Download or read book Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse written by Phyllis Diller and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-02-16 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You think I’m overdressed? This is my slip! No, I’m going to tell you the truth about what I’m wearing. I used to work as a lampshade in a whorehouse. I couldn’t get one of the good jobs. From housewife to humorist, Phyllis Diller made millions laugh for over five decades with her groundbreaking comedy. Boasting unique material, a raucous laugh, wild hair, the trademark cigarette holder, and garish clothes, this pioneer blazed a trail for comediennes during the fifties and sixties, leading them out of small dives into the kinds of top venues that had previously played host only to their male counterparts. While her routine broke new ground and opened doors to subsequent generations of female standups, it also served as a form of self-therapy amid a life steeped in tragedy and turmoil. Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse is Phyllis Diller’s own story about the struggle and the pain behind the comedy and the success: her Depression-era adolescence; her marriage to the chronically unemployed husband who inspired her most famous comic character, Fang; her desperate attempts to stave off poverty as a professional comic while raising five children; the disastrous club engagements that coincided with homelessness and separation from her young family; and the problems that clouded her stage and screen success when a second marriage unraveled because of her new spouse’s alcoholism and inner demons. Over fifty years after Diller’s professional debut as a standup comic, Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse describes her separate careers as an artist and as a piano soloist with symphony orchestras; her failed attempts to become a Playboy centerfold; and her outspoken attitude toward her extensive plastic surgery that earned her a special award from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. It’s quite a story.
Download or read book There Goes Gravity written by Lisa Robinson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a legendary music journalist with four decades of unprecedented access, an insider’s behind-the-scenes look at the major personalities of rock and roll. Lisa Robinson has interviewed the biggest names in music—including Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Patti Smith, U2, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, and Kanye West. She visited the teenage Michael Jackson many times at his Encino home. She spent hours talking to John Lennon at his Dakota apartment—and in recording studios just weeks before his murder. She introduced David Bowie to Lou Reed at a private dinner in a Manhattan restaurant, helped the Clash and Elvis Costello get their record deals, was with the Rolling Stones on their jet during a frightening storm, and was mid-flight with Led Zeppelin when their tour manager pulled out a gun. A pioneering female journalist in an exclusive boys’ club, Lisa Robinson is a preeminent authority on the personalities and influences that have shaped the music world; she has been recognized as rock journalism’s ultimate insider. A keenly observed and lovingly recounted look back on years spent with countless musicians backstage, after-hours, and on the road, There Goes Gravity documents a lifetime of riveting stories, told together here for the first time.
Download or read book Same Song separate Voices written by and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Wake Up I m Fat written by Camryn Manheim and published by Crown. This book was released on 2000-05-09 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this New York Times-bestselling inspirational memoir, Camryn Manheim, Emmy Award-winning costar of The Practice, chronicles her journey from a self-hating, "overweight" teenager, who desperately wanted to fit in, to a self-loving, fat activist who is proud to be a misfit. Wake Up, I'm Fat! shares her intelligent, candid, poignant, and often hilarious stories of being fat in a society obsessed with being thin. Camryn takes us from her days as a motorcycle-riding hippie in Santa Cruz to her enrollment at New York University's prestigious school of drama--where Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner broke the unspoken theater rules of size by casting her in the role of the ingenue--and finally to Hollywood, where she dispelled the fallacy that large women can't be portrayed as sensual, sophisticated, and confident. Camryn's endearing honesty, sass, and razor-sharp wit will appeal to any reader who has ever felt like an outcast or yearned to make peace with their body.
Download or read book Sound Bites written by Alex Kapranos and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-12-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The lead singer of the acclaimed, platinum-selling group Franz Ferdinand takes readers on a rock-and-roll culinary adventure around the world The extremely successful neo–New Wave band Franz Ferdinand has millions of fans around the globe, and the group’s frequent tours bring its members not only to a wide variety of places but also face to face with a wide range of food. Here, lead singer Alex Kapranos collects his humorous and insightful reflections—compiled partly from his column in the Guardian (London)—on his many international gastronomic encounters, both savory and not so savory. From the charms of a donut shop in a Polish-speaking part of Brooklyn to a decidedly less charming pair of bull’s testicles in Buenos Aires to the seductive, almost-vegetarian allure of a heavenly Singaporean buffet, Kapranos always gets the mouthwatering details just right while delivering an entertaining look at rock-and-roll life on the road.
