Download or read book Matthau written by Rob Edelman and published by Taylor Trade Publications. This book was released on 2002-09-04 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Funny yet down-to-earth, honest yet full of exaggeration, actor Walter Matthau (1920-2000) will always occupy a place in America's heart as one of the great comic talents of his generation. Born Walter Matuschanskayasky into Jewish tenements on New York's Lower East Side, he was a child actor in New York Yiddish theater, and later a World War II Air Force radioman-gunner. He paid dues for ten years on Broadway, in summer stock, and on television before landing his film debut The Kentuckian in 1955. By the time of his 1968 casting as cantankerous but lovable slob Oscar Madison in the film version of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, Matthau had won major Hollywood stardom. Based on dozens of interviews and extensive research, this book covers the breadth of his often-complicated personal life and multi-faceted career, including his unforgettable performances in such films as The Fortune Cookie, A Guide for the Married Man, Plaza Suite, Charley Varrick, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Sunshine Boys, The Bad News Bears, California Suite, and Grumpy Old Men.
Download or read book Matthau written by Rob Edelman and published by Taylor Trade Publications. This book was released on 2002-09-04 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Funny yet down-to-earth, honest yet full of exaggeration, actor Walter Matthau (1920-2000) will always occupy a place in America's heart as one of the great comic talents of his generation. Born Walter Matuschanskayasky into Jewish tenements on New York's Lower East Side, he was a child actor in New York Yiddish theater, and later a World War II Air Force radioman-gunner. He paid dues for ten years on Broadway, in summer stock, and on television before landing his film debut The Kentuckian in 1955. By the time of his 1968 casting as cantankerous but lovable slob Oscar Madison in the film version of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, Matthau had won major Hollywood stardom. Based on dozens of interviews and extensive research, this book covers the breadth of his often-complicated personal life and multi-faceted career, including his unforgettable performances in such films as The Fortune Cookie, A Guide for the Married Man, Plaza Suite, Charley Varrick, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Sunshine Boys, The Bad News Bears, California Suite, and Grumpy Old Men.
Download or read book Jack and Walter written by Ben Costello and published by Five Star Publishing (MI). This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the legendary careers of Lemmon and Matthau. From their first screen-pairing in 1966, The Fortune Cookie, to their last comical romp, 1998's The Odd Couple II, they put the "fun" in dysfunctional, cementing their positions in Hollywood history as the 20th Century's last great comedy team.
Download or read book Some Like It Wilder written by Gene D. Phillips and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2010-02-05 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A biography of the six-time Oscar-winning director of films like Some Like It Hot and Double Indemnity, featuring analysis of his work. Although his career spanned fifty years and included more than fifty films, Austrian-American film director Billy Wilder (1906-2002) may be best known for the legendary shot of Marilyn Monroe’s dress billowing over a subway grating in The Seven Year Itch (1955). This “shot seen round the world” is representative not only of Hollywood’s golden era of cinema but also of one of its most prolific and brilliant directors. Wilder, whose filmography includes such classics as Sunset Boulevard (1950), Sabrina (1954), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), and Some Like It Hot (1959), is often remembered for his versatility, biting wit, and passion for challenging social and moral conventions. Author Gene D. Phillips departs from the traditional biography in Some Like It Wilder, offering new insights into the acclaimed director’s professional and private life. In preparation for the book, Phillips conducted personal interviews with Wilder and other key players from the legendary director’s life and times. Phillips’s unique combination of analysis and biographical detail brings Wilder to life, as both an artist and man. Phillips traces Wilder’s path from Berlin, where he worked as a scriptwriter for one of the city’s largest studios, to Hollywood, where he would quickly establish himself as a premier film director. Forming a partnership with writer-producer Charles Brackett, Wilder directed the classic films Five Graves to Cairo (1943), Double Indemnity (1945), and The Lost Weekend (1945), which earned Academy Awards for best picture, best director, and best screenplay. During the 1960s, Wilder continued to direct and produce controversial comedies, including Kiss Me Stupid (1964) and The Apartment (1960). The Apartment brought Wilder another round of Oscars for best picture, best director, and best screenplay. Wilder’s