Arts and Entertainment Books

This book is well researched and considering the enigmatic subject, has quite a lot of information. It will take you from childhood to 1997 and "The Devil's Advocate", and it has many wonderful photos. It also has a very detailed filmography which I have found useful, and for Keanu fans, the face on the cover will be reason enough to own this book !

What can you say about a man who is so enigmatic and shuns any attempts to have his private live revealed...

Well, Mr Robb does a good job of revealing the Reevester as best he can, but asking those around him...

I like this book ~ it's accurate [yeah, what do I know about Keanu ~ A LOT!!] and shows him in a favourable light.

Us fans ain't got a lot to go on and I am pleased that someone has made an effort to get to know The One.

It is up to date as well, with revisions made to co-incide with Keanu's up and coming movies.

AND HAS LOTS AND LOTS OF DROOL WORTHY PIX OF KEANU so it's a must for the fans...

And....

If ya want to get a sense of what Keanu is all about ~ BUY THIS BOOK!!

Brian Robb's fan-oriented book, "Keanu Reeves: An Excellent Adventure", admirably fulfills its purpose. It supplies Keanu's numerous fans with his life's story, and pics galore. There is a pic of this excellent dudestud in black leather pants and boots which will take your breath away, whether you're gay or straight!

I highly recommend this book to all fans of the Ke-Master. He rules!

All one ever needs or wants to know about Keanu Reeves, one of Hollywood's most intriguing actors, can be found in this book by Brian J. Robb. Originally published in 1997, it was updated two years ago and contains a section on "The Matrix" as well as entailing his (then) upcoming movies such as "Thumbsucker", a newly-released film I saw recently.

Keanu is "sui generis". There is no other actor quite like him and I mean that in a good way. Like other actors he's had his moments of triumph and suffered from films that didn't do well, but Keanu seems to emerge from all of this stronger and with a larger range of roles each time. There have always been critics who find Keanu less than convincing as an actor, but in the many films in which I've seen him, Keanu is always compelling and often displays real talent. (If I had to pick a favorite, I most liked Keanu in "Speed")

It's hard to imagine a biography about someone who is just in his early forties, but author Robb has combed his subject's life and found much to relate. Besides the complete list of Keanu's films, about which Robb goes into great detail, the actor's life apart from the screen is covered as well. It is a good thing to know that most of the actors and actresses who have worked with Keanu find him to be a very nice guy who tends to prefer a quieter life off-camera...that is, when he's not bike riding or performing with his band, Dogstar.

This book is replete with photographs which make a wonderful addition. The writing is crisp and although Robb's book is largely informational, he steers clear of a "kiss and tell" biography. For those of us who enjoy Keanu Reeves, I highly recommend this book.

Dustin Beale Smith's stunning new book of essays, Key Grip, will cut you, perhaps deeply, and do it while you are enjoying yourself, so thoroughly immersed in Smith's magnificently simple, straightforward prose, that you won't know what hit you. You may feel, in the words of the "young director, James Mangold" asking "Sly Stallone" to tone down his "sadness" in the early scenes of Cop Land (shot in 1997, Dusty Smith, Dolly Grip) " . . . lugubrious."

" . . . what you're really feeling right now is . . . lugubrious." (p. 102)

Say you're a writer. Unless you're a writer who really has made it, you may indeed feel a bit gloomy from time to time, struggling as you do to find an audience of more than one or two lovers and friends, especially if you've settled for the hollow gratification of the barroom rake who wants to live the writer's life, but never quite gets an actual career off the ground. In that case, Dusty may be too honest for you. The prospect of having someone truly eminent, like Annie Leibovitz, the photographer, come rushing up to you in your mid-fifties to gush about how much your work has meant to her, and you let her go on, knowing " . . . she'd confused you with someone who actually was talented and famous," may force you to ask, "(t)o what end, and for what purpose, have you lived this preposterous, imposterish life?" (p. 154)

"To what end . . .?"

