Celebrity biography books in Biography Books

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Hailed as the most important and entertaining biography in recent memory, Gabler's account of the life of fast-talking gossip columnist and radio broadcaster Walter Winchell "fuses meticulous research with a deft grasp of the cultural nuances of an era when virtually everyone who mattered paid homage to Winchell" (Time). of photos.

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An insider's account life in the Hamptons draws on his more than fifty years in the region and his role as editor of the area's free newspaper, <IT>Dan's Papers<RO>, to describe the changes that have occurred over the past fifty years, offering an intimate portrait of a place and the people who have shaped its evolution from backwater village to celebrity stomping ground. 20,000 first printing.

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The secrets of great portraits are shared with photographers at every level in this resource that includes sections on cameras, illumination, film and digital, lighting set-ups, creativity and conceptualization, connecting with the subject, and having a point of view. Original.

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Shares upbeat interviews with a range of high-profile figures about their bar and bat mitzvah celebrations, offering insight into the family lives, childhoods, and religious beliefs of such individuals as Gene Shalit, Richard Dreyfus, Larry King, Howie Mandel, and Joe Lieberman. 50,000 first printing.

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Few features of contemporary American culture are as widely lamented as the public's obsession with celebrity--and the trivializing effect this obsession has on what appears as news. Nevertheless, America's "culture of celebrity" remains misunderstood, particularly when critics discuss its historical roots. <p>In this pathbreaking book, Charles Ponce de Leon provides a new interpretation of the emergence of celebrity. Focusing on the development of human-interest journalism about prominent public figures, he illuminates the ways in which new forms of press coverage gradually undermined the belief that famous people were "great," instead encouraging the public to regard them as complex, interesting, even flawed individuals and offering readers seemingly intimate glimpses of the "real" selves that were presumed to lie behind the calculated, self-promotional fronts that celebrities displayed in public. But human-interest journalism about celebrities did more than simply offer celebrities a new means of gaining publicity or provide readers with "inside dope," says Ponce de Leon. In chapters devoted to celebrities from the realms of business, politics, entertainment, and sports, he shows how authors of celebrity journalism used their writings to weigh in on subjects as wide-ranging as social class, race relations, gender roles, democracy, political reform, self-expression, material success, competition, and the work ethic, offering the public a new lens through which to view these issues.

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<i>Hollywood, Interrupted </i>is a sometimes frightening, occasionally sad, and frequently hysterical odyssey into the darkest realms of showbiz pathology, the endless stream of meltdowns and flameouts, and the inexplicable behavior on the part of show business personalities. <p> Charting celebrities from rehab to retox, to jails, cults, institutions, near-death experiences and the Democratic Party, <i>Hollywood, Interrupted</i> takes readers on a surreal field trip into the amoral belly of the entertainment industry. Each chapter - covering topics including warped Hollywood child-rearing, bad medicine, hypocritical political maneuvering and the complicit media - delivers a meticulously researched, interview-infused, attitude heavy dispatch which analyzes and deconstructs the myths created by the celebrities themselves. <p> Celebrities somehow believe that it's their god-given right to inflict their pathology on the rest of us. <i>Hollywood, Interrupted</i> illustrates how these dysfunctional dilettantes are mad as hell... And we're not going to take it any more.

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A collection of prank e-mails by the title actor from the <IT>Welcome Back, Kotter <RO>seventies sitcom includes his lengthy exchange with a DNA testing lab and his entreaty to a swami about his Indian fiancée. Original. 75,000 first printing.

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A Texas psychic draws on her communications with the pets of celebrities to offer insight into the private lives of such figures as Shirley MacLaine, Paris Hilton, and George Clooney, in a collection of anecdotal vignettes that reveals everything from secret disorders to undisclosed relationships. Original. 15,000 first printing.

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Reaching her breaking point after being abused by more than twenty famous celebrities in her work as a professional Hollywood assistant, Corki Brown is dismayed to learn that ending her career is proving more difficult than anticipated, a situation that is complicated by her ten-year-old son's disturbing behavior.

