Actors & Actresses Books - Page 4

Anything Goes

John Barrowman, Carole E. Barrowman

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Not yet published By: Michael O'Mara

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Entertainers
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Charming and funny book 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I didn't expect much from this book - who writes his life story when he's just pushing 40? But this is a fun and funny, stream of consciousness autobiography, roped into some order by his coauthor sister, complete with humorous/explanatory footnoted asides (well, his sister IS an English professor) and lots of great photos of wee John from childhood on up and his beloved and wacky extended family and friends, productions he was in, up to present day Captain Jack on 'Torchwood.' It's written for a British audience, but anyone on either side of the Atlantic would enjoy it. I laughed out loud at several of his stories of various theatrical escapades and disasters. Not surprisingly, the story is just like the actor seems - what you see is what you get - funny, exuberant, charming, a bit naughty, and full of life.

Editorial Review:

From his Glaswegian childhood and American adolescence to his starring role in the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, this memoir traces the life and career of actor John Barrowman. John made a name for himself with remarkable West End achievements, including an Olivier Award nomination and success in the movies The Producers and De-Lovely. Television success was also assured when Torchwood won a Best Drama BAFTA. John also lays bare his personal life: his emigration as a child, coming out to his family, turning down a job at Disney, and his civil partnership with long-term partner Scott Gill. Revelatory and insightful, told with real heart and characteristic Barrowman charm, this is a wonderful tale of how one boy achieved his dreams.

Lucky Man: A Memoir

Michael J. Fox

Amazon Price: $15.61 List Price: $22.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hyperion Amazon Marketplace: 638 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Entertainers
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 213 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A funny, highly personal, gorgeously written account of what it’s like to be a 30-year-old man who is told he has an 80-year-old’s disease.

"Life is great. Sometimes, though, you just have to put up with a little more crap." --Michael J. Fox

In September 1998, Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease -- a degenerative neurological condition. In fact, he had been secretly fighting it for seven years. The worldwide response was staggering. Fortunately, he had accepted the diagnosis and by the time the public started grieving for him, he had stopped grieving for himself. Now, with the same passion, humor, and energy that Fox has invested in his dozens of performances over the last 18 years, he tells the story of his life, his career, and his campaign to find a cure for Parkinson’s.

Combining his trademark ironic sensibility and keen sense of the absurd, he recounts his life -- from his childhood in a small town in western Canada to his meteoric rise in film and television which made him a worldwide celebrity. Most importantly however, he writes of the last 10 years, during which -- with the unswerving support of his wife, family, and friends -- he has dealt with his illness. He talks about what Parkinson’s has given him: the chance to appreciate a wonderful life and career, and the opportunity to help search for a cure and spread public awareness of the disease. He is a very lucky man, indeed.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation

Michael J. Fox is donating the profits from his book to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which is dedicated to fast-forwarding the cure for Parkinson’s disease. The Foundation will move aggressively to identify the most promising research and raise the funds to assure that a cure is found for the millions of people living with this disorder. The Foundation’s web site, MichaelJFox.org, carries the latest pertinent information about Parkinson’s disease, including:

--A detailed description of Parkinson’s disease
--How you can help find the cure
--Public Services Announcements that are aired on network and cable television stations across the country to increase awareness
--Upcoming related Parkinson’s disease events and meetings
--Updates on recent research and developments

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned

Alan Alda

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Trade Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 112 new & used starting at $0.34

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Entertainers
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 106 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

He’s one of America’s most recognizable and acclaimed actors–a star on Broadway, an Oscar nominee for The Aviator, and the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing, during his eleven years on M*A*S*H. Now Alan Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances.

“My mother didn’t try to stab my father until I was six,” begins Alda’s irresistible story. The son of a popular actor and a loving but mentally ill mother, he spent his early childhood backstage in the erotic and comic world of burlesque and went on, after early struggles, to achieve extraordinary success in his profession.