maverick approach and independent artistic vision pushed boundaries and ensured his legacy as one of the Hollywood greats. Sharply written, Some Like It Wilder serves as a comprehensive companion to Wilder’s films, offering a personalized and heartfelt account of the life and genius of this compelling director. Praise for Some Like It Wilder “Featuring Gene D. Phillips’ unique, in-depth critical approach, Some Like It Wilder . . . provides a groundbreaking overview of a filmmaking icon . . . . This definitive biography reveals that Wilder was, and remains, one of the most influential directors in filmmaking.” —Turner Classic Movies “[Phillips] goes beyond the surface and deep into the complex mind and soul of the famous film director . . . . This book is, in my view, definitive.” —Vincent LoBrutto, author of Martin Scorsese: A Biography
Download or read book The Brief Madcap Life of Kay Kendall written by Eve Golden and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2021-06-29 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comedic film actress Kay Kendall, born to a theatrical family in Northern England, came of age in London during the Blitz. After starring in Britain's biggest cinematic disaster, she found stardom in 1953 with her brilliant performance in the film Genevieve. She scored success after success with her light comic style in movies such as Doctor in the House, The Reluctant Debutante, and the Gene Kelly musical Les Girls. Kendall's private life was even more colorful than the plots of her films as she embarked on a series of affairs with costars, directors, producers, and married men. In 1954 she fell in love with her married Constant Husband costar Rex Harrison and accompanied him to New York, where he was starring on Broadway in My Fair Lady. It was there that Kendall was diagnosed with myelocytic leukemia. Her life took a romantic and tragic turn as Harrison divorced his wife and married Kendall. He agreed with their doctor that she was never to know of her diagnosis, and for the next two years the couple lived a hectic, glamorous life together as Kendall's health failed. She died in London at the age of 32 with her husband by her side shortly after completing the filming of Once More with Feeling!. This book was written with the cooperation of Kendall's sister Kim and includes interviews with many of her costars, relatives, and friends. A complete filmography and rare photographs complete this first-ever biography of Britain's most glamorous comic star.
Download or read book American National Biography written by Mark Christopher Carnes and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 846 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American National Biography is the first new comprehensive biographical dicionary focused on American history to be published in seventy years. Produced under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies, the ANB contains over 17,500 profiles on historical figures written by an expert in the field and completed with a bibliography. The scope of the work is enormous--from the earlest recorded European explorations to the very recent past.
Download or read book The Odd Couple on Stage and Screen written by Bob Leszczak and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-08-23 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by the real life post-divorce experiences of television comedy writer Danny Simon, The Odd Couple has touched multiple generations of fans. Playwright Neil Simon embellished his brother Danny's pseudo-sitcom situation and created an oil-and-water twosome with memorable characters showcasing the foibles of mankind. The original Broadway production enjoyed a run of 964 performances. The story of the cohabitation of Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison translated extremely well to the silver screen, and then in 1970 to television, where it brought weekly laughs and mirth to an even larger audience for five seasons in prime time. This thorough history details The Odd Couple in all its forms over the decades. It provides capsule biographies of the stage, film and television casts and crew, as well as an episode guide and a wealth of little-known information.
Download or read book Perspectives on Elmore Leonard written by Andrew J. Rausch and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-05-06 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American crime novelist Elmore Leonard (1925-2013) has a voice that is original and immediately recognizable. This collection of original interviews with fellow authors, filmmakers, collaborators and critics covers all things Leonard, from analyses of characterization and dialogue in his writing to his many screen adaptations. What makes Leonard's work more cinematic than that of other talented contemporaries is his deceptively simplistic method of description that still manages to paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind. The unique perspectives in this collection discuss many of Leonard's 44 novels, including those that have been adapted to television and motion pictures like Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Jackie Brown.