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<p>Fast, fun, and incredibly well researched, <em>Las Vegas Weddings</em> is the ultimate guide to getting hitched, Elvis style. Covering everything from the rise of the town to legendary star marriages and an entire section devoted to "The King," it even has a chapel guide to help budding young couples plan their own Vegas wedding getaway. Filled with rare photographs and never-before-heard stories, it also includes:</p><ul><li>Colorful descriptions of the town's funky stand-alone chapels and the Strip's swankiest resorts</li><li>A unique look at Elvis impersonators</li><li>More than fifty celebrity weddings, from Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thorton to Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward</li><li>Theme weddings, like Star Trek, Camelot, or Elvis's Blue Hawaii</li><li>And much, much more</li></ul>

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Thomas Walz tells the story of Bill Sackter, a man who spent nearly half a century in a Minnesota mental institution and emerged to blossom into a most unlikely celebrity. Bill Sackter was committed to the Faribault State Hospital at the age of seven, there to remain until he was in his fifties. At the time of his commitment, Bill's father had recently died; thus his sole contact with his family came through rare letters from his mother. Some years after his discharge from Faribault as a result of the movement to deinstitutionalize the mentally ill in the 1960s, Bill enjoyed a serendipitous encounter with a young college student and part-time musician, Barry Morrow. Bill became part of the Morrow family and a regular in Morrow's music group. When Morrow accepted a job at the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa, Bill followed him to Iowa City and was put in charge of a small coffee service. Bill became an important part of the University of Iowa community, and Wild Bill's Coffeeshop developed into an institution. A cheerful man of great good will who was a harmonica virtuoso, Bill began to inspire affectionate legends, and his life as a celebrity began in earnest. He was named Iowa's Handicapped Person of the Year in 1977, and two television movies were made about his life -- Bill, which earned Emmy awards for cowriter Barry Morrow and Mickey Rooney (as Bill) in 1981, and Bill on His Own in 1983. Years later, Morrow would earn an Oscar for his script of Rain Man. Through vignettes ranging from hilarious to near tragic, Walz reveals a remarkable human being. An account of Bill's life in an institution is necessarily part of the story, but there is much more: Bill's rolein helping a young child recover from a coma, his menagerie of friends, his love for a pet parakeet, his late-life Bar Mitzvah, his failure as a woodworker, his success as Santa, and his dignified death at the age of seventy.

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A portrait of Sugar Ray Robinson profiles one of the greatest boxers of all time, who found fame out of the ring as a businessman, womanizer, and all-around celebrity. Reprint.

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More than 50 years after arriving in Paris, Maggi Nolan, former society columnist for the legendary Herald Tribune, has written a moving account of life in Parts in the '50s. She left America in 1946, and soon took on a new existence at the heart of high-end bohemia, rubbing elbows with the rich, the famous, and the wonderfully original at Maxim's, the Ritz, and La Tout D'Argent. People like Maurice Chevalier, Olivia de Havilland, J. Paul Getty, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, Princess Grace of Monaco, Aly Khan, Ari Onasis, and many more! But beneath the glory, there was more.

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The fitness expert from NBC's <IT>Weekend Today<RO> guides readers through an innovative program that combines cardio fitness with weight training to speed up the metabolic rate, burn fat more quickly than conventional workouts, and create a toned look in just thirty minutes a day, three times a week.

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"This book is an incredibly fun read. The style is a lot of People magazine, with a little Smart Money magazine thrown in for good measure."-Detroit Free Press<br> <br> "Americans have ample role models for how to spend money, but too few on how to save and invest it. Jean Chatzky's new book may change that, however. By showing us how celebrities have incorporated financial decision-making into their lives, this book sends a powerful and valuable message that investing is something that all of us can, and indeed should, do."-Don Phillips President, Morningstar, Inc.<br> <br> "Jean has revealed the true innermost secrets of the '90s-how accomplished people make, spend, and invest their money. A good read and great advice all in one."-Donna Hanover broadcast journalist and First Lady of the City of New York<br> <br> "A book that shows the rich and famous have money problems, too, and how we can avoid them. Jean Chatzky makes learning how to save like the rich and famous lots of fun!"-Al Roker NBC Today

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A zany compendium of celebrity anecdotes chronicles the real-life, less-than-stellar moments and experiences of Jennifer Lopez, Bobby Brown, Courtney Love, Mariah Carey, and many others in a volume that also features such edifying lists as stupid celebrity phobias, baby names, demands, and awards. Original. 35,000 first printing.

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Born into a theatrical dynasty, Fanny Kemble lacked the rest of her family's desire to perform. But when their theatre at Covent Garden was threatened with closure, she volunteered to take to the stage. Her debut was a huge success. This biography presents a portrait of a nineteenth-century star and her struggle against the injustice of the times.

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Looks at tattoos, brands, and body art that adorn such celebrities as Angelina Jolie, Mark Wahlberg, Shaquille O'Neal, Eminem, Tommy Lee, and Drew Barrymore.

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Fascinating biography of a 19th-century celebrity chef