Whatever answer you give yourself--reassuring or comfortless--you'll end up doing it with a smile when you get to the end of this book. No matter how badly you think you've failed to live up to whatever vision you started out with when you were young, you'll see that there is hope for you yet. Much hope, because in the end you may find that "(f)or an instant--and an instant is all you need--you know what you are going to be when you grow up." (p. 155)

In "Starting from the Bottom Again," the first in Smith's series of loosely connected essays, he leaves his home in New York City and his work in the film business with an enigmatic Lokota Souix from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, whom he calls "Arturo Has No Past," and arrives four days later at a ". . . a hand-lettered sign that read(s) END OF THE ROAD," He is fifty-seven years old, and at the END OF THE ROAD his life takes an irreversible turn. This is the home of "Mike Little Boy," Arturo's father, a ". . . toothless, weather-beaten Indian . . ." (p. 20), who is also a Medicine Man, where Smith, with no special preparation or planning, has come for ". . . a prayer ritual called hanblecheya, which translates as `crying for a dream' and is popularly known as a vision quest." (p. 3)

The spirit of Dusty's story might be summed up by Mike Little Boy's warning. Dusty is skeptical because of the dilapidated condition of the prefab house and the junk-strewn yard and because Mike will only agree to let him do part of the hanblecheya. Smith expects to "go up the hill" for the entire four-day ritual after coming all this way, and Mike will only let him do a day--sun up to sun down.

"It's different than what you read in books," said Mike. "A lotta guys can't even stay up that hill for two hours--even Indians. They start to see things. When you come to me, it's not like up in Bear Butte where they tell any white guy who comes along, `Okay, do four days, take water with you, whatever you want, you wanna be Black Elk, we'll make you Black Elk.' That's not the way I do things." (p. 22)

Smith's experience erases all his assumptions of who he is or was meant to be and transforms him, not into a shaman or a guru, but into an even more candid explorer of the hardy and the foolhardy sides of his life . . . into a writer of great wit and generosity. Nothing is like "what you read in books" (or see in the movies). When you, the writer (actor, seeker, sky diver, key grip, etc.), return from your own vision quest are you really transformed, or is everything still the same? The answer is, apparently, both. Will you, as a struggling artist, ever finish your "crying for a dream?" Yes and no.

Suppose you are a writer (actor, seeker, sky diver, key grip, etc.) of stature, who truly has made it . . . what of your dream? Well, perhaps I can ask one of my famous friends--among whom I may soon count Smith. I suspect, however, knowing that for the most part, the major difference between a true star and, say, someone like myself (or Smith, in his own words) is the audience, not the heart of the man or woman--at least among the people Smith describes.

Take his meeting with Susan Sarandon on the set of Compromising Positions.
"It is a fine summer day in East Hampton, new York, in 1984. Susan is sitting in the driver's seat of a car rigged with lights and cameras and diffusion frames. My crew is attaching the car to the tow vehicle, getting us ready to head out on back roads for a running shot. I knock on the driver's-side window to give Susan instructions about what not to do while we are on the road--don't use the brakes, let the car steer itself--but for some reason Susan moves over and beckons me to sit down next to her. I open the door, slide in beside her, and close the door behind me. The commotion outside suddenly sounds far away. Some of the guys take their tools and move away from the car. Susan sidles closer to me, hooks her arm in mine, then rests her head on my shoulder. She is four months pregnant with her first child and has decided not to marry the child's father. My second wife has recently discovered she cannot have children. Susan and I know these things about each other, but neither of us says a word. My left hand clutches the steering wheel, my right foot presses the gas pedal. For one long hallucinatory moment, we drive off into the sunset together." (pp. 102-03)

Key Grip has to be one of the finest collections of personal/lyric essays in print today.

It's a rare gift to write an essay collection that keeps you reading from the first page to the last. Dustin Beall Smith has that gift. This is not a book about the film industry (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY missed the point!), rather it is about the thing we'd rather not discuss in American culture, failure. In thirteen essays that move backward in time, Smith looks at failure from every possible angle--in work, family, and spiritual questing--and, instead of instilling doom, he uses humor, honesty, and humility to prove that redemption is possible should one decide to tackle failure head-on. Smith's narratives are edgy, insightful, and focused. He takes you from the sublime (the thin separation between this world and the world to come) to the tragic (the killing of a turtle) to the ridiculous (standing drunk and naked outside a locked hotel room door in Georgia) without missing a beat. This is a spot-on exposé, not of movie stars and their ilk, but of what James Baldwin called "the price of the ticket," where the ticket is what it means to be a man in America.
Buy and read this book: you won't regret it for a second.

Dustin Smith is one of the best writers around.

Who hasn't gone to the bookstore, plunked down money, cracked open the books you bought, and found most of them weren't worth reading?

You could wade through piles of books and not find a better one to read than Key Grip. Entertaining, spiritual, wickedly down to earth, with to-the-bone insights.

I hope this book gets the attention it deserves. I also wish Dustin Smith a long and successful writing career.

Key Grip is terrific.

Dustin Beall Smith pulls us down to the briny deep of fear, uncertainty and doubt about our personal authenticity.

From the beginning to the end, he sets off a profound introspection about the basic premises that underlie the formation of identity. Smith forces us to ask: "Do I know who I am and what I believe? Is it a false or manufactured self? How do I know it's authentic? Have I really experienced any authentic rites of passage that have shaped my identity? Have I lived a life of success by association, not of my own making? What have I DONE of any real consequence?

Unsparingly, Smith confronts us with his own most excruciatingly painful struggles---plunging us into a self-examination of our own deepest self-deceptions---very scary stuff.

We are forced to ask ourselves: How am I to actually ENGAGE in life? By one well-chosen life pursuit, all the way through? By a variety of pursuits, until I find the ONE that liberates my authentic self? Or a series of well-chosen pursuits valued in and of themselves as a more complete reflection of my authentic self? And, what, now, if I have never actually engaged in a real life pursuit?

Incredibly, Smith nurses us through this nightmarish soul-searching with fond, tender affection, mixed with world-weary good humor.

If you follow him down to the darkest depths of KEY GRIP, you may discover a rare form of emancipation.

THIS BOOK IS OK NOT AS GOOD AS THE COWBOY AND THE SENORITA. I WANT A BIO ON ROY ONLY. HE IS AMERICAN MUSIC AND MOVIES, RADIO AND TV AS WELL AS THE SONS OF PIONEERS. HE IS AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT HISTORYONLY ECLIPSED BY CROSBY AND AUTRY. I LOVE HIS STORY WITH EVANS THEY HAD A GREAT MARRIAGE AND LOVE. BUT A GRAT BIO WRITER HAS TO DO ROY ONLY.

TRUE FACTS- DONT LISTEN TO DUMMY DUSTY WHO GIVES FALSE INFO. TRIGGER WAS HALF QUATER HORSE AND HALF THOROUGHBRED! ALSO TRIGGER WAS NOT THE FATHER OF TRIGGER JR. AND IN FACT HAD NO BLOOD TIES TO HIM AT ALL. THAT WAS CALLED HOLLYWOOD PR DUSTY!

THIS BOOK IS OK HAS LESS MISINFO THAN THE COWBOY AND THE SENORITA BECAUSE THEY USED DOPEY DUSTY AS THEIR MAINE SOURCE.

Professor Raymond E. White, author of numerous published articles concerning Roy Rogers and cowboys in film, presents King of the Cowboys, Queen of the West, an in-depth biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, two of twentieth-century America's most celebrated personifications of the American West mythos in popular culture and entertainment. King of the Cowboys, Queen of the West naturally focuses on both actors' careers in film, recordings, television, and even comic books, but also covers their meticulous maintenance of their public image and how their Christian faith was incorporated into their performances. Vintage black-and-white photographs intersperse this solid and highly readable reference for fans and media scholars alike.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans' fans and students of popular culture will appreciate especially the voluminous and what must be virtually definitive references and documentation on the more than sixty-year career of the cowboy couple. Although some of the material goes back to before they met and became married. The eleven appendices begin on page 117 and run through the start of the notes on page 485. In addition to the filmography and discography of each noted in the review's heading, the appendices contain material on each's radio and television appearances, song compositions, appearances in comic books, inspirational books by either one or both (many written with a coauthor), and a "log" of more than 275 "A Date with Dale" radio programs between 1984 and 2000 noting location, topic, song, and guest; these were 30-minute "spiritual talk shows" hosted by Dale Evans. The biography preceding the appendices goes over the success of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans in the different areas of popular entertainment while also devoting chapters on them as symbols of the mythic American West while being at the same time exemplars of the wholesome family life which was a prime social ideal in the post-WWII years from the late 1940s to the early '60s when they were at the height of their popularity.

