Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 792.7028092
EAN num: 9780195057256
ISBN number: 0195057252
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: April 23, 1992
Publishing house: Oxford University Press, USA
Sale Popularity Level: 961568
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
'I've done everything in the theatre except marry a property man,' Fanny Brice once boasted. 'I've acted for Belasco and I've laid 'em out in the rows at the Palace. I've doubled as an alligator; I've worked for the Shuberts; and I've been joined to Billy Rose in the holy bonds. I've painted the house boards and I've sold tickets and I've been fired by George M. Cohan. I've played in London before the king and in Oil City before miners with lanterns in their caps.' Fanny Brice was indeed show business personified, and in this luminous volume, Herbert G. Goldman, acclaimed biographer of Al Jolson, illuminates the life of the woman who inspired the spectacularly successful Broadway show and movie Funny Girl, the vehicle that catapulted Barbra Streisand to super stardom.
In a work that is both glorious biography and captivating theatre history, Goldman illuminates both Fanny's remarkable career on stage and radio--ranging from her very first triumph as 'Sadie Salome' to her long run as radio's 'Baby Snooks'--and her less-than-triumphant personal life. He reveals a woman who was a curious mix of elegance and earthiness, of high and low class, a lady who lived like a duchess but cursed like a sailor. She was probably the greatest comedienne the American stage has ever known as well as our very first truly great torch singer, the star of some of the most memorable Ziegfeld Follies in the 1910s and 1920s, and Goldman covers her theatrical career and theatre world in vivid detail. But her personal life, as Goldman shows, was less successful. The great love of her life, the gangster Nick Arnstein, was dashing, handsome, sophisticated, but at bottom, a loser who failed at everything from running a shirt hospital to manufacturing fire extinguishers, and who spent a good part of their marriage either hiding out, awaiting trial, or in prison. Her very first marriage was over almost as soon as it was consummated, and her third and last marriage, to Billy Rose, the 'Bantam Barnum,' ended acrimoniously when Rose left her for swimmer Eleanor Holm. As she herself remarked, 'I never liked the men I loved, and I never loved the men I liked.' Through it all, she remained unaffected, intelligent, independent, and, above all, honest.
Goldman's biography of Al Jolson has been hailed by critics, fellow biographers, and entertainers alike. Steve Allen called it 'an amazing job of research' and added 'Goldman's book brings Jolson back to life indeed.' The Philadelphia Inquirer said it was 'the most comprehensive biography to date,' and Ronald J. Fields wrote that 'Goldman has captured not only the wonderful feel of Al Jolson but the heartbeat of his time.' Now, with Fanny Brice, Goldman provides an equally accomplished portrait of the greatest woman entertainer of that illustrious era, a volume that will delight every lover of the stage.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
This is a great biography of a great entertainer. Many beautiful photos of this dear, wonderful performer and
this author does a fine job of telling Fanny Brice's
story! After seeing the two Streisand movies, this book
does an excellent job in providing an unvarnished version.
Entertaining and enlightening. I highly recommend it!
Rated by buyers -
I had the pleasure of reading FANNY BRICE by Herbert Goldman when it very first came out in 1992. I am sorry that it is now out of print, as it is one of the most detailed writings on a stage/vaudeville star I have ever encountered. From her early struggles, to the height of her stardom, to her untimely death, this grand lady lead a memorable life that few can ever hope for. This lady conquered every medium she went out for. It should be read by young people aspiring to the arts to show them just how real troupers their ancestors really were......Mr Goldman also wrote the definitive book on another great, Al Jolson..I am looking forward to the one that he is writing now on Eddie Cantor. What a perfect trilogy on old Broadway......Kudos to you Mr Goldman...
Find other books like this one:
