Still Foolin' 'Em
Still Foolin' 'Em

Author: Billy Crystal

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Published: 2013-09-10

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0805098232

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Hilarious and heartfelt observations on aging from one of America's favorite comedians as he turns 65, and a look back at a remarkable career in this New York Times bestseller. Billy Crystal is turning 65, and he's not happy about it. With his trademark wit and heart, he outlines the absurdities and challenges that come with growing old, from insomnia to memory loss to leaving dinners with half your meal on your shirt. In humorous chapters like "Buying the Plot" and "Nodding Off," Crystal not only catalogues his physical gripes, but offers a road map to his 77 million fellow baby boomers who are arriving at this milestone age with him. He also looks back at the most powerful and memorable moments of his long and storied life, from entertaining his relatives as a kid in Long Beach, Long Island, his years doing stand-up in the Village, up through his legendary stint at Saturday Night Live, When Harry Met Sally, and his long run as host of the Academy Awards. Readers get a front-row seat to his one-day career with the New York Yankees (he was the first player to ever "test positive for Maalox"), his love affair with Sophia Loren, and his enduring friendships with several of his idols, including Mickey Mantle and Muhammad Ali. He lends a light touch to more serious topics like religion ("the aging friends I know have turned to the Holy Trinity: Advil, bourbon, and Prozac"), grandparenting, and, of course, dentistry. As wise and poignant as they are funny, Crystal's reflections are an unforgettable look at an extraordinary life well lived.

700 Sundays
700 Sundays

Author: Billy Crystal

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Published: 2006-10-24

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13: 0759569347

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To support his family, Billy Crystal's father, Jack, worked two jobs, having only one day a week to spend with his family. Based on Crystal's one-man Broadway show of the same name, "700 Sundays"--referring sadly to the time shared by an adoring father and his devoted son--offers a heartfelt, hilarious memoir.

I Must Say
I Must Say

Author: Martin Short

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-11-04

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 0062309536

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“Short’s endearing memoir is, of course, funny, but it’s also a rare thing: the tale of a genuine human being who’s thrived on planet Hollywood.” — Washington Post In this engagingly witty, wise, and heartfelt memoir, Martin Short tells the tale of how a showbiz-obsessed kid from Canada transformed himself into one of Hollywood's favorite funnymen, known to his famous peers as the "comedian's comedian." Short takes the reader on a rich, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking ride through his life and times, from his early years in Toronto as a member of the fabled improvisational troupe Second City to the all-American comic big time of Saturday Night Live, and from memorable roles in such movies as ¡Three Amigos! and Father of the Bride to Broadway stardom in Fame Becomes Me and the Tony-winning Little Me. He reveals how he created his most indelible comedic characters, among them the manic man-child Ed Grimley, the slimy corporate lawyer Nathan Thurm, and the bizarrely insensitive interviewer Jiminy Glick. Throughout, Short freely shares the spotlight with friends, colleagues, and collaborators, among them Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Gilda Radner, Mel Brooks, Nora Ephron, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Shaffer, and David Letterman. But there is another side to Short's life that he has long kept private. He lost his eldest brother and both parents by the time he turned twenty, and, more recently, he lost his wife of thirty years to cancer. In I Must Say, Short talks for the first time about the pain that these losses inflicted and the upbeat life philosophy that has kept him resilient and carried him through. In the grand tradition of comedy legends, Martin Short offers a show-business memoir densely populated with boldface names and rife with retellable tales: a hugely entertaining yet surprisingly moving self-portrait that will keep you laughing—and crying—from the first page to the last.

A Good Dude
A Good Dude

Author: Keith Thomas Walker

Publisher: Genesis Press, Inc.

Published: 2011-09-01

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1585715042

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Candace should've listened to her father. He warned her about gangster rappers and forbade her to go to Rilla's concert, but his strong guidance only fueled her defiance. Candace sneaked to the show anyway, and, at seventeen, she got the thrill of her life when Rilla invited her onstage for a special serenade. Candace gave herself to him that night and turned her back on everyone she knew when Rilla asked her to run away with him. Six months later Candace finds herself in Overbrook Meadows, Texas; a world away from the beautiful home and family she left behind in New York. Rilla has been dropped from his record label, and he's a fulltime dope man now. Candace's stomach is getting bigger, and she can't say for sure who the baby's father is. She thinks things are as bad as they can get, but she's wrong about that. Candace has not yet experienced the real pain her new life has in store.

