Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Entertainment & Celebrities

Here's the unauthorized, best-selling biography of one of America's brightest—and most flamboyantly glamorous—stars. Elizabeth Taylor has beguiled audiences since National Velvet, and her many loves and peccadilloes have provided endless spice and interest for the movie-going and star-watching public. Biographer Kitty Kelley tells all—even the parts Liz would rather keep secret!—in this uncensored biography.

This laugh-out-loud memoir takes listeners backstage and inside the writers’ room of one of America’s best-loved shows. With more than 17 million viewers and more than 70 Emmy nominations—including two wins for best comedy—Everybody Loves Raymond reigned supreme in television comedy for almost a decade.

For decades, Joan Rivers was known as America's top female comedian... her brash unsparing style and truly tenacious spirit inspired both her fellow comedians and her millions of fans. In her own voice, she recounts her personal story from the inside out - her anguish, her anger, her insight, her inspiration - from her rags to riches struggle on the hard way to the top, to the breakthrough act which not only changed her world but also changed the world of stand-up comedy.

In this adventure, which would have played well in one of his own films, Schmuel Goldfisz left the Warsaw ghetto in 1895. He walked 300 miles to the Oder River, where he paid someone to row him across, smuggling him out of the Russian empire into Germany, past border patrols to another long walk to Hamburg. The gleam in his eye was America, "a far-away country, a vision of paradise." Schmuel Goldfisz became Samuel Goldwyn, one of the producers who created the Hollywood film industry.

Sex scandals have rocked Hollywood since the industry began, but Once More With Feeling: You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again, Again is a brand new collection of stories that this town will never recover from - again.

Tupperware ladies, eighties people, and leisure concept salesmen beware: Dave Barry is on the loose and no one is safe! In this collection of eighty essays, the inimitable columnist observes everything that makes America the unique, special place you've grown to love: taxes, toilets, airbags, baseball, beer commercials, and numerous other American artifacts.

The first in-depth biography of the world's richest man. Through interviews with those who were closest to Getty, the picture emerges of a truly miserly art collector, the great lover, the bigamist, the puritan, philanthropist, the suspected Nazi spy....

John H. Johnson, the remarkable entrepreneur who founded the Ebony publishing empire, tells the story of his success. The wealthiest African-American in the US today, Johnson shares his rags to riches saga, from the many obstacles that confronted him to his ultimate triumph.

Would you believe that one man championed the cause of Native Americans with Leonard Peltier, helped migrant farm workers with Cesar Chavez, traveled to Nepal, hiked the Himalayas, explored Africa and founded The Paris Review? It's true, and it's the life of Peter Matthiessen. Listen to entrancing travel tales and real life anecdotes from this author of At Play in the Fields of the Lord and the National Book Award-winning The Snow Leopard.

One of the world's most iconic performers, Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 from a heart attack complicated by years of drug use. By the time she turned 18, Frances Gumm had shot to stardom as Judy Garland, playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Sadly, at the age of 47, she died of a drug overdose. But imagine if the lives of these icons had not been cut short by drugs? These vividly imaginative "biographies" are thoughtful, honest, heartfelt—and entirely within the realm of possibility, as the authors engage in an intriguing exercise of “What if...?”

Aaron Spelling is one of the most successful showmen of all time. No one else has produced as many television programs nor enjoyed such career longevity-35 years and still counting since Spelling's first production: Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater. Never told before, Aaron Spelling is the life story from the Prime-Time King himself—personal, revealing, and filled with stories on such Hollywood greats as Michelle Pfeiffer, Heather Locklear, Sharon Stone, and Nick Nolte.

This is Koenig's story from growing up as the neurotic child of Russian immigrants in 1940s Manhattan through his rise to Star Trek fame as Pavel Chekov, Russian navigator of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and beyond. Koenig's very human narrative is full of the kind of insecurities and quirks to which anyone can relate. With wry wit, striking candor, and a true gift for storytelling, Koenig takes us on a sometimes bumpy but often hilarious trip through his galaxy.

A legendary folk singer and activist, Woody Guthrie and his songs changed the world. Born in an Oklahoma oil-boom town, Guthrie traveled America by boxcar, thumb, and foot. Along the journey, he composed and sang songs that have become a national heritage. His songs, however, are but part of his legacy. This remarkable autobiography brings to life both his vibrant personality and a vision of America we cannot afford to let die. Funny, cynical, and earthy, Bound for Glory is the stirring account of Guthrie's life and a superb portrait of America's Depression years.

More than 85 years after his untimely death at just age 37, Irving Thalberg remains a legendary Hollywood figure. Called the “Boy Wonder of Hollywood,” Thalberg quickly climbed the ranks at MGM studios to become one of the most powerful and high-profile producers of the time, elevating filmmaking to an art form. In this definitive biography, Bob Thomas brings Thalberg's legend to life, recounting how the producer's remarkable talent for developing stars and scripts led to the creation of beloved movies such as Ben-Hur, Romeo and Juliet, and Camille.

One of the most influential musical forces of our time, David Foster—producer, arranger, songwriter, performer—has worked with superstars every decade since the 1970s. In this compelling and outspoken memoir, Foster shares revealing portraits and stories from over five decades of working with music superstars, including Michael Bublé, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, Josh Groban, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, and many others. A hitman who produced the soundtrack of our lives, Foster offers glimpses of the musical icons at work and shares secrets for success in the music industry.

The American guy is not to be confused with a husband, father, hunk, or intellectual, says guy expert Dave Barry. Published just in time (the American guy faces extinction due to feminism, the men's movement, and stricter sanitation laws), this guide gives women helpful advice for understanding Him (or It) and offers men useful tips on remembering the names of their children and other dilemmas of life.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a quitter," Russell Baker's mother always said. Baker certainly never quit - in fact, this fantastic journalist's Pulitzer Prize-winning column appears twice a week in The New York Times. This book, his second autobiographical volume, describes the rewarding stages of his career and his encounters with John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, and other major figures. All the wit, perceptiveness, and poignant humor that has graced his column for many years comes through in this engaging memoir.

Political provocateur Bill Maher tells it like it is in a useful and hilarious guide for the many Americans who want to do more here at home to help in the war effort, but are at a loss as to how. Says Maher, "Traveling the country, I find that people want to do more here at home, but are at a loss as to what. Even when the government issues a Terrorism Advisory, it's maddeningly vague - 'Terrorist alert today! Code Burnt Orange!' 'And what?' I always want to ask, "Bring a sweater?'"

For years, Margaret Maldonado Jackson was a celebrant of the good life, living with her Prince Charming - Jermaine - at the Jackson family estate in Encino, California. A former teenage runaway who had barely survived life in the fast lane, she had felt fortunate to be welcomed into the Jackson clan. So why, in 1993, was she running for her life with her children? What had happened to this young woman to make her feel so threatened and so alone?

No one looked like her. No one walked like her. No one talked like her. Sexy, yet vulnerable, and unexpectedly talented, Marilyn Monroe was no ordinary screen goddess. But few really knew her. On June 1, 1962—Marilyn's 36th birthday—famed photographer and reporter George Barris visited Marilyn on the set of what would be her final, unfinished, film. For the next six weeks, Barris photographed and interviewed the actress. "Don't believe anything you read about me except this...." she told Barris.