Popular Press 3 presents "KING OF THE COWBOYS, QUEEN OF THE WEST: ROY ROGERS & DALE EVANS", definitive source on two American icons for more than sixty years of Roy Rogers (birth name: Leonard Franklin Slye)...birth date November 5, 1911 in Cincinnati Ohio...left us July 6, 1998 in Apple Valley, California...Dale Evans (birth name: Frances Octavia Smith), birth date October 31, 1912 in Uvalde, Texas...left us February 7, 2001 also in Apple Valley, California...written by Raymond E. White a professor emeritus of history at Ball State University, White has published numerous articles on Roy Rogers and on cowboys in film... whose accounts of thrilling adventures of B-Western heroes during the Saturday matinees of yesteryear takes us back to our childhood, family and friends...in dual biography shows how Rogers and Evans through their Christian faith into their performances, each testifying the longevity of their careers, inclusive radio logs, discographics, filmographics and comicgraphics for historians, collectors and fans, this is a wish come true, reliving those wonderful years from the past through the pen of Raymond E. White..

Roy was a top box office draw for Republic Pictures...when you went to see him on the big screen, you got exactly what the marquee said...plenty of thrills, action and hard riding with a song or two thrown in for good measure...Roy was a member of several music groups named the Hollywood Hillbillies, Rocky Mountaineers, Texas Outlaws, and his own group, the International Cowboys...then came 1934 he formed a group with Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer called the 'Sons of the Pioneers'...he was known as Leonard Slye, then Dick Weston, and finally Roy Rogers...in 1937 Roy went solo and made his first starring film in "Under Western Stars" (1938), featuring Smiley Burnette (Gene Autry's old sidekick), Earle Dwire, Jack Rockwell, Earle Hodgins, Jack Ingram and of course Trigger the smartest horse in the movies...Roy appeared in almost 100 films...then came television with "The Roy Rogers Show"(1951) ran on CBS television network from October 1951 through September 1964.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: (Chapter, Title and Page Numbers)
Illustrations - IX
Preface - XIII
Chapter 1 - Roy Rogers and Dale Evans: Symbols of the Mythie American West - 3
Chapter 2 - Radio Roundup: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans on the Air - 24
Chapter 3 - Waxing the West: The Recording Careers of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans - 45
Chapter 4 - Quick Draw: The Comics of Roy Rogers, Dales Evans and Trigger - 67
Chapter 5 - Adventures in Paradise Valley: The television Careers of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans - 86
Chapter 6 - The Bible Tells Me So: Christianity in the Careers of Roy Rogers and Dales Evans - 104
Epilogue - 113
Appendix A ~ Roy Roger's Filmography - 117
Appendix B ~ Dale Evan's Filmography - 166
Appendix C ~ Log of Roy Rogers' Radio Appearnces - 174
Appendix D ~ Log of Dale Evans' Radio Appeances - 213
Appendix E ~ Roy Roger's Discography - 230
Appendix F ~ Dale Evan's Discography - 300
Appendix G ~ Roy and Dale's song Compositions - 340
Appendix H ~ Roy and Dale's Comics - 345
Appendix I ~ Roy and Dale's Television Appearances - 400
Appendix J ~ Log of A Date with Dale - 459
Appendix K ~ Dale Evans Roger's Inspiration Books - 479
Notes - 485
Bibliographical Essay: In Their Own Words - 505
Index - 517

SPECIAL FEATURE BIOS:
1. Roy Rogers (aka: Leonard Franklin Slye)
Birth Date: 11/05/1911 - Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: 7/06/1998 - Apple Valley, California
2. Dale Evans (aka: Frances Octavia Smith)
Birth Date: 10/31/1912 - Uvalde, Texas
Died: 2/07/2001 - Apple Valley, California

Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 as a member of the "Sons of the Pioneers" and elected again in 1988 as Roy Rogers "King of the Cowboys"...Roy got his horse "Trigger" in 1938 and rode him in every one of his films and TV shows after that... "Trigger" died in 1965 aged thirty-three...Roy's dog's name was "Bullet" and appeared in almost as many of his films as "Trigger" did...Roy's theme song, "Happy Trails", was written by Queen of the West and his wife Dale Evans...inducted (with his wife Dale Evans) into the "Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum" in 1976...inducted as a member of the "Sons of the Pioneers into the "Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum" in 1995 just three years before his death...Dale Evans married Roy Rogers on New Year's Eve, 1946. Rogers ended the deception regarding Tommy. Rogers and Evans were a team on- and off-screen from 1946 until Rogers' death in 1998. Together they had one child, Robin Elizabeth, who died of complications of Down's Syndrome shortly before her second birthday. Her life inspired Evans to write her bestseller "Angel Unaware"...Evans went on to write a number of religious and inspirational books...For her contribution to radio, Dale Evans has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6638 Hollywood Blvd. She received a second star at 1737 Vine St. for her contribution to the television industry..From 1951 to 1957, Dale Evans and her husband starred in the highly successful television series "The Roy Rogers Show", in which they continued their cowboy/cowgirl roles, with her riding her trusty buckskin horse, Buttermilk. In addition to her successful TV shows, over 30 movies, and 200 songs, Evans wrote the well known songs "Happy Trails" and "The Bible Tells Me So"...Roy and Dale personified the romantic mythic West that all America believed in when they saw the couple on the big screen and small tube every week.

Great job by Raymond E. White and Popular Press 3 Publishing, everything you wanted to know about "The King of the Cowboys and Queen of the West"...little-known facts about a well-known cowboy and cowgirl...Don't miss this one...now appearing on Amazon and Popular Press 3 Publishing ...get your copy today. Great reading in the days and weeks to come...I guarantee it!

Total Pages: 550 Pages ~ Popular Press 3 ISBN 978-0-299-21004-5 ~ (7/17/2006)

If you are wanting more information on the James Bond movies (background stories on how they got made, info on how various actors came to be Bond, ratings of the movies, etc.) then this is the book for you. At over 200 pages, the tome certainly isn't short on information.

The authors definitely have their favorite, and there is room for argument with some of their ratings, which makes the book even more interesting. They rate each Bond movie in a variety of areas (Villains, Women, Plot, Action, Bond, Gadgets, Dialogue, etc.)

I've found this to be a book I go back to quite often. It's great to read right before or after I've watched a Bond DVD. It illuminates some of the background on actors, producers, directors, locations, etc.

Highly recommended for the Bond movie fan.

"Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: The Unofficial James Bond Film Companion" by Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn is a very good book on James Bond info. Even though unofficial it has good information. I like it.

Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn's KISS KISS BANG! BANG! is an essential companion book on the cinematic world of James Bond. I like the way the authors choose to take 10 essential elements film by film and critique them. KISS KISS BANG! BANG! is quite insightful and interesting reading. I also enjoy the very handsome layout of the book, which only enhances the reader's interest. The book is also profusely illustrated with very unique photographs not associate with other official books on the cinematic James Bond. This is a well thought out and well-intentioned book. I highly recommend it. If you are a James Bond fan it is quite essential.

Unlike the "official" James Bond compendiums written before it, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" offers a broader, more objective view of the history of the James Bond film franchise. While the finished product could have used a polish from a real editor (there are typos everywhere,) the raw material contained here is worth the read alone. Everything from Fleming's early failed attempts to bring his hero to film, to Saltzman and Broccoli's instrumental casting of Sean Connery as the first James Bond is documented and seemingly well researched. Each film production receives it's own chapter, From "Dr. No" to "Tomorrow Never Dies" including the non-Eon produced "Casino Royale" and "Never Say Never Again." All chapters open with production stories as recollected by the cast and crew and includes initial reviews by film critics (a real plus here) who reflect on the sexual and moral perversion that audiences succumb to when viewing a James Bond film. The authors close each chapter with a 10 point fan-boy rating system, grading everything from the opening sequence and titles to the girls and gadgets. Overall the book is a quite refreshing and insightful companion. There aren't a lot of photos in the book, but the ones that are included aren't ones we've seen before. As a fan it left me thankful that Burt Reynolds was never cast as 007, upset that "Casino Royale" was wasted as a spoof and imagining what the franchise would be today if George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton did more films and if Roger Moore did less.

