CELEBRITIES |
Let's face it, for various reasons famous peoples' lives interest us even if sometimes we don't want to admit it. Among the titles below, I've read Arthur Laurents' Original Story By: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood. Laurents wrote West Side Story, The Way We Were and some other great librettos. The list contains the names of many other intriguing authors. Look it over. |
To read reviews about a book or order it, click on its title. To quickly reach one of the subtopics immediately below, click on it.
| | Authors/Journalists | Broadway/Theater/Stage | General | Hollywood | Hollywood/McCarthyism | Music | Television | |
Alexander, Shana. Happy Days: My Mother, My Father, My Sister & Me. Doubleday, 1995. A Life magazine columnist, editor for McCall’s, and commentator on 60 Minutes recalls her career.
Bray, Rosemary L. Unafraid Of The Dark. Anchor, 1999. A NY Times editor describes her early life and how the welfare system made survival possible for her family.
Buchwald, Art. I'll Always Have Paris: A Memoir. Ballantine, 1997. Remembering his youth in Paris.
Cantwell, Mary. Manhattan, When I Was Young. Penguin, 1996. NY Times editor recalls life in Greenwich Village in the 50s and 60s.
Clark, Mary Higgins. Kitchen Privileges. Simon and Schuster, 2002. The famous mystery writer on her childhood.
Ehrlich, Elizabeth. Miriam's Kitchen: A Memoir. Penguin, 1998. A former writer for BusinessWeek on her journey from ambivalent Jew to a woman who observes tradition and teaches her children about their ethnic heritage.
Fox, Michael J. Lucky Man: A Memoir. Hyperion, 2003. The successful actor on his life and struggles with Parkinson’s disease.
Hamill, Pete. A Drinking Life: A Memoir. Back Bay Books, 1995. Newspaper reporter/novelist's childhood journey to sobriety.
James, P. D. Time to be in Earnest: A Fragment of Autobiography. Knopf, 2000. The mystery writer’s memoir of her life and career, written in a diary form.
Karr, Mary. The Liar's Club: A Memoir. Penguin, 2005. Prize-winning poet and critic looks back at her upbringing in a swampy East Texas refinery town with a volatile, defiantly loving family.
King, Larry. My Remarkable Journey. Weinstein Books, 2009. By CNN's interviewer in chief.
Koppel, Ted. Off Camera: Private Thoughts Made Public. Vintage, 2001.
McCourt, Frank. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir. Scribner, 1997. Classic and superb memoir on author's poverty-stricken childhood in Ireland.
Moses, Jennifer Anne. Bagels and Grits: A Jew on the Bayou. University of Wisconsin Press, 2007. On the author's reconnecting with her spirituality and coming to terms with her mother’s deteriorating health.
O’Reilly, Bill. A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity. Broadway, 2008. On the controversial TV personality's discusses his Long Island boyhood, and the people, places, Catholic school and other experiences that influenced him.
Russert, Tim. Big Russ and Me : Father and Son: Lessons of Life. Miramax Books, 2005.
Smith, Janna Malamud. My Father is a Book: A Memoir of Bernard Malamud. Mariner, 2007. Daughter of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Fixer, The Natural etc., explores his life and literary legacy.
Studs, Terkel. Touch and Go: A Memoir. New Press. 2008. The author/journalist/radio personality’s childhood in the rip-roaring Chicago of the 1920s and 1930s.
Walters, Barbara. Audition: A Memoir. Knopf, 2008. Network star gives the dirt on all her years in TV as anchor and interviewer.
| | Authors/Journalists | Broadway/Theater/Stage | General | Hollywood | Hollywood/McCarthyism | Music | Television | |
Caldwell, Zoe. I Will Be Cleopatra: An Actress's Journey. W.W. Norton & Co., 2002.
Keel, Howard. Only Make Believe: My Life in Show Business. Barricade Books, 2005. The author, a coal miner's son, is best known for his roles in Oklahoma and other Broadway and Hollywood musicals.
Laurents, Arthur. Original Story By: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood . Applause Boks, 2001. By the author of West Side Story, etc.