Up Till Now
Up Till Now

Author: William Shatner

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2009-04-28

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 1429937971

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After almost sixty years as an actor, William Shatner has become one of the most beloved entertainers in the world. And it seems as if Shatner is everywhere. In Up Till Now, Shatner sits down with readers and offers the remarkable, full story of his life and explains how he got to be, well, everywhere. It was the original Star Trek series, and later its films, that made Shatner instantly recognizable, called by name---or at least by Captain Kirk's name---across the globe. But Shatner neither began nor has ended his career with that role. From the very start, he took his skills as an actor and put them to use wherever he could. He straddled the classic world of the theater and the new world of television, whether stepping in for Christopher Plummer in Shakespeare's Henry V or staring at "something on the wing" in a classic episode of The Twilight Zone. And since then, he's gone on to star in numerous successful shows, such as T.J. Hooker,Rescue 911, and Boston Legal. William Shatner has always been willing to take risks for his art. What other actor would star in history's first---and probably only---all-Esperanto-language film? Who else would share the screen with thousands of tarantulas, release an album called Has Been, or film a racially incendiary film in the Deep South during the height of the civil rights era? And who else would willingly paramotor into a field of waiting fans armed with paintball guns, all waiting for a chance to stun Captain...er, Shatner? In this touching and very funny autobiography, William Shatner's Up Till Now reveals the man behind these unforgettable moments, and how he's become the worldwide star and experienced actor he is today. "It is now Bill Shatner's universe---we just live in it."---New York Daily News

Too Much of a Good Thing Ain't Bad
Too Much of a Good Thing Ain't Bad

Author: Clarence Nero

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2009-06-23

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0767932226

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In this daring, original sequel to Three Sides to Every Story, acclaimed writer Clarence Nero takes us back into the lives of Johnny and James, who once again must battle their demons and the drama they can’t seem to escape. Johnny and James survived the tough streets of New Orleans, but when Hurricane Katrina lays waste to their beloved Ninth Ward, they are forced to begin a new chapter in Washington, D.C. For Johnny, this means finally pursuing his dream of becoming a student at the historic Wheatley College. James soon joins Johnny in the nation’s capital, but their relationship, though strong, is strained by the pressures of their new lives. Then Johnny’s brother Carl and his wife, Tiffany, introduce Johnny to the beautiful, sexy, and smart Sheila Doggett with the intent of steering Johnny in a different direction. The entire family rallies around Johnny and Sheila’s budding friendship, and Johnny prepares to join the frat that is a legacy in his family. But once James gets wind of what Johnny’s family is up to, he decides that he’ll stop at nothing to save his relationship. Meanwhile, Johnny is struggling to keep the peace with everyone and to keep a potentially deadly secret that could stand in the way of his dreams. Everyone is soon confronted with the miserable truth that the havoc in their lives has only just begun . . . How far will would you go for love? Our heroes and sheroes wrestle with this question as they struggle to do right by themselves and those they love, and the result is a fast-paced, thought-provoking roller coaster of a read.

Victoria's Got a Secret
Victoria's Got a Secret

Author: HelenKay Dimon

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.

Published: 2011-03

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 0757315577

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Raised in a family of artists and intellectuals, the young Victoria-to-be was a bookworm who excelled in schoolas well as in the tutorials of her exotic grandmother who felt she should know how to hold court in a salon. The young Victoria's real education, however, was a lesson in love, shared with a down-on-his-luck high school classmate named Paul who gave his heart, body, and soul to heronly to be devastated when her dreams and ambitions propelled her from a small Canadian town into the bright lights of big cities, where she climbed the corporate ladder and fell under the influence of an older, powerful man--But when fate brings Paul back into her life, will he recognize the girl she once was? Will she? Can this handsome athlete with a musical gift make her heart sing as if she were an innocent teen once more? And if she breaks all the rules in this double life she's leading, can Victoria keep the profession she's come to love without sacrificing the storybook ending she longs for?