Yet Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is not a memoir of show-business ups and downs. It is a moving and funny story of a boy growing into a man who then realizes he has only just begun to grow.

It is the story of turning points in Alda’s life, events that would make him what he is–if only he could survive them.

From the moment as a boy when his dead dog is returned from the taxidermist’s shop with a hideous expression on his face, and he learns that death can’t be undone, to the decades-long effort to find compassion for the mother he lived with but never knew, to his acceptance of his father, both personally and professionally, Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them.

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, filled with curiosity about nature, good humor, and honesty, is the crowning achievement of an actor, author, and director, but surprisingly, it is the story of a life more filled with turbulence and laughter than any Alda has ever played on the stage or screen.



From the Hardcover edition.

Sage-ing While Age-ing

Shirley MacLaine

Amazon Price: $18.46 List Price: $26.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Atria Books Amazon Marketplace: 97 new & used starting at $2.08

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Entertainers
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 45 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Hope there's more books to come 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book's subject matter has been pretty well covered by others. You either choose to believe Shirley or not (about the spiritual/ET, etc.)

I think she holds back a lot of what she has either experienced or is aware of. I've heard it expressed that she is very well connected in who she knows. I hope she has more books forthcoming as I am waiting for her to really rip loose.

She's a good writer and knows how to do page turners. I confess that while her movie/TV career may be of prime interest to some, it's the other aspects of her life and what she knows in that arena is why I read her books.

She has an interesting website for those who haven't noticed it yet.

Editorial Review:

Over the course of ten international bestsellers including The Camino and Out on a Limb, Shirley MacLaine has firmly established herself as a fearless, iconoclastic thinker and seeker of truth. Now, as she confronts the realities and rewards of growing older, MacLaine reflects on where her journey has taken her and the greater understanding of her own place in the universe that her experiences have brought into her life.

As she looks back across the remarkable professional and personal milestones she has experienced so far, MacLaine is able to recognize the profound power of synchronicity at work. Sage-ing While Age-ing explores a wealth of issues from health and nutrition, to spirituality, to life on other planets, to MacLaine's views about the greatest mystery of all: what happens to us after death.

Filled with her trademark wit and candor, this is a powerful, provocative book that will delight and intrigue MacLaine's legions of fans and fellow travelers everywhere.

Christopher Walken A to Z: The Man-The Movies-The Legend

Robert Schnakenberg

Amazon Price: $15.25 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Quirk Books Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $9.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Entertainers
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General

Editorial Review:

Is Christopher Walken from Mars? He must be. How else can you explain his incredible range of talents and experiences? He has worked as a lion tamer, he has danced in music videos for Madonna, Duran Duran, and Fatboy Slim, and he has appeared in 100+ films for some of Hollywood's hottest directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, David Cronenberg, and Tim Burton. He is the most popular guest host in the history of "Saturday Night Live". He is the only actor to play a Bond villain and a Batman villain. He was handed his high school diploma by Gypsy Rose Lee. He was on a houseboat with Natalie Wood on the night she mysteriously drowned. He has appeared in some of the worst films of all time - everything from "Kangaroo Jack" to "Mousehunt to Gigli" - and yet his popularity never wanes.No wonder Christopher Walken has attracted an enormous cult following. Now his fans can learn about the wide world of Walken in Christopher Walken A to Z, the first-ever biography of the most fascinating man in show business, arranged in a fun, breezy A-to-Z format. With entries on everything from Actors Studio (the famous theatre workshop where Walken worked as a janitor) to zombie movies (one of his favourite movie genres), "Christopher Walken A to Z" is a trippy salute to the world's most endearing and enduring celebrity.

Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression

Brooke Shields

Amazon Price: $11.66 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hyperion Amazon Marketplace: 103 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Leaders & Notable People -> Rich & Famous
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> Women

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 149 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Content not advised during depression! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Describes Post Partum Depression

WARNING! Depression hurts and those who do suffer depression may not enjoy this because the main content is her struggle downward. The majority of this book is on the downward trending patterns. This is not happy reading. Do not read this if you just had a baby; do not gift this book to a person who you think has post partum depression and you just want them to "see" that depression is treatable. This is definitely NON-pregnancy reading.

