The life and work of American director John G. Avildsen is thoroughly examined in this detailed filmography and critical study. Each of the most significant films made by the Oscar-winning Avildsen is given a separate chapter, including such critical successes as Joe and Save the Tiger, and box-office blockbusters Rocky and its sequels and the Karate Kid series. The authors' observations on these and other titles--some well known, others less familiar--a...

"Funny [and] fascinating . . . If you're a comedy nerd you'll love this book." — Pittsburgh Post-GazetteNamed a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, National Post, and SplitsiderBased on over two hundred original interviews and extensive archival research, this groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past one hundred years.Starting...

The definitive biography of a man with one of the most iconic and fascinating careers—and lives—in Hollywood.For six decades, Jack Nicholson has been part of film history. With three Oscar wins and twelve nominations to his credit and legendary roles in films like Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Terms of Endearment, The Shining, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Nicholson created original, memorable characters like no other actor of his generatio...

AMERICA’S #1 BESTSELLING TELEVISION BOOK WITH MORE THAN HALF A MILLION COPIES IN PRINT–NOW REVISED AND UPDATED!PROGRAMS FROM ALL SEVEN COMMERCIAL BROADCAST NETWORKS, MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED CABLE NETWORKS, PLUS ALL MAJOR SYNDICATED SHOWS!This is the must-have book for TV viewers in the new millennium–the entire history of primetime programs in one convenient volume. It’s a guide you’ll turn to again and again for information on every series ever telecast. There are ent...

**“To call Sue Mengers a ‘character’ is an understatement, unless the word is written in all-caps, followed by an exclamation point and modified by an expletive. And based on Brian Kellow’s assessment in his thoroughly researched Can I Go Now? even that description may be playing down her personality a bit.” —Jen Chaney, The Washington Post• A NY Times Culture Bestseller • An Entertainment Weekly Best Pop Culture Book of 2015*•*...

Movies made for television were in their infancy when ABC came up with a novel idea: a weekly series of films made exclusively for the small screen. The ABC Movie of the Week became a great success and a cultural touchstone for a generation of Americans.In this loving tribute to the classic series of TV films, more than two hundred films in the series are reviewed, including well-remembered titles such as Duel, Tribes, The Six Million Dollar Man, Go Ask Alice, Brian's ...

Some sample anecdotes; 1) When his two sons were attending UCLA, comedian Joe E. Brown was invited to join his sons' fraternity—provided that he become an undergraduate. Mr. Brown paid the tuition and even attended a physics class, where he challenged the professor's statements and even asserted that Albert Einstein had called him for advice. (This was a somewhat true statement, but of course Mr. Einstein hadn't called Mr. Brown for advice about physics.) After the class was over, the prof...

Television today is better than ever. From The Sopranos to Breaking Bad, Sex and the City to Girls, and Modern Family to Louie, never has so much quality programming dominated our screens. Exploring how we got here, acclaimed TV critic David Bianculli traces the evolution of the classic TV genres, among them the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the Western, the animated series, the medical drama, and the variety s...

Into The Twilight Zone: The Rod Serling Programme Guide includes complete episode guides with cast, credits and story summaries of the original Twilight Zone series, as well as its many film and television revivals, and Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The book features an overview and filmography of Serling's life and career, and interviews with many of his colleagues, including Buck Houghton, Richard Matheson, Frank Marshall, Joe Dante, Phil DeGuere, Wes Craven, Al...

If you're a movie or television fan - how many of these questions can you answer?What was the last picture show in The Last Picture Show?Where was the stagecoach headed in Stagecoach?What was the name of the dinosaur bone in Bringing Up Baby?What did Gomer Pyle do before he entered the Marines?Who played Gentle Ben?Like The Book of Answers, this book answers hundreds of questions i...

Now long out of print, John Dunning's Tune in Yesterday was the definitive one-volume reference on old-time radio broadcasting. Now, in On the Air, Dunning has completely rethought this classic work, reorganizing the material and doubling its coverage, to provide a richer and more informative account of radio's golden age. Here are some 1,500 radio shows presented in alphabetical order. The great programs of the '30s, '40s, and '50s are all here--Amos 'n' Andy, Fibber...

In the scores of posthumous tributes paid to Frank Sinatra after his death in 1998, most focused on his extraordinary reign as "The Voice" of twentieth-century pop music.But Sinatra was much more than a music icon. He was also one of the most popular movie stars of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s -- an Academy-Award winning actor with some sixty film credits to his name. He starred in some of the most iconic films of the twentieth century and with some of the biggest names of the day. Th...