Download or read book Girl Walks Into a Bar written by Rachel Dratch and published by Avery. This book was released on 2013-02-05 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The former Saturday Night Live comedienne recounts her midlife career slump, long-distance relationship, and unplanned motherhood, which culminated in uproarious childcare activities and the bewilderment of friends and family members.
Download or read book Only Child written by Deborah Siegel and published by Crown. This book was released on 2008-02-26 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is it really like to be an only child? In this insightful and entertaining collection, writers including Judith Thurman, Kathryn Harrison, John Hodgman, and Peter Ho Davies reflect on a lifetime of being an only. They describe what it’s like to be an only child of divorce, an only because of the death of a sibling, an only who reveled in it, or an only who didn’t. As adults searching for partners, they are faced with the unique challenge of trying to turn their family units of three into units of four, and as they watch their parents age, they come face-to-face with the onus of being their families’ sole historians. Whether you’re an only child, the partner or spouse of an only, a parent pondering whether to stop at one, or a curious sibling, Only Child offers a look behind the scenes and into the hearts of twenty-one smart and sensitive writers as they reveal the truth about growing up–and being a grown-up–solo.
Download or read book I Love Your Laugh written by Jessica Holmes and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2011-10-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The three years I spent in prison taught me to hate. Fork fights and throat punches were my pastimes. But that's how it goes when you've raised yourself on spite and envy. OK, that wasn't me. Not all comedians come from a dark place. . . . In this hilarious memoir, Jessica Holmes, a fan favourite on the hit shows The Holmes Show and Royal Canadian Air Farce, offers her witty observations on everything from her eclectic upbringing by a right-wing, Mormon father and a feminist mother, to her experiences as a missionary in Venezuela, to her own trial-and-error adventures in childrearing. Delving into personal experiences never discussed before, Holmes reveals her struggle to find laughter off-stage and spins comedy gold from her fumbles. The combination makes for an inspirational, heartwarming, and thoroughly side-splitting treat.
Download or read book Nerd Do Well written by Simon Pegg and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-06-09 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unique life story of one of the most talented and inventive comedians, star of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul, Spaced, and Star Trek. Zombies in North London, death cults in the West Country, the engineering deck of the Enterprise -- actor, comedian, writer, and supergeek Simon Pegg has been ploughing some bizarre furrows. Having landed on the U.S. movie scene in the surprise cult hit Shaun of the Dead, his enduring appeal and rise to movie stardom has been mercurial, meteoric, megatronic, but mostly just plain great. From his childhood (and subsequently adult) obsession with science fiction, his enduring friendship with Nick Frost, and his forays into stand-up comedy, which began with his regular Monday-morning slot in front of his twelve-year-old classmates, Simon has always had a severe and dangerous case of the funnies. Whether recounting his experience working as a lifeguard at the city pool, going to Comic-Con for the first time and confessing to Carrie Fisher that he used to kiss her picture every night before he went to sleep, or meeting and working with heroes that include Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, and Quentin Tarantino, Pegg offers a hilarious look at the journey to becoming an international superstar.
Download or read book Dream in Color written by Congresswoman Linda Sánchez and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Often considered Congress's "Odd Couple," these warm and witty stories from Congresswomen Linda and Loretta Sánchez are perfect for all young women looking to create a brighter future for themselves—with a foreword from Nancy Pelosi! By sharing moments from their childhood in Southern California, Linda and Loretta pass on the values and traditions they learned from their parents—immigrants from Mexico who, despite not having graduated high school themselves, made sure all seven of their children went on to graduate from college—that enabled them to conquer challenges and make history in Congress. Speaking frankly about their professional highs and lows, successes, and the scandals that constituted their distinguished careers, the Sánchez sisters are a testament to us all that the key to realizing your dreams is, above all else, always being true to yourself.
