Bücher veröffentlicht von BearManor Media

Autobiography of the KING of PORNIn the world of adult cinema, one name stands out above all others: John Holmes. For nearly 20 years, from 1967 to 1987, Holmes reigned as the undisputed king of X-rated films, having appeared in a record 2,200 plus productions, from the landmark Johnny Wadd movies (one of which became the first adult motion picture to gross over $1 million) to the legendary Insatiable with Marilyn Chambers. To a legion of fans world-wide, he was known as "Mr. Big." To industry insiders, he was "Mr. Nice Guy." Yet for all of his fame and notoriety, Holmes remained an intensely private