One of the best books,if not THE BEST book,on Laurel & Hardy.Everything you want to know is right here.Every single L&H film ever made so fully detailed.Plus details on every actor and actress the boys had worked with.Information on video and DVD releases and computer colourization.

A book I highly recommend.

I've been a L&H fan since I was 6 and still am. The "boys" have been making us laugh in television re-runs, video and DVD but die hard fans are probably wondering what was the story behind the merriment? Here we have a GOLD MINE of trivia, facts and much more. Included are biographies of the pickle faced Jimmy Finlayson, Leo McCarey (who directed many of the later films) re-occuring themes, "the wives" music like "The Cuckoos" even comments on props like the bowler hats that Stan and Ollie wore. So sit back, relax and enjoy the world of two of the most talented comedians to grace the silver screen.

This book is chock full of essential and not so essential minutae on the careers,lives,films,you-name-it of the worlds greatest film comedy duo of all time,Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
That it is entitled an "encyclopedia" is no idle boast.There isn't too much that I can find that Mr.Mitchell didn't include.All is in alphabetical order and every topic you can think of from individual films,actors directly and indirectly associated with the Boys,explanations of for example reciprocal destruction,authors of other books,et al,are included in this unique volume.
At the end of each defined topic are cross references to other topics associated in some way with the one you just read which leads you hopping from one place to another.If you're not sure exactly what it is you're looking for you are eventually sure to run into something related to your field of interest as each topic is not exactly specific in nature such as "doors" or "locations" or "trains".
This is a book you don't read from cover to cover because it is like an encyclopedia but tons more fun!It's also full of illustrations and photos.
One entertaining and essential book on Laurel and Hardy that I recommend you add to your collection.

This is a gold mine of information, much of which is not going to be found elsewhere easily, if at all. Glenn Mitchell has done a thorough job of researching his subjects, and it shows. Clearly, he enjoys The Boys as well, since a noticeable amount of wit and humor add to the fun of reading the book. Incidentally, it's virtually im possible ("I have just two words...") to read the book in sequence; the cross references just go on and on. All in all, it's a most worthy companion to Randy Skretvedt's "Laurel and Hardy: the Magic Behind the Movies".

Look at the subject first, than read on. This is the continuing story of Forever Liesl. I'm really glad read this too.

I have the good fortune of having had Charmian Carr autograph my book for me and it's well worth having, as is the book itself. Many of the letters in this book are charming and thoughtful and the narrative by Miss Carr is just as gentle and loving as her first book. These two books should prove that there is a market out there for books that tell charming stories and entertain readers at the same time. Charmian Carr obviously has no axe to grind regarding her "Sound of Music" experiences and I found it extremely touching that all seven actors who played the Von Trapp children keep in pretty close contact with each other. I highly recommend this book and am secretly hoping that Miss Carr has enough anecdotes and memories to fill a third book. Do we dare hope?

I got this book because I love The Sound of Music, and Charmian Carr. I had already read 'Forever Liesl', and when I heard that the second book was out, I had to read this one too.

'Letters to Liesl' is just as good as the first book. Ms. Carr has included letters from all over the world which share stories about how the film touched their lives, as well as pictures of the cast all grown up, and more photos of during the filming. She gives personal opinions and thoughts after each letter and entry. She also shares more stories from the filming of the movie, and details of the "children's" reunion in Salzburg.

Many people were chosen from all around the world to contribute personal stories to the book. Each one is interesting in its own way. Some are from children, some are from adults. Each one shares memories and pastimes related to the movie.

In my opinion, if you are a Sound of Music fan, or a Liesl/Charmian Carr fan, this is a must read. It is a great follow-up to her first book and I hope there will be another in the near future!

Charmian Carr has written a delightful book about her
being Liesl in, "The Sound of Music." The notes from her fans are very enjoyable to read and heart-warming, how they were so touched by the film. Jean Strauss is also an author of it as well. It's a delightful book, full of interesting letters, and stories. Also it has many lovely photos, of then and now. I highly recommend it. It is great fr anyone, whom really enjoyed the fim, "The Sound of Music."