Morse, Barry. Remember With Advantages: Chasing the Fugitive and Other Stories from an Actor's Life . McFarland and Co., 2006. On a long career in theatre, radio and T.V.
Rapp, Anthony. Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical Rent . Simon and Schuster, 2006.
Simon, Neil. Rewrites: A Memoir . Simon and Schuster, 1998. By the author of the Odd Couple, etc.
Griffin, Kathy. Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin . Ballantine Books, 2009.
Lindbergh, Reeve. Under a Wing: A Memoir . Simon and Schuster, 2009. The famed aviator's daughter on her family.
Caldwell, Zoe. I Will Be Cleopatra: An Actress’s Journey . W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 2004. By the winner of four Tony awards.
Carlyle, John and Osborne, Robert. Under the Rainbow: An Intimate Memoir of Judy Garland, Rock Hudson and My Life in Old Hollywood . Da Capo Press, 2006.
Coleman, Herbert. The Man Who Knew Hitchcock: A Hollywood Memoir . Scarecrow Press, 2007.
Curtis, Tony and Golenbock, Peter. An American Prince . Harmony Books, 2008.
Dern, Bruce. Things I've Said, But Probably Shouldn't Have: An Unrepentant Memoir . Wiley, 2007.
Eszterhas, Joe. Hollywood Animal: A Memoir . Knopf, 2004. Author/screenwriter Eszterhas exposes the animalistic side of Hollywood.
Farrow, Mia. What Falls Away: A Memoir . Bantam, 1997. Growing up as one of the first generation of Hollywood’s children, her inner battles and highly publicized issues with Woody Allen.
Ferrer, Sean Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers . Atria, 2005. A family memoir written by Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer’s son.
Fisher, Carrie. Wishful Drinking . Simon and Schuster, 2009. By Debbie Reynolds’ and Eddie Fisher’s actress daughter.
Givens, Robin. Grace Will Lead Me Home . Hyperion, 2007. Actress and former wife of boxer Mike Tyson on domestic violence, efforts to rebuild her career, motherhood, faith, and coming to terms with her personal choices.
Guerra, Jackie. Under Construction: How I’ve Gained and Lost Millions of Dollars and Hundreds of Pounds . New American Library, 2007.
Heaton, Patricia. Motherhood and Hollywood: How to Get a Job Like Mine . Ballantine Books, 2003. By the star of Everybody Loves Raymond.
Heche, Ann. Call Me Crazy . Scribner, 2001. By the actress and former partner of Ellen DeGeneris.
Lee, Anna and Cooper, Barbara Roisman. Anna Lee: Memoir Of A Career On General Hospital And In Film . McFarland and Company, 2007.
Lucas, John Meredyth and Beauchamp, Cari. Eighty Odd Years in Hollywood: Memoir of a Career in Film and Television . McFarland and Company, 2004. Son of famous silent screen actress and stepson of Casablanca director Michael Curtiz recollects Hollywood’s golden age.
Maclaine, Shirley. My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir . Bantam, 1996.
Martin, Pete and Bing Crosby. Call Me Lucky: Bing Crosby’s Own Stor y. Da Capo Press, 2001.
Martin, Steve. Born Standing Up . Scribner, 2008.
Matlin, Marlee and Sharkey, Betsey. I’ll Scream Later . Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2009. Academy Award-winning actress and role model for 30 million deaf and hard-of-hearing people serves as an inspiration and a lesson in overcoming adversity.
Moore, Roger and Owen, Gareth. My Word is My Bond: A Memoir . Collins, 2008.
Pearson, Felicia “Snoop” and Ritz, David. Grace After Midnight: A Memoir . Grand Central Publishing, 2007. The actress from The Wire tells her story of beating the streets.
Plummer, Christopher. In Spite of Myse lf. Knopf, 2008. The legendary star of stage and screen recounts his life’s experiences.
Poitier, Sidney. The Measure of a Man: A Memoir . Simon and Schuster, 2000. By the first African-American to win an Oscar.