If you have never been able to explain the magnitude and self loathing of depression, Brooke has done it for you. She spends a lot of time describing the slippery slope of feeling out of sorts and not very excited into feeling your absolute and unexplainable worst. In the audio version she reads the story herself and it really does get across the stymied feelings of those around her who could not understand what was going on. She should be on top of the world. Instead she felt it was on top of her.

She documents her way through the maze of depression and page after page you keep saying to yourself "And the Doctor was not on to this???". I think that is part of the point of her writing this, normal healthy people can get very serious depression and the people around them do not know how to react and they do not put depression into the mix. They just work around the equation hoping that this will pass. In her case it was never going to pass on its own.

She covers the awful trip back to herself and how as a person she was as perplexed at how to "feel better" as those around her were to have her be better. This is at times a story you want to speed up and skip over more and more of the exhaustive recounting. Again that is the point of the story- depression is an exhaustive journey.

We recommend the audio more that the written word because it has Brook telling her own story and you can feel her emotions as she tells her story. We also recommend that you buy this discounted because it is not a body work that you keep in your collection unless this topic is related to your field. For the average reader: this is a read and pass it along to another book or an ah-ha! reading to explain something that you may have already have gone through. RICH CHICKS specializes in independent reviews to help you invest in the right product for your dollar. We have left many reviews all over this site.

Editorial Review:

In her bestselling memoir, now in paperback, Brooke Shields shares with the world her deeply personal experience with postpartum depression

When Brooke Shields welcomed her newborn daughter to the world, her joyful expectations were quickly followed by something unexpected -- a crippling depression. In what is sure to strike a chord with the millions of women who suffer from depression after childbirth, Brooke Shields shares how she, too, battled a condition that is widely misunderstood, despite the fact that it affects many new mothers. She discusses the illness in the context of her life, including her struggle to get pregnant, the high expectations she had for herself and that others placed on her as a new mom, and the role of her husband, friends, and family as she struggled to attain her maternal footing in the midst of a disabling depression.

Ultimately, Brooke shares how she found a way out through talk therapy, medication, and time.

My Story: Illustrated Edition

Marilyn Monroe

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 6 to 11 days By: Taylor Trade Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $13.48

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Entertainers
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Marilyn, in her own words... 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Lately I have been on a Marilyn Monroe reading Jag (I do recommend "Misfits Country") that was brought on by watching most of her films. This book offers unique insights as it is Marilyn in her own words. She covers everything from her early childhood, to her rise to stardom, and her rocky marriage to Joltin Joe DiMaggio. There are nuggets here that explain much about how she went from Norma Jean to Marilyn Monroe, and some interesting foresight as to her demise. The books only weakness is that it is way to short, there is so much more I wanted to hear Marilyn talk about....

Editorial Review:

Little known and long unavailable, this autobiography, written by actress and starlet Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), describes her early adolescence, her rise in the film industry from bit player to celebrity, and her marriage to Joe DiMaggio. In this personal account of a very public life, she tells of her first (non-consensual) sexual experience, her romance with the Yankee Clipper, and her prescient vision of herself as the kind of girl they found dead in the hall bedroom with an empty bottle of sleeping pills in her hand.

