Biography Television

Jeff Dugan began his career in television as an ashtray holder for Forrest Tucker doing every possible job up to executive producer for the Discovery Channel. Dugan worked alongside some of the most powerful people in the world, from the pope to Oprah, and things rarely went smoothly. Ted Kennedy thought he was an assassin. And on the biggest series of his career, he almost killed his celebrity narrator on the first day of shooting. Ins & Outs is a humorous look behind the scenes of American television written by a guy who made it to the top despite the carnage he left behind.

Walter's Perspective provides a unique glimpse into the rough-and-tumble Chicago news business as seen through the eyes of one of its legendary players. From his first news job working as a legman to his later role as a news anchor and political commentator, Jacobson battled along the front lines of an industry undergoing dramatic changes.

This highly respected veteran newsman shares the stories he's long kept under wraps. Schieffer goes beyond the news everyone is familiar with to share the compelling anecdotes only his colleagues were previously privy to. Says the author, "I want to tell you about the parts that didn't get on television or in the paper." The result is an eye-opening glimpse behind the scenes of the news business.

In a story that is both of its time and timeless, Evan I. Schwartz tells a tale of genius versus greed, innocence versus deceit, and independent brilliance versus corporate arrogance. Many men have laid claim to the title "father of television," but Philo T. Farnsworth is the true genius behind what may be the most influential invention of our time. Driven by his obsession to demonstrate his idea, by the age of 20 Farnsworth was operating his own laboratory above a garage in San Francisco and filing for patents. The resulting publicity caught the attention of RCA tycoon David Sarnoff, who became determined to control television in the same way he monopolized radio.

Who almost turned down his iconic role on The Sopranos because he could not sing? Did Katharine Hepburn really build the Uris building? How did a simple handshake with President Kennedy almost end in disaster? In his debut memoir, Too Funny for Words, Jerry Adler reveals all for the first time! In his career as a theater director, producer, and actor that has spanned over seventy years, Adler has certainly had his fair share of laughs, and is ready to take listeners on a reminiscent journey of Hollywood tales past.

Lisa Millar has spent her whole life showing up, getting things done and making things happen. Despite the risks, despite the fear, despite life getting in the way. As a child growing up in country Queensland, she had dreamed of a big life. Working as a foreign correspondent gave her that. But it also meant confronting the worst of what humanity can bring - the dead children at Sandy Hook, the sorrow of grieving relatives after the Bataclan theatre terrorist attack and the aftermath of Manchester. Three decades as a journalist witnessing grief and unspeakable tragedy had a cost.

In In the Volume, actor Hyde-White shares his story from Hollywood’s front lines, which spans more than four decades of the most transformational period in film and television history. This memoir chronicles Hyde-White’s early life growing up in England; moving to Palm Springs in the 1960s; graduating from high school at 16; getting started in Hollywood; working as a cab driver, bartender, waiter, and ski shop clerk while looking for acting gigs; playing his first part in a movie as the photographer in The Toy; and more, acting in some huge box office hits.

Each eye-wateringly funny script in this book is based on real life events featuring Sting, Jim Berryman and related characters. It is set in 60s and 70s Newcastle before Sting rose to fame as the frontman of the band The Police.

In this dazzling Hollywood memoir, Jeff Margolis takes us on the ultimate behind-the-scenes tour of television’s most memorable variety series and specials spanning the past fifty years—from the most iconic variety shows of the 1970s to the Oscars. Today, as one of the most prolific directors/producers of event television, Margolis is not only a technical ringmaster but also a confidante and sage to the stars who headline the shows. Students of television will savor the “how-to” of event television while fans will love the intimate stories of beloved stars.

Producer of television’s iconic Degrassi franchise Stephen Stohn tells stories from behind the scenes and of making it in the music and television world in this star-studded, rock ’n’ roll trip through a Canadian show business explosion. Stohn, who has been at the heart of the entertainment industry for over forty years, shares a lifetime of experience and unique insights into how dreams are turned into reality.