Download or read book Another Fine Mess written by Saul Austerlitz and published by Chicago Review Press. This book was released on 2010-09 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charlie Chaplin. Buster Keaton. The Marx Brothers. Billy Wilder. Woody Allen. The Coen brothers. Where would the American film be without them? Yet the cinematic genre these artists represent--comedy--has perennially received short shrift from critics, film buffs, and the Academy Awards. Saul Austerlitz’s Another Fine Mess is an attempt to right that wrong. Running the gamut of film history from City Lights to Knocked Up, Another Fine Mess retells the story of American film from the perspective of its unwanted stepbrother--the comedy. In 30 long chapters and 100 shorter entries, each devoted primarily to a single performer or director, Another Fine Mess retraces the steps of the American comedy film, filling in the gaps and following the connections that link Mae West to Doris Day, or W. C. Fields to Will Ferrell. The first book of its kind in more than a generation, Another Fine Mess is an eye-opening, entertaining, and enlightening tour of the American comedy, encompassing the masterpieces, the box-office smashes, and all the little-known gems in between.
Download or read book Based on a True Story written by Anthony Holden and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-10-28 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From poker to poetry, poisoners to princes, opera to the Oscars, Shakespeare to Olivier, Mozart to Murdoch, Anthony Holden seems to have rolled many writers’ lives into one. Author of 35 books on a ‘crazy’ range of subjects, this cocky Lancashire lad-turned-bohemian citizen of the world has led an apparently charmed life from Merseyside to Buckingham Palace, the White House and beyond. As he turns 70, the award-winning journalist and biographer – grandson of an England footballer, son of a seaside shopkeeper, friend of the famous from Princess Diana to Peter O'Toole, Mick Jagger to Salman Rushdie – spills the beans on showbiz names to literary sophisticates, rock stars to royals as he looks back whimsically and wittily on a richly varied, anecdote- and action-packed career – concluding, in the words of Robert Louis Stevenson, that ‘Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well’.
Download or read book American Legends written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes Matthau's own quotes about his life and career *Includes a bibliography for further reading "Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents with his personality...'The Odd Couple' was mine. That was the plutonium I needed. It all started happening after that." - Walter Matthau A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Walter Matthau is probably best-remembered for his films with Jack Lemmon, but he was clearly an established actor in Hollywood by the time they appeared in their first film together. Before his movies with Lemmon, Matthau most often played shady criminals in dramatic films, and his character in Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd (1957) offers one of the best examples. Matthau's major breakthrough did not occur until 1965, when he starred in the stage production of The Odd Couple, which was later adapted into the film that might be the duo's best known movie together. For Matthau, teaming up with Lemmon did not elevate him to stardom, but his films with Matthau are generally more traditional comedies and not necessarily romantic comedies. In several of their movies, viewers witness all of the core elements of the Lemmon-Matthau dynamic. Lemmon plays the straight man to Matthau's shadier, conniving character, and a sharp contrast exists between the two: Lemmon is relatively short and conventionally handsome, while Matthau is far taller and appears far more clownish, and the contrast would grow starker as they aged and Matthau became rather stocky. Even though Lemmon is invariably tempted by Matthau's schemes, he denounces them at the conclusion but doesn't reject or condemn Matthau as a person. A romantic plot often develops between leading ladies and the two actors, but the chief relationship is usually between Lemmon and Matthau, whose comedic value as a team is greater than the sum of its parts. It is all the more noteworthy that while Lemmon and Matthau are often mentioned in the pantheon of legendary male comedy teams, they were not natural comics in the manner of Laurel and Hardy or Abbot and Costello. Instead, they became great comics when acting alongside their comic foil, and while it is Matthau who took primacy in The Fortune Cookie (he did win an Academy Award, after all), in The Odd Couple, Saul Austerlitz argues that the opposite occurs in the subsequent movie: "Matthau has the showier role as gruff, sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison, but Lemmon steals the show as the prim...Felix Unger." In an act of homage toward their legendary partnership, Lemmon was buried near Matthau, who died about a year before Lemmon, and upon Matthau's death, Lemmon stated, "I have lost someone I loved as a brother, as a closest friend, and a remarkable human being. We have also lost one of the best damn actors we'll ever see." Lemmon may have put it even more aptly when he said, "Death ends a life, not a relationship." American Legends: The Life of Walter Matthau explores the life and career of one of America's favorite grumpy old men. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Matthau like never before, in no time at all.
