A unique illustrated memoir by Sally Wade, the love of George Carlin’s life for ten years, The George Carlin Letters: The Permanent Courtship of Sally Wade is a collection of never-before-seen writings and artwork by the late great comedian (representing at least 1/3 of the text in the book), woven into Wade’s beautifully told chronicle of the last ten years of their life together.

The book provides a rare glimpse into the man behind the legend. George Carlin wrote to Sally daily—notes, postcard, letters…he even started fights on paper; the title is taken from his very last note, which Sally found propped up on her computer upon returning from the hospital the day he died. One of the greatest love stories ever told…hilariously, until the release of this book, no one but Sally has ever seen this side of George Carlin. And everyone is guaranteed to fall in love with both of them.

George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums. Carlin was noted for his black comedy or dark comedy, as well as his thoughts on politics, the English language, psychology, religion and various taboo subjects.

• Biographies & Memoirs | Memoirs
• Biographies & Memoirs | Arts & Literature | Performers & Musicians
• Arts & Photography | Performing Arts
• Entertainment | Performing Arts

 

Filled with keen insight, rich in anecdotes and behind-the-scenes detail, You Are Not Aloneis the book for any true Michael Jackson fan and for anyone trying to make sense of the artist whose death was so premature.

Jermaine Jackson—older than Michael by four years—offers a keenly observed memoir tracing his brother’s life starting from their shared childhood and extending through the Jackson 5 years, Michael’s phenomenal solo career, his loves, his suffering, and his tragic end. It is a sophisticated, no-holds-barred examination of the man, aimed at fostering a true and final understanding of who he was, why he was, and what shaped him.  Jermaine knows the real Michael as only a brother can. In this raw, honest, and poignant account, he reveals Michael the private person, not Michael “the King of Pop.”  Jermaine doesn’t flinch from tackling the tough issues: the torrid press, the scandals, the allegations, the court cases, the internal politics, the ill-fated This Is It tour, and disturbing developments in the days leading up to Michael’s death. But where previous works have presented only thin versions of a media construct, he provides a rare glimpse into the complex heart, mind, and soul of a brilliant but sometimes troubled entertainer. As a witness to history on the inside, Jermaine is the only person qualified to deliver the real Michael and reveal what made him tick, his private opinions, and unseen emotions through the most headline-making episodes of his life.

CATEGORIES & SUBJECTS:

• Entertainment | Humor
• Entertainment | Plays & Movies (Plays and Movies-Tie-In to the book)
• Literature & Fiction | Humorous Fiction
• African Americans
• Conduct of Life; Words of Wisdom
• "Madea"  Mabel Simmons (fictitional character)

If you can count on one thing from "Madea" Mabel Simmons, star of the smash hits Diary of a Mad Black Woman* and Madea's Family Reunion,**  it's that she definately has something to say. Now the beloved, sharp-tongued, pistol-packin' grandma, who is at the center of popular stage shows and the star of plays and movies, has her own book, which is part memoir, many parts hilarious, straight-up in-your-face words of wisdom.

* Diary of a Mad Black Woman is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film, written by and starring Tyler Perry, which was inspired by the stage production of the same name. It was the first film in the Tyler Perry film franchise, and was directed by Darren Grant. This film was released in the US Feb. 25, 2005.  The sequel,  ** Madea's Family Reunion, was released Feb. 24, 2006.  This comedy-drama film adaptation of the stage production of the same name was written by Tyler Perry.  This film was produced by Lionsgate, and features Perry playing several characters, including Mabel "Madea" Simmons. 