Ur Special
Ur Special

Author: Danny Casale

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2021-11-02

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0593330102

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Based on the wildly popular characters from Coolman Coffeedan, a colorful and charming collection of parables reminding us to face our fears, our anxieties, and our self-consciousness head-on. What do a naked cat, a sad turtle, an armless robot, and a sentient potato have in common? Quite a lot, actually! In this vibrant and heartfelt book, self-proclaimed bad animator Danny Casale delivers a much-needed jolt of positivity and humor to ease even the sourest of spirits. Fans of his Coolman Coffeedan accounts will recognize his simple and relatable illustrations, but the material is entirely new. Each chapter introduces a new friend and a new hardship, offering the perfect pick-me-up for whatever has you down. Tackling topics from loneliness and self-confidence to the perfect (ONLY) way to construct a bowl of cereal, this book will leave you feeling just fine. So don’t forget—no matter what you may be feeling on the inside, or what people may be saying on the outside, UR SPECIAL!

The Book of Jonah
The Book of Jonah

Author: Joshua Max Feldman

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Published: 2014-02-04

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0805097775

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A major literary debut, an epic tale of love, failure, and unexpected faith set in New York, Amsterdam, and Las Vegas The modern-day Jonah at the center of Joshua Max Feldman's brilliantly conceived retelling of the Book of Jonah is a young Manhattan lawyer named Jonah Jacobstein. He's a lucky man: healthy and handsome, with two beautiful women ready to spend the rest of their lives with him and an enormously successful career that gets more promising by the minute. He's celebrating a deal that will surely make him partner when a bizarre, unexpected biblical vision at a party changes everything. Hard as he tries to forget what he saw, this disturbing sign is only the first of many Jonah will witness, and before long his life is unrecognizable. Though this perhaps divine intervention will be responsible for more than one irreversible loss in Jonah's life, it will also cross his path with that of Judith Bulbrook, an intense, breathtakingly intelligent woman who's no stranger to loss herself. As this funny and bold novel moves to Amsterdam and then Las Vegas, Feldman examines the way we live now while asking an age-old question: How do you know if you're chosen?

The Measure of a Man
The Measure of a Man

Author: Sidney Poitier

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2009-10-13

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0061747483

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"I have no wish to play the pontificating fool, pretending that I've suddenly come up with the answers to all life's questions. Quite the contrary, I began this book as an exploration, an exercise in selfquestioning. In other words, I wanted to find out, as I looked back at a long and complicated life, with many twists and turns, how well I've done at measuring up to the values I myself have set." In this luminous memoir, a true American icon looks back on his celebrated life and career. His body of work is arguably the most morally significant in cinematic history, and the power and influence of that work are indicative of the character of the man behind the many storied roles. Sidney Poitier here explores these elements of character and personal values to take his own measure--as a man, as a husband and father, and as an actor. Poitier credits his parents and his childhood on tiny Cat Island in the Bahamas for equipping him with the unflinching sense of right and wrong and of selfworth that he has never surrendered and that have dramatically shaped his world. "In the kind of place where I grew up," recalls Poitier, "what's coming at you is the sound of the sea and the smell of the wind and momma's voice and the voice of your dad and the craziness of your brothers and sisters ... and that's it." Without television, radio, and material distractions to obscure what matters most, he could enjoy the simple things, endure the long commitments, and find true meaning in his life. Poitier was uncompromising as he pursued a personal and public life that would honor his upbringing and the invaluable legacy of his parents just a few years after his introduction to indoor plumbing and the automobile, Poitier broke racial barrier after racial barrier to launch a pioneering acting career. Committed to the notion that what one does for a living articulates who one is, Poitier played only forceful and affecting characters who said something positive, useful, and lasting about the human condition. Here, finally, is Poitier's own introspective look at what has informed his performances and his life. Poitier explores the nature of sacrifice and commitment, pride and humility, rage and forgiveness, and paying the price for artistic integrity, What emerges is a picture of a man seeking truth, passion, and balance in the face of limits--his own and the world's. A triumph of the spirit, The Measure of a Man captures the essential Poitier.