The Vixen Diaries

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.98 Not yet published By: Hachette Audio

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> Women

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 140 Average rating: 1.5 of 5

This woman is delusional... 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

When I read Karrine's first book, I felt that she was delusional to believe that she had evolved into something other than a wounded, promiscuous "vixen". In her second book, it cemented my first belief about her. She is probably the most delusional person I have ever had the misfortune to read about. She believes her stories about the various men she slept with for money has made her a "celebrity", instead of the joke she is. I have never seen someone refer to themselves as "best selling author" so many times in a book! She comes off bitter, childish, and still doesnt get why she is the girl a man calls for some fun, but marries someone else! Every chapter outlined her emotional merry go rounds that was usually tied to a man-if she wasnt at a party, she was in a man's bed or in a psych ward, and I felt sorry for her son every chapter. I cringe to think of the values he is learning from this person. Her happiness,self worth and beliefs directly coincides with her possessions and how much money she has in the bank. Andthen for her to out "Papa" at the end, the man she claims she loves and respects so much and who now has to face his wife, was deplorable(even though it was widely rumored it was this person, anyway). To wrap this up, I found myself rolling my eyes as I read chapter after chapter of her self proclaimed celebritydom, and was glad when it ended. I felt sorry for her son throughout, and my only hope for Karrine is that she gets some true help so that she can be the mother her son deserves.

Editorial Review:

This titillating exposé chronicles the personal and professional adventures of this tabloid-laden socialite, dispelling some rumors, while confirming others. Diaries unveils the heavily shrouded Hollywood backrooms and its coveted secrets. Offering her ardent fans answers to burning questions and presenting lessons learned, this book will surely not disappoint. Karrine Steffans continues to dish out juicy gossip and the much sought after details of her star studded lifestyle and the celebrity men that helped her get where she needed to be.


Karrine draws you in to get an up-close and personal look at the Hollywood life of fast money and sex; all the things that make for a great movie. She discusses her interactions with people after the release of Confessions of a Video Vixen and how she copes with it all.

Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter

Sidney Poitier

Amazon Price: $18.43 List Price: $25.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperOne Amazon Marketplace: 76 new & used starting at $2.87

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Sidney Poitier is one of the most revered actors in the history of Hollywood. He has overcome enormous obstacles in extraordinary times and is a role model for many Americans because of his convictions, bravery, and grace. Poitier reflects on his amazing life in Life Beyond Measure, offering inspirational advice and personal stories in the form of extended letters to his great-granddaughter. Writing for all who admire his example and who search for wisdom only a man of great experience can offer, this American icon shares his thoughts on love, faith, courage, and the future.

Poitier draws upon the perspective and wisdom gained from his memories as a poor boy in the Bahamas, his experience of racism coming to the United States, falling in love and raising a family, breaking the race barrier in theater and film during the Civil Rights Era, achieving stardom and success in Hollywood, and being a diplomat and humanitarian. He reflects on the deepest questions and the significant passages of his life, the virtues that helped him through tough times, and the sense of purpose and history that strengthened him. He emphasizes the importance of the role of faith in a technological age, as well as our responsibility to the earth and future generations. Throughout, Poitier shares stories about the people of courage he has met along the way and the meaning of life in the face of death.

Life Beyond Measure is the perfect book to inspire readers to live the fullest life with integrity, from one of our most respected celebrities and a national treasure.

Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depressive Illness

Patty Duke

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Bantam Amazon Marketplace: 92 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Arts & Literature -> Actors & Actresses
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> Special Needs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> Women

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In her revealing bestseller Call Me Anna, Patty Duke shared her long-kept secret: the talented, Oscar-winning actress who won our hearts on The Patty Duke Show was suffering from a serious-but-treatable-mental illness called manic depression. For nearly twenty years, until she was correctly diagnosed at age thirty-five, she careened between periods of extreme euphoria and debilitating depression, prone to delusions and panic attacks, temper tantrums, spending sprees, and suicide attempts. Now in A Brilliant Madness Patty Duke joins with medical reporter Gloria Hochman to shed light on this powerful, paradoxical, and destructive illness. From what it's like to live with manic-depressive disorder to the latest findings on its most effective treatments, this compassionate and eloquent book provides profound insight into the challenge of mental illness. And though Patty's story, which ends in a newfound happiness with her cherished family, it offers hope for all those who suffer from mood disorders and for the family, friends, and physicians who love and care for them.