When The Flip Wilson Show debuted in 1970, Black faces were still rare on television, Black hosts nonexistent. So how did Clerow “Flip” Wilson go from Jersey City grade-school dropout to national celebrity, heralded on the cover of Time as “TV’s first black superstar”? Flip is a candid, entertaining biography of a consummate comedian who changed the face of American popular culture.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Seinfeldia, the definitive story of the creation and legacy of Parks and Recreation, with exclusive interview content from its cast, crew, and creators, as well as an introduction by Nick Offerman More than fifteen years after Parks and Recreation...

Dodi Battaglia, chitarrista, paroliere e interprete nello storico gruppo dei Pooh, è un artista ormai entrato a pieno titolo nella storia della musica pop italiana. Dopo aver narrato molteplici racconti attraverso le canzoni, Dodi ha deciso di condividere la sua personale esperienza come uomo ed artista attraverso una serie di racconti, ricordi, aneddoti e riflessioni in libertà, il tutto arricchito dai contributi di amici, di colleghi, di quanti con lui hanno collaborato e condiviso la passione per la musica.

Emmy-nominated television producer and executive Andy Friendly takes listeners behind the scenes of the TV and movie business, beginning with his iconic father Fred Friendly's pioneering work in television news with the legendary Edward R. Murrow, through the extraordinary film and television career of his wife, Golden Globe-winning actress Pat Crowley, as well as Andy's own dramatic and at times hilarious adventures working with many of the most talented names in the business: from Richard Pryor, George Clooney, Jimmy Cagney, and Paul McCartney to news and talk legends Tom Snyder, Tim Russert, Dan Rather, Oprah Winfrey, and Vin Scully, among dozens of other top stars.

How many meteorologists have ever gone viral for doing something positive? Not many, but Alan Sealls did! He was proclaimed “Best Weatherman Ever” by ‘the Internet’ in 2017 for his concise, coherent, enlightening and informative forecasts of Hurricane Irma, viewed millions of times around the world.

This unique biography details the life of magician Marshall Brodien, most remembered for his long-running career as television's Wizzo the Wizard on WGN-TV's Bozo's Circus. His inspirational story begins in the late 1940s, when Brodien was a young magician in his first job as a Chicago magic shop demonstrator, then recounts his steady rise to show-business success, including appearances on the legendary Mike Douglas Show, and as a nightclub hypnotist in Chicago's posh Cairo Supper Club.

For nearly fifty years, Dave Lopez covered every major story in the Southland. The veteran news reporter was a nightly presence in LA living rooms on KCBS Channel 2 for a remarkable 48-year career on camera. General managers and news directors came and went in the unforgiving world of major market TV news, but Dave outlasted more than twenty regime changes.

From the national bestselling author of Lord Fear and Class A comes "a tender, humane, comic, brainy, unsettling achievement” (Paul Lisicky, author of The Narrow Door: A Memoir of Friendship) about what it means to live an authentic life and what it means to love a person. In Lucas Mann's...

Walter Veltroni denuncia la debolezza della politica di fronte al ricatto dell'opinione pubblica, il cedimento dell'etica e del pudore sotto i colpi della società delle immagini e della comunicazione totale, riportandoci con la memoria al giorno in cui il nostro sguardo perse l'innocenza. L'11 giugno del 1981, un grido disperato paralizza l'Italia davanti ai teleschermi. Alfredino Rampi, sei anni, è precipitato in un pozzo e sta chiamando disperatamente sua madre. Gli italiani ascoltano agghiacciati il suo lamento, mentre iniziano i tentativi di salvataggio.

For over forty years, ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her sassy hand puppet Lamb Chop were the most beloved team in children's television. Together with her other puppets Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy, Shari raised three generations of kids and struggled to stay relevant in an industry that was constantly changing. In this audiobook, cowritten and recorded by Shari's daughter Mallory Lewis (who now performs with Lamb Chop) and producer-biographer Nat Segaloff, you'll hear how Shari survived using sheer will and talent.