's seemingly improbable, yet highly successful, marriage to the brilliant and beautiful actress Anne Bancroft, It's Good to Be the King might just be the most delightful, engaging, and entertaining biography you'll ever read.