Description
Often celebrities write autobiographies or memoirs detailing their colorful pasts. The devoted public will learn about the star’s childhood, inspirations and influences that led to his/her fame. While these works may be skewed because of bias or faulty memories, a well-written account can provide insight into what affected the author’s success. Although there are numerous colorful accounts of performers’ lives, we will focus on five contemporary actors and comedians who have provided enjoyment in the past and recently. Using mini-lectures and seminar discussions, we will examine the following works (in order of the writers’ ages): My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir by Dick Van Dyke; Chita: A Memoir by Chita Rivera; Born Standing Up by Steve Martin’ Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond by Henry Winkler; and Bossypants by Tina Fey. (The public library has multiple copies of each, or you can purchase them from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Thriftbooks or Abebooks.com) Note: Please read My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business for the first class. No class: 5/27, 6/10, 6/24 & 7/8.
