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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | 921 REYNOLDS | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | 921 REYNOLDS | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The beloved Hollywood star and New York Times bestselling author of Unsinkable continues her intimate chat with fans in this entertaining collection of anecdotes, stories, jokes, and random musings from a woman who has seen it all--and done most of it.
From her acclaimed performances to her headline-making divorce from Eddie Fisher, raising a famous daughter to hitting the road with a successful one-woman show, Debbie Reynolds was in the spotlight for decades. Over her more than six-decade-long career she met presidents, performed for the Queen of England, and partied with kings.
In this fabulous personal tour, she recalls wonderful moments with the greats of the entertainment world--Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Phyllis Diller, and many, many more--sharing stories that shed new light on her life and career and the glittering world of Hollywood then and now. Debbie has plenty to tell--and in Make 'Em Laugh, she dishes it in the warm, down-to-earth voice her fans adore.
Debbie shares memories of late night pals and some of the greatest comedians of all time, stories from the big screen and small, and tales of marriage, motherhood, and children. Combining her wicked sense of humor and appealing charm, she reveals the personal side of show business and fame in funny, poignant, and delightful reminiscences. Nothing is off limits: Debbie talks about her sex life, her family drama--and even shares a few secret recipes.
A true Hollywood icon, beloved by millions of fans around the world, Debbie Reynolds died on December 28, 2016, at the age of 84, just one day after the death of her daughter, actress and author Carrie Fisher.
Author Notes
Debbie Reynolds was born Mary Frances Reynolds on April 1, 1932 in El Paso, Texas. In 1948, she was named Miss Burbank. Two of the judges were movie-studio scouts, and she was soon under contract to Warner Bros., which changed her name. She appeared in The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady, Three Little Words, and Two Weeks with Love. The song Aba Daba Honeymoon, which she sang in the film became a hit song. She later starred in numerous movies including Singin' in the Rain, Bundle of Joy, Tammy and The Bachelor, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Singing Nun, Divorce American Style, and How the West Was Won. In 1957, her recording of the song Tammy from Tammy and the Bachelor earned a gold record.
She was the voice of Charlotte in the animated film version of E. B. White's children's classic Charlotte's Web. She made her Broadway debut in 1973 in a revival of Irene. She also appeared on Broadway in Debbie and Woman of the Year. She later toured the country with stage shows including Annie Get Your Gun and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. She appeared in Las Vegas for several years. She later appeared in the movie In and Out, the television show Will and Grace, and the HBO movie Behind the Candelabra. She wrote several books including Debbie: My Life and Unsinkable: A Memoir. She died following a stroke on December 27, 2016 at the age of 84.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
A frothy collection of stories and gossip from the comedic actress. Reynolds (Unsinkable, 2013, etc.), aided by co-author Hannaway, former late-night programming director for CBS, looks back happily at her 65-year career on stage, screen, and TV. Calling herself "a vaudevillian, a baggy-pants comedian," she confesses she'll "do anything to get a laugh": pretending to ravish TV host Jack Paar under his desk ("Debbie Goes Wild!" exclaimed the next day's headlines); tackling Regis Philbin ("a cute young thingsmall and wiry and fit"); dancing so energetically with Johnny Carson that he ended up sweating and winded. Although she regrets not having had "more sex" and confesses to a "lack of passion" that "probably cost me dearly in my marriages," Reynolds delights in revealing some of her aristocratic admirers. Newly divorced from Eddie Fisher, she caught the eye of 28-year-old King Baudouin of Belgium, whom she spirited away to a day at the beach; in London for a celebration of Bob Hope's 82nd birthday, Prince Philip progressed from holding her hand to caressing her backside; and the shah of Iran, whose wife invited her to perform at their palace, was so enchanted that he wouldn't let her stop singing. At a post-performance dinner, "I kept looking around, hoping for some rich, single prince to take an interest in me," Reynolds writes. Instead, she received a gift from the shah of a handmade Persian rug. The bubbly Reynolds has a kind word for almost everyone: Howard Hughes, "the most polite, southern Texas kind of gentleman"; Elizabeth Taylor, with whom Reynolds had "a very unusual friendship"; her personal assistant, who had been one of her most ardent fans; and her many hairdressers. Only the "obnoxious" Milton Berle and the "pain in the ass" Shelley Winters merit her scorn. The rest is pure frosting. Names drop like snowflakes, glistening in the sunny terrain of this exuberant memoir. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This follow-up to Reynolds' Unsinkable (2013), also cowritten by Hannaway, offers an engaging collection of memories: posing for her first magazine cover in 1948; surfing in shark-infested waters, 1952; taking a Girl Scout troop trick-or-treating at celebrities' homes in the 1960s; receiving the Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild; and so on. Most of the stories concern people Reynolds has known in her long career, a list so lengthy that just the Bs are an impressive lot: Berle, Ball, Benny, Burns & Allen. Reynolds, who refers to herself as a comic (hence the book's title), has done some outstanding film work with Singin' in the Rain at the forefront but what's most impressive here is her (almost always) upbeat outlook and her fond regard for the deep friendships she has forged throughout her life. This isn't exactly a showbiz memoir; it's more of a memory book by a woman who has lived a rich life that happened to involve Hollywood.--Pitt, David Copyright 2015 Booklist
Table of Contents
| Foreward | p. xi |
| Preface | p. xiii |
| 1 A Great Honor | p. 1 |
| 2 The Cinderella Story of the Texas Tomboy | p. 15 |
| 3 Early Days | p. 21 |
| 4 It's the pictures That Got Smaller | p. 61 |
| 5 A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Woids | p. 83 |
| 6 The Royal Treatment | p. 109 |
| 7 Friends Without Benefits | p. 125 |
| 8 You Got to Have Friends | p. 135 |
| 9 Family Matters | p. 221 |
| 10 Happy Mother's Day 2015 | p. 245 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 251 |
| Index | p. 255 |