Rich, John. Warm Up the Snake: A Hollywood Memoir . University of Michigan Press, 2006. The author's career as a TV (The Dick Van Dyke Show, All in the Family) actor and film director.
Rickles, Don. Rickles' Book: A Memoir . Simon and Schuster, 2008.
Rowell, Victoria. The Women Who Raised Me: A Memoir . William Morrow, 2007. The actress/dancer describes her origins as a mixed-race child from the Maine foster care system, her efforts to build her career, and the remarkable women who supported and inspired her.
Spelling, Tori. sTori Telling . Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2008.
Swayze , Patrick. The Time of My Life . Atria, 2009. On the late actor's Texas upbringing, personal struggles, rise to fame with North and South, commercial breakthrough in Dirty Dancing, wife, and his final battle with pancreatic cancer.
Williams, Elmo. Elmo Williams: A Hollywood Memoir . McFarland and Company, 2006. Farm boy turns film editor, director and producer.
Wolper, David L. Producer: A Memoir . Scribner, 2003.
| | Authors/Journalists | Broadway/Theater/Stage | General | Hollywood | Hollywood/McCarthyism | Music | Television | |
Barzman, Norman. The Red and the Blacklist: The Intimate Memoir of a Hollywood Expatriate . Nation Books, 2004.
Dmytryk, Edward. Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Hollywood Ten . Southern Illinois University Press, 1996. Famous director chronicles his struggles during the reign of McCarthyism.
Lardner, Kate. Shut Up He Explained: The Memoir of a Blacklisted Kid . Ballantine, 2004. Lardner describes the fallout when her stepfather is sentenced to a year in prison for refusing to define his relationship with the Communist Party.
Terkel, Studs. Touch and Go: A Memoir . Norton, 2007. Radio personality describes his life, including being blacklisted during the McCarthy period.
Andrews, Julie. Home: A Memoir of My Early Years . Hyperion, 2008.
Baez, Joan. And a Voice to Sing With: A Memoir . Simon and Schuster, 2009. By the folk.
Bailiff, Dawn. Notes from a Minor Key: A Memoir of Music, Love and Healing . Hampton Roads Publishing Company. 2007.
Barzman, Norma. The End of Romance: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and the Mystery of the Violin . Nation Books, 2006.
Boyd, Pattie and Junor, Penny. Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me . Three Rivers Press, 2008.
Bricktop w/Jim Haskins. Bricktop . Welcome Rain Publishers, 1999. A woman’s story of nightclubs from Harlem to Paris.
Butler, Jerry and Smith, Earl. Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor . Indiana University Press. 2004.
Cutting, Linda, K. Memory Slips: A Memoir of Music and Healing . Harper Perennial. 1998.
Clancy, Liam. The Mountain of the Women: Memoirs of an Irish Troubadour . Doubleday, 2002. A member of the famous Irish folk music group, the Clancy Brothers, on his childhood in a small Irish town, and his later arrival in New York City and Boston.
Devidayal, Namita. The Music Room: A Memoir . Thomas Dunne Books. 2009
Duchin, Peter. Ghost of a Chance: A Memoir . Random House, 1998. Bandleading son of the bandleader of old.
Dupri, Jermaine. Young, Rich and Dangerous: The Making of a Music Mogul . Atria Books, 2009.
Foster, David. Hitman : Forty Years Making Music, Topping Charts, & Winning Grammys . Pocket Books, 2008. By a producer, arranger, songwriter, and performer.
George, Nelson. City Kid: A Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Success . Viking, 2009. Music critic, journalist, film writer, novelist and producer writes about the music became his life’s work.
Golabek, Mona, and Cohen, Lee. The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love and Survival . Grand Central Publishing Company. 2007.
Goldsher, Alan. Dancing to the Music in My Head: Memoirs of the People's Idol . Pocket Publishers. 2009.
Gorin, Natalio. Astor Piazzolla: A Memoir . Amadeus Press, 2003. Author’s 3 day interview with a tango musician, Astor Piazzolla.
Hatfield, Juliana. When I Grow up: A Memoir . Wiley, 2008. Three decades as a professional musician including brief stardom in 1990.