Download or read book The Films of Fred Schepisi written by Brian McFarlane and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2021-11-15 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fred Schepisi is one of the crucial names associated with the revival of the Australian film industry in the 1970s. The Films of Fred Schepisi traces the lead-up to his critical successes in feature filmmaking, via his earlier award-winning success as a producer in advertising commercials in the 1960s and the setting up of his own company. Unlike some directors, he derived from this experience a sure sense of the commercial aspects of filmmaking, as well as its aesthetic considerations. The volume also considers stories of his early education in a Catholic seminary, which he drew on in his semiautobiographical film, The Devil’s Playground, the success of which launched him as an exciting new feature director. The volume expands on Schepisi’s success story to chart his development as a director in demand in other countries, notably in the US and the UK, as well as continuing to make major films in Australia. Brian McFarlane argues that Schepisi’s career is symptomatic of Australian directors who have made their presences felt on the international stage. Whereas other key directors of the Australian film revival, such as Peter Weir and Bruce Beresford, have been the subject of book-length critical studies, Schepisi’s career has not to-date been so explored. McFarlane takes a critical account of Schepisi’s film output—including such standouts as The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Plenty, Roxanne, Six Degrees of Separation, Mr. Baseball, and Last Orders—and he augments analysis with interviews with the director. By discussing the production histories and both critical and popular receptions, McFarlane’s study shines a new light on Schepisi’s work and his rise to prominence in the global film industry.
Download or read book Neil Simon on Screen written by Peter Shelley and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neil Simon is the most successful American playwright on Broadway, and the winner of many awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Mark Twain Prize for Humor, and a Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime Achievement. Many of his plays have been adapted into films and made-for-television movies, and he has written original screenplays and television specials. This book provides a catalogue of Simon's screen work with cast and crew information, synopses, release dates, reviews, awards and DVD availability. Notes on each film cover his narrative subjects and themes as well as adaptation, direction and performance.
Download or read book Truman Capote written by Tison Pugh and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pugh explores Capote through a cinematic lens, skillfully weaving the most relevant elements of Capote's biography with insightful critical analysis of the films, screenplays, and adaptations of his works that composed his fraught relationship with the Hollywood machine.
Download or read book The Movie Guide written by James Monaco and published by Perigee Trade. This book was released on 1992 with total page 1200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From The Big Sleep to Babette's Feast, from Lawrence of Arabia to Drugstore Cowboy, The Movie Guide offers the inside word on 3,500 of the best motion pictures ever made. James Monaco is the president and founder of BASELINE, the world's leading supplier of information to the film and television industries. Among his previous books are The Encyclopedia of Film, American Film Now, and How to Read a Film.
Download or read book Field Guide to the Supernatural Universe written by Alyson Noël and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-03-22 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stranger Things meets Sideways Stories from Wayside School in this quirky supernatural middle grade novel about a boy on an unlikely quest to uncover an enchanted book to defeat an unearthly nemesis—from New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël. When he first started seeing ghosts, Max mistakenly assumed everyone else could see them, too. Now, after years of being blamed for the pranks of mischievous spirits, Max is determined to do whatever it takes to make himself normal. But when he’s sent to spend the summer with his eccentric grandfather, Ramhart, being normal becomes impossible. Here in Glimmerville, bakeries sell enchanted pies, the lake is infested with mermaids, the town’s beloved ghosts roam free, and Ramhart himself is celebrated as the world’s most famous monster hunter. At first, all Max wants is to survive the summer, but the more time he spends in Glimmerville, the more he starts to wonder if he’s finally found a place where he can truly be himself. But when a supernatural attack steals Ramhart’s soul, Max—with the help of a few new friends—must go on a quest to find his grandfather’s renowned Field Guide, an enchanted book that contains all the knowledge Ramhart has gathered about defeating unearthly nemeses. And if they don’t find the book fast, Glimmerville will crumble into chaos, and Max will lose the only person who’s ever made him feel at home.
