Celebrity Comedy

Chip Chinery's memoir is a look in front of and behind the curtain at what actually happened his first year as a full-time professional stand-up comedian during the ‘80s comedy boom. Chip kept a journal and snapped pictures at every gig. Some of the comics were or would become household names. Most would remain unsung. Then there was his 17-year-old opening act who would reach the pinnacle of stand-up fame and fortune.

A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Through the curious life of Dick Kallman—a real-life celebrity striver, poisonously charming actor, and eventual murder victim—the unforgiving worlds of postwar showbiz and down-low gay sexuality are thrown into stark relief in this...

An intimate peek into the life of the soldier-turned-lyricist Anand Bakshi, from his formative years in undivided Punjab to eventually moving to Bombay and landing his first film Bhala Aadmi in 1958. Along the way, he lost his mother, his place of birth, and his home and wealth, but his...

One of Amazon's Best Romances of June! Alex Turner is never The One—but always the last one an ex dates before finding love—and now she’s determined to find out why in this hilarious new rom-com. Single divorce attorney Alex Turner is watching reality TV when she sees her latest ex’s...

India’s greatest film-maker on the art and craft of films. Exactly fifty years ago, in 1955, the release of Pather Panchali heralded the arrival of a master in the world of cinema. Over the next forty years, Satyajit Ray came to be regarded as one of the world’s finest film-makers ever...

A woman’s peaceful life is turned upside down when a bad-boy TV star comes to town in Sarah Smith’s new laugh-out-loud romantic comedy She needs a break Fed up with the long hours at her prestigious San Francisco architecture firm, Harper Ellorza has traded the overcrowded city for the...

Rob Gotobed is a stand-up comedian and comedy writer from Cricklewood in the United Kingdom, and since his first performances at the legendary Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, to help subsidize his day job as a trainee dog surfing instructor in the fall of 1999, Rob Gotobed has written his own material and saved everything!

Herman J. (1897–1953) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909–1993) wrote, produced, and directed over 150 pictures. With Orson Welles, Herman wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane and shared the picture’s only Academy Award. Joe earned the second pair of his four Oscars for writing and...

Small-town outcast Lexie Steele gets caught in a tabloid scandal with Hollywood’s golden boy, Jett Carter. A paparazzi photo gone viral, a desperate need for damage control, and suddenly Lexie is thrust into the spotlight as Jett’s “girlfriend.”

Tom Wilson, the actor, comedian, and writer best known for playing "Biff" in the classic movie "Back to the Future," goes on an unplanned adventure after meeting fellow actor Clayton Moore, the man who played The Lone Ranger on T.V., experienced the pitfalls of pop celebrity, and most notably, died over a decade ago.

Lauren Weedman is not okay. She's living what should be the good life in sunny Los Angeles. After a gig as a correspondent with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, she scored parts in blockbuster movies, which led to memorable recurring roles on HBO's Hung and Looking. She had a loving husband and an adorable baby boy. In these comedic essays, she turns a piercingly observant, darkly funny lens on the ways her life is actually not okay.

Omid Djalili's fascinating story begins with an unconventional childhood spent at his family's London guesthouse for visiting Iranians. At school he is kept busy with the beginnings of a passionate love affair with football but he hopes one day to live a more intellectually fulfilled life. For one wonderful summer in California it seems that maybe he will find his spiritual home at UCLA.

WANTED: HUSBAND & DADDY Serious Candidates Only! Katie Garrity is proud of her work at her Life is Sweet bakery, but it's high time she showed the town of Crimson that she's more than just "The Cupcake Lady." She wants to be "Mrs." and "Mommy" so badly she can't stand it! But in the small...

Being a rock god isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's become a soulless grind. Which is why I'm now on my mate's houseboat, far away from the spotlight, hoping to find my way back to the music. Yeah. Not gonna happen. I've just discovered a stowaway on board, and I can't believe who she is. A bloody princess? And the prim little woman won't leave the boat, so I make an offer to scare her off - a no-strings fling. Only she says yes. I say no, and she promptly locks herself in my bedroom. I swear I'm dropping her off at the next port. She's trouble wrapped in a pretty, virginal package.

In the tradition of The Devil Wears Prada comes Rosie Nixon's debut novel, which follows a young woman who is thrown into the fast-paced world of fashion and glamour as she’s forced to navigate the treacherous Hollywood red carpets…while finding a fairytale love of her own. “A stylish...

The riveting story of the rivalry between the two most renowned actresses of the nineteenth century: legendary Sarah Bernhardt, whose eccentricity on and off the stage made her the original diva, and mystical Eleonora Duse, who broke all the rules to popularize the natural style of acting we...

A cinephile's dream: the chance to follow legendary director Woody Allen throughout the creation of a film--from inception to premiere--and to enjoy his reflections on some of the finest artists in the history of cinema. Eric Lax has been with Woody Allen almost every step of the way. He...

In a wise, warmhearted memoir that celebrates her extraordinary life and stellar career, Swoosie Kurtz shares just the right combination of personal misadventure and showbiz lore, candidly reflecting on the right choices that empowered her, the wrong choices that enlightened her, and the...

Andrew Zimmern, the host of The Travel Channel’s hit series Bizarre Foods, has an extraordinarily well-earned reputation for traveling far and wide to seek out and sample anything and everything that’s consumed as food globally, from cow vein stew in Bolivia and giant flying ants in Uganda...

This is no ordinary celebrity biography pieced together by an outsider. Steve Martin and author Morris Walker had a close relationship growing up. They were class clowns together, charming the girls and the teachers with their wit, and eventually going on the road as comedians. This personal account will introduce you to the Steve Martin you've never seen before.