Hatton, Thomas, J. The Music Came First: The Memoirs of Theodore Paschedag . Southern Illinois University Press. 1988.
Holiday, Billie. Lady Sings the Blues . Harlem Moon, 2006. On the jazz singer’s rise to fame, and her heroin addiction.
James, Catherine. Dandelion: Memoir of a Free Spirit . St. Martin’s Press, 2007.
Karmen, Steve. Me and Bobby D; A Memoir . Hal Leonard, 2004. The author writes about growing up with Bobby Darin and their later successes in show business.
Love, Courtney. Dirty Blonde: The Diaries of Courtney Love . Faber and Faber, 2006. By the potent pop icon.
Peart, Neil. Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to My Life and Times . Ecw Press, 2004.
Rochberg, George, Rochberg, Gene and Griscom, Richard. Five Lines, Four Spaces: The World of My Music . University of Illinois Press, 2009. Author looks at his fruitful life as a composer, publisher, and teacher of music.
Rolfe, Lionel. The Uncommon Friendship of Yaltah Menuhin and Willa Cather . California Classic Books, 2004. On the friendship between Willa Cather and the author's mother, piano prodigy Yaltah Menuhin (1920-2001), sister of violinist Yehudi Menuhin.
Rotolo, Suze. A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties . Broadway, 2008. Life with Bob Dylan.
Schwartz, Jonathan. All in Good Time: A Memoir . Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2009. By the New York City radio host for Frank Sinatra oldies.
Seeger, Pete. Where Have All the Flowers Gone: A Singalong Memoir . W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 2009. By the famous folksinger.
Shaffer, Paul. We’ll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives . Doubleday, 2009. By David Letterman’s band leader.
Shaver, Billy Joe and Reagan Brad. Honky Tonk Hero . University of Texas Press. 2005.
Smith, Willie. Music on My Mind: The Memoirs of an American Pianist . Da Capo Press, 1964.
Snyder, Patricia. My Father's Music: A Memoir of WWII . Da Capo Press. 2003.
Solti, Georg, Sir. Memoirs . Chicago Review Press, 1998. Reminiscences of a preeminent conductor.
Sting. Broken Music: A Memoir . Bantam Dell, 2009.
Summers, Andy. One Train Later: A Me moir. St. Martin's Griffin, 2007. The author was a guitarist with the British pop band, Police.
Wald, Elijah and Dave Van Ronk. The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir . Da Capo Press. 2006.
| | Authors/Journalists | Broadway/Theater/Stage | General | Hollywood | Hollywood/McCarthyism | Music | Television | |
Alda, Alan. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Other Things I’ve Learned . Random House, 2006.
Bertinelli, Valerie. Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time . Free Press, 2008. Sit down with some chocolates and pretzels and enjoy the read.
Bracco, Lorraine. On the Couch . G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2006. By the actress, who plays a psychiatrist on The Soprano’s.
Falk, Peter. Just One More Thing: Stories from My Life . Da Capo Press, 2006. By the actor who played the role of Lieut. Colombo.
Gilbert, Melissa. Prairie Tale: A Memoir . Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2009. Gilbert struggles with the real life problems quite different from Little House on the Prairie.
Guerra, Jackie. Under Construction: How I’ve Gained and Lost Millions of Dollars and Hundreds of Pounds . New American Library, 2007. Television personality shares her true story.
McCormick, Maureen. Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice . William Morrow, 2008.
Reiner, Carl. My Anecdotal Life: A Memoir . St. Martin's Griffin, 2004. Reiner recalls his career in comedy, particularly the Dick Van Dyke Show.
Russert, Tim. Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life . Miramax Books, 2005.
Sheldon, Sidney. The Other Side of Me . Vision Publisher. 2006. Screen writer, novelist and classic TV series creator recalls his Hollywood and TV days.
Wolper, David L., Wallace, Mike, Buchwald, Art and Fisher, David. Producer: A Memoir . Scribner, 2003. Life and career of one of Hollywood's most successful television producers
| | Authors/Journalists | Broadway/Theater/Stage | General | Hollywood | Hollywood/McCarthyism | Music | Television | |