Tori Spelling Reads Her Fabulous #1 New York Times Bestseller

She was television's most famous virgin -- and, as Aaron Spelling's daughter, arguably its most famous case of nepotism. Portraying Donna Martin of Beverly Hills 90210, Tori Spelling became one of the most recognizable young actresses of her generation, with a not-so-private personal life every bit as fascinating as her character's exploits. Yet years later the name Tori Spelling too often closed -- and sometimes slammed -- the same doors it had opened.

sTORI telling is Tori's chance to finally tell her side of the tabloid-worthy life she's led, and she talks about it all: her decadent childhood birthday parties, her nose job, her fairy-tale wedding to the wrong man, her so-called feud with her mother. Tori has already revealed her flair for brilliant, self-effacing satire on her VH1 show So NoTORIous and Oxygen's Tori & Dean: Inn Love, but her memoir goes deeper, into the real life behind the rumors: her complicated relationship with her parents; her struggles as an actress after 90210; her accident-prone love life; and, ultimately, her quest to define herself on her own terms.

From her over-the-top first wedding to finding new love to her much-publicized -- and misunderstood -- "disinheritance," sTORI telling is a juicy, eye-opening, enthralling look at what it really means to be Tori Spelling.

• Entertainment | Performing Arts | Film & Video | History & Criticism
• James Bond (fictitious character); James Bond Films - History & Criticism of
• Eon Productions (firm)

The Man with the Golden Touch: How The bond Films Conquered the World   tells the unlikely story of how Eon Productions, the owners of the Bond franchise has kept James Bond at the top of the charts for 45 years when originally only 3 or 4 films were planned. Through 21 films featuring 3 M¹s, two Q¹s, and 6 Bonds--from Sean Connery¹s career-transforming turn in 1962¹s Dr. No to Daniel Craig¹s debut in the 2006 blockbuster Casino Royale--the action superstar and perfect English gentleman reigns supreme.

Thanks to the films, Ian Fleming¹s original creation has been transformed from a black sheep of the postwar British elite into a figure with universal appeal, constantly evolving in step with changing social and political circumstances. Sinclair McKay interviewed those concerned with every aspect of the film, and is ideally placed to describe how the Bond brand has been managed over the years and to tell the inside stories of the vivid supporting cast, from Bond girls and Bond villains to Bond cars and Bond gadgetry.

Textbooks | Humanities | Performing Arts | Theater
Arts & Photography | Performing Arts
Entertainment | Performing Arts

The re-imagined twelfth edition of The Theatre Experience is students' ticket to the best seat in the house. From Broadway to makeshift theater spaces around the world, the author demonstrates the active and lively role they play as audience members by engaging them in the collaborative and creative processes behind and in front of the curtain. Wilson introduces students to the roles of the performers, directors, producers and designers, while emphasizing the insights they as audience members bring to any production. Recast as fifteen chapters, the twelfth edition better accommodates today's teaching schedules, as well as improves accessibility for students by concise insight and up-to-date vibrant production visuals. Students join the creative process with The Theatre Experience and rehearse for their role as life-long audience members.

• Textbooks | Humanities | Performing Arts | Theater
• Arts & Entertainment | Performing Arts
• Entertainment | Performing Arts

This lively introduction to theatre offers equal measures of appreciation of theatrical arts and descriptions of the collaborative theatrical crafts. The author's enthusiasm for and knowledge of the current theatre, highlighted by contemporary production shots from around the world, put the students in the front row.

Training and Development provides readers and future trainers with practical "how-to" strategies for training and for designing training programs. Rooted in contemporary instructional communication research, the book suggests that every aspect of developing a training program should be based upon trainee needs.

The Emmy and Grammy Award-winner's candid, spectacularly amusing memoir of his years in stand-up

In the mid-seventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. Born Standing Up is, in his own words, the story of "why I did stand-up and why I walked away."

At age ten Martin started his career at Disneyland, selling guidebooks in the newly opened theme park. In the decade that followed, he worked in the Disney magic shop and the Bird Cage Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm, performing his first magic/comedy act a dozen times a week. The story of these years, during which he practiced and honed his craft, is moving and revelatory.

Martin illuminates the sacrifice, discipline and originality that made him an icon and informs his work to this day. To be this good, to perform so frequently, was isolating and lonely. It took Martin decades to reconnect with his parents and sister, and he tells that story with great tenderness. Martin also paints a portrait of his times: the era of free love and protests against the war in Vietnam, the heady irreverence of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the late sixties, and the transformative new voice of Saturday Night Live in the seventies.

• Arts & Photography | Performing Arts
• Entertainment |  Movies
• Performing Arts - Screenplays
• Film & Television Screenplays

 

Now in the acclaimed Newmarket Shooting Script series, the Oscar-winning screenplay by Emma Thompson based on the beloved classic by Jane Austen, with Thompson's candid and detailed behind-the-scenes diaries.

Bringing Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility to the screen was a labor of love for writer/actress Emma Thompson. The highly acclaimed film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards (winning Best Adapted Screenplay), and appeared on more than 100 Top 10 lists across the country. Featuring the complete award-winning script, Sense and Sensibility: The Screenplay and Diaries  also showcases Thompson's unreserved, often hilarious diaries that capture the unique experience of making this landmark film. In addition, the book includes an introduction by producer Lindsay Doran; over fifty photos; cast and crew credits; and Thompson's sparkling Austen-like acceptance speech at the Golden Globe awards ceremony. Thompson's rare and personal perspective makes Sense and Sensibility: The Screenplay and Diaries  an irresistible book for students of film and Austen devotees, as well as for everyone who loved this extraordinary movie. More than 50 black-and-white photos are included.

Textbooks | Humanities | Performing Arts | Theater
Arts & Photography | Performing Arts
Entertainment | Performing Arts
Stagecraft; Stage Management; Theater; Production & Direction; Stage-setting & scenery

This comprehensive and practical survey examines the technical and design aspects of play production, including scene design and construction, lighting, sound, costume, and makeup. Design is presented as both an art closely integrated with the director's, actor's, and playwright's vision, and a craft that provides practical solutions for the physical manipulation of stage space. Health and safety precautions for the backstage crew appear throughout in boxes labeled "Safety Tips," and "Design Inspiration" boxes show how professional designers create the desired look.

Bernie Mac (Bernard Jeffrey McCullough) was born Oct. 5, 1957 and died Aug. 9, 2008) . Bernie was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley as The Original Kings of Comedy. After briefly hosting the HBO show Midnight Mac, Mac appeared in several films in smaller roles. His most noted film role was as Frank Catton in the remake Ocean's Eleven and the titular character of Mr. 3000. He was the star of The Bernie Mac Show, which ran from 2001 through 2006, earning him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. His other films included starring roles in Booty Call, Friday, The Players Club, Head of State, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Bad Santa, Guess Who, Pride, Soul Men, and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

Health woes: Mac suffered from 'sarcoidosis', an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the solid organs, but the condition was in remission in 2005. His death was caused by complications from pneumonia.

Experience relentless drive of this unique visionary, his passion for life, the Cirque, and women. Halperin takes you inside Laliberte's world, with its never-ending cycle of hyper-intense work by day, followed by over-the-top partying by night. Laliberte means freedom in French, but Laliberte gives freedom new meaning.

Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? is the first major biography of the Carter Family, the musical pioneers who almost single-handedly created the sounds and traditions that grew into modern folk, country, and bluegrass music. Meticulously researched and lovingly written, it is a look at a world and a culture that, rather than passing, has continued to exist in the music that is the legacy of the Carters -- songs that have shaped and influenced generations of artists who have followed them.

Brilliant in insight and execution, Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? is also an in-depth study of A.P., Sara, and Maybelle Carter, and their bittersweet story of love and fulfillment, sadness and loss. The result is more than just a biography of a family; it is also a journey into another time, almost another world, and theirs is a story that resonates today and lives on in the timeless music they created.

The dialectic of Top Girls is wide-ranging, covering universal dilemmas facing women, but focuses on  major themes of contemporary life. The critique of feminist ambitions is a clear central theme and Churchill's selection of women from the past and modern world shows sympathy for the feminist cause and disdain for the male oppressor, but there is no sentimentality an no comfortable solution is offered for their problems.

Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904) - the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) - the mediaeval courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan - the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, an obedient wife out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the impending crisis in Marlene's own life. A classic of contemporary theatre, Churchill's play is seen as a landmark for a new generation of playwrights. It was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982.