Download or read book Howl written by Bark Editors and published by Crown. This book was released on 2008-10-07 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pot roast left unguarded. An open bedroom door. An ill-timed squat. Dogs seem to have impeccable timing. Yet how quickly calamity turns to comedy in the company of a dog, and the wrong moment turns out to be just the right one. In this delightful follow-up to Dog Is My Co-Pilot, which won the Best Book of the Year award from the Dog Writers Association of America, the editors of The Bark bring together more stories, essays, and artwork that highlight the hilarity of dog behavior and the comical interactions between dog people and their four-legged friends. From playful puppies who wreak havoc in the home to dogs with a whole array of comic shticks and tricks, Howl celebrates the verve and the laughs pets offer their people. It includes laugh-out-loud reflections (and confessions), rib-tickling tales, and whimsical vignettes from well-known writers such as: • Dave Barry • Margaret Cho • Al Franken • Kinky Friedman • Pam Houston • Haven Kimmel • Neal Pollack • And many more!
Download or read book Jane Fonda written by Patricia Bosworth and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2011 with total page 645 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the hands of a seasoned, tenacious biographer, the evolution of one of the century's most controversial and successful women becomes nothing less than the enthralling saga of a mythic American life.
Download or read book Thank Heaven written by Leslie Caron and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-11-25 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the best-loved stars of classic American cinema tells all in this wry, funny, and poignant memoir Leslie Caron is one of the most cherished and admired international film stars of our time. She made her film debut with Gene Kelly in the classic MGM musical An American in Paris, created one of the most enduring roles in American musicals as Gigi, danced with Fred Astaire in Daddy Long Legs, and starred with Cary Grant in Father Goose. In Thank Heaven (an homage to ?Thank Heaven for Little Girls,? the song Maurice Chevalier sings about her in Gigi) Caron shares her remarkable life story. From her childhood with her American mother and French father in occupied France to her early success as a young ballerina; to her meeting Gene Kelly and her years in Hollywood; to her love affairs (including a very funny and very public one with Warren Beatty) and motherhood; to her alcoholism and depression; and finally her recovery and continuing success in film and television, Caron offers an illuminating account of her career. Thank Heaven is filled with reminiscences of MGM at the end of its Golden Era, of the great stars with whom Caron worked, and of her own struggles as an actress. This is a sharp, unsentimental, and moving memoir for everyone who loves classic American movies.
Download or read book Johnny Came Lately written by Fred De Cordova and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Beyond the Spotlight written by Robin Skone-Palmer and published by Wigeon Publishing. This book was released on 2013-04-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Robin Skone-Palmer approached the mansion on Rockingham Avenue one hot September afternoon, she didn't know what to expect. "Ask for Phyllis Diller," the employment agent had said. Curious as much as nervous, she studied the beautiful house. Three-and-a-half hours later, she walked away wondering if she'd just stepped into Alice's Wonderland. Plane travel, foreign countries, celebrities, and television studios became part of everyday life-from "This Is Tom Jones" in London to the Glass Festival in Elwood, Indiana. They shared raucous laughter, mind-numbing boredom, and occasionally absolute terror. The work relationship became a friendship that lasted to the day of Phyllis's death at that same Rockingham mansion in Brentwood. Join Robin beyond the spotlight, on the road with Phyllis Diller, as she recalls her days working as a personal secretary for the beloved, ground-breaking comedienne. After leaving Diller's employment, Skone-Palmer became a "Diller Dustbiter," a term Diller coined to affectionately describe her favorite former employees. The comedienne even endorsed the memoir (before she died), writing on one of those sticky notes she had used so often: "Robin Skone-Palmer has written a book-it is FABULOUS " Diller's son Perry also endorsed the book, saying: "I laughed a lot. What a wonderful, insightful, bright observation of a another time and place. You are kind and fair. Thank you for your service to my mother."
Download or read book Here s where written by Charlie Brennan and published by Missouri History Museum. This book was released on 2006 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A guidebook to sites related to famous people in St. Louis, with anecdotes, interesting facts, and cross-references. Each entry is keyed to one of ten maps of the St. Louis area"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Nevada Rose written by Marc McAndrews and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scattered around the state of Nevada in unassuming little desert towns, prostitution is thriving. Nevada Rose is an extraordinary peephole into this legal, albeit secretive, world of fantasy and theatre, which takes readers inside the 29 'ranches' in and around towns. Readers will meet the managers and the madams, the kitchens and the cooks, laundry rooms and lounges, personal bedrooms and pets.