Bravo Shriley!!!!
This is Patty -- Rosemary Wright's daughter. I know Mom is smiling Shriley. I have a picture of you and Mom sitting behind me at my wedding. email me Love you, Patty

"Life is a Circus" was one of the most refreshing true stories that I have ever read! It took me back in time to my first visit to the circus and years later when I took my children to the BIG TOP! I can hardly wait to take my grandchildren.

Who ever wrote the inside cover of this delightful book was 100% right in stating, "When you turn the last page of "Life is a Circus", you will feel as if you have laughed and shared memories with a "new best friend" My only complaint was I read the book in an evening and wanted to read more!

Shirley O'Connor's first book,"Life is a Circus" is undeniably a three-ring circus of her charmingly warm and humorous experiences with the "Greatest show on Earth". Most of us only dream of running away to join the circus,Ms. O'Connor had the circus practically run away to join her! She shares with us her amusing trials and insights in living side by side with the circus community: the clowns,the side show artists,the aerialists and trapeze performers and,with myriad laughter,the animals. Ms. O'Connor's delightfully true story of herself as a young bride sharing her honeymoon with a leopard nervously roaming the back seat of the bride and groom's jalopy will leave you wondering what other outragous adventures lie ahead for these newlyweds;she doesn't let us down! With her circus experiences Ms. O'Connor gained some of the valuable lessons that brought her to a future as a pioneer in a then untried field of women in commercial public relations. One has to marvel at the approaches she must have used during that neoteric time. Every enjoyable page of "Life is a circus" is filled with a delicious freshness of 'feel good' experiences that will leave you wishing that you,too could run away with the circus,no matter what age you may be. So grab a bag of peanuts and snag a front row seat in your own private Big Top with Shirley O'Connor's "Life is a circus".

I really enjoyed "Life is a Circus" by Shirley Carroll O'Connor. It is a warm humorous love story and a first hand insight into what it was like being part of circus life in a bygone era. Shirley writes about of being a newly wed on a Circus train, learning the ropes and class system of Circus life, living on the road and about the friends the bride made among the performers and side show acts. What better training for a woman who later became one of Hollywood's top Press Agents than sharing your life (and car) with wild and dangerous animals. O'Connor's perspectives and insights into the Circus culture can be appreciated by circus fans or anyone who likes a good autobiographical story. Her idea of a bad day was when she (literally) lost a heard of elephants in downtown Hollywood. I found myself smiling and laughing my way through this book. Buy, borrow, or check this book out of the library, it is a great read.

Ruth Prigozy has written a balanced account of the life of a man who was tipped for mega stardom in his formative professional years but who through bad judgement and sometimes fate was destined to struggle for the rest of his life.

Several marriages including to film beauties Joanne Dru and Rita Hayworth not to mention the sultry Fran Jeffries kept his name in the press but after a short term contract with Capitol Records in the middle 1950s failed to interest the public or music industry his career faltered. In the early 1960s after the failure of his marriage to Fran Jeffries he left the USA and headed for Europe, which was to be his home for almost a decade.

South African born BBC DJ and Record Producer Alan Dell rediscovered Haymes in 1969 and managed to get him into a recording studio for an album entitled "Then & Now" which was instrumental in getting him back to the USA and giving him another chance.

Ruth Prigozy unravels the story of a man who was a complicated gentleman almost from another age. Loved and respected by his peers Ruth delves into the insecurities that dominated his life.

A mix of facts, memories via interviews with family, friends and those associated with Haymes and even extracts from his own unfinished autobiography. Plenty of excellent pictures too. This is an "I couldn't put it down" book.

A compelling read full of highs and lows, surprises and sometimes despair. This long awaited biography addresses many of the stories that had been circulating around Hollywood about Haymes and presents the facts for the first time.

A must for any fan of the 1940s, musicals, crooners and film stars.

Ruth Prigozy has done an admirable job in bringing Dick Haymes life story to light. He is certainly someone who had been forgotten and whose story deserves to be told. I found this to be a well-researched biography that held my interest and which I enjoyed reading.

This book shows how a person can totally mess up his life by not addressing some basic problems -- for instance, the way he was raised clearly was responsible for his inability to foster healthy relationships. He kept repeating the same mistakes, drinking too much, etc. Certainly this was a man with a lot of troubles -- many self-inflicted. Interestingly enough, this book shows he never really did find stability and peace in his personal life. I agree with a previous reviewer who said high school students should read this book -- how NOT to live your life.

However, at times I think author Prigozy is too quick to excuse some of these faults and too willing to make allowances for Haymes' behavior. Here is an intelligent man who was handsome and talented, who nonetheless "blew it" in both his professional and personal life. He does not seem to be a very nice person -- cheating on his wives, mean or neglectful to his kids, a drunk, selfish, a deadbeat, at times arrogant, etc. He may not have been "Mr. Evil," as he has been dubbed, but he apparently wasn't "Mr. Nice Guy" either.

I think it would have been interesting for the author to explore more of his professional decline and the reasons for it. Why exactly did he fail to become an established movie star? Why did his popularity fade in the late 1940s and early 1950s? What happened to his radio career? His record contract was cancelled several years before the rock revolution -- was it his style of music that was passe, was the public tired of him, or did he exhibit a lack of range or an inability to adjust with changing tastes and times?

This book doesn't delve into that as much as I would have liked, but it's still an excellent read, and very worthwhile in bringing the story of this forgotten star to today's public.

Many better biographies have been written over the years, but none more urgent than this. High schoolers should read this book and discuss it with friends. Dick Haymes was a great talent, and intelligent. But he couldn't seem to make the right decisions in life, his values were screwed, and he suffered dearly because of it. The comedown was crushing.

Ruth Prigozy writes a poignant biography of an otherwise neglected big band and beyond singer whose rich baritone rivaled Bing Crosby's. Ruth Prigozy is an accomplished author and English professor at Long Island's Hofstra University. She spent a number of years researching this story and presents it faithfully and validly engaging many in interviews to promote accuracy. She has covered all the bases in this very meritorious book that is a long time coming. It tells the truth. And makes it a very valid book.It places Dick Haymes in his rightful place in music and singing.

This is a wonderful book and I love all the pictures. I am a huge Lucille Ball fan. Have looked through this book more than once. Love it every time!

They say pictures are worth 1000 words, but as far as I'm concerned the book doesn't need words! Some pictures I have NEVER seen before. I LOVE IT!

Bart Andrews and Tom Watson celebrate the career of America's First Lady Of Comedy in this loving tribute. Released in 1980 and still in print today...it's just that good.

This is a wonderful profusely illustrated book on the life of the great star Lucille Ball. One of the few books to look at her full career, not just her television success, it has many rare photos from her exceptionally long film career as well as her pioneering television work. The back cover color photo of a 30ish Lucy is worth the price of the book alone!! One of the top five books to own on this wonderful woman.

I thought I knew just about everything there was about Lucy. This books goes over all of Lucy's life and everybody she worked with and then some. It is enjoyable to just read it thru but an excellent resource to just look up things about her life. Want to get some information about Fred Mertz....you can find it easily. I even discovered that Lucy and Desi were not the first couple to have a baby on their tv show. To find out who , well you'll just have to find the book and read it for yourself.

"Lucy A to Z" is well researched and fact filled. It is one of the few books about Lucille Ball that I can recommend without reservation and I have read most of them. It is an easy read and well worth the time invested in reading about Lucy's career. Wanda Clark

Everything you could ever want to know about Lucy...in one place! I bought a copy of the second edition a few years ago and liked it very much, but I was disappointed that there were no pictures inside. Well, the author has taken care of that in this new fourth edition, and then some! There are lots of pictures, many of which I haven't seen before. The cover photo alone is a real knockout! Not only that, but the book size is bigger and there are many more new entries. It looks like it has been totally redesigned. And if you ever needed to find out anything about Lucy, it's an encyclopedia format, so just look alphabetically (there's also a huge index). I love Lucy, and I love this book! Highly recommended.

I was a fairly big Lucy fan but hadn't bought many books about her, mostly those about her show, I Love Lucy. But when I found this book, the idea of an encyclopedia intrigued me, and I figured there'd be lots of stuff about I Love Lucy, in any case. There sure is, and there's a lot more, on every aspect of Lucy's career, arranged alphabetically. The pictures are great and everything is super easy to find. The writing is both breezy and insightful; the author's obviously a big fan, but he knows his stuff. A lot of research must have gone into this. As someone else on the page says, if you need any `splainin' about anything in Lucy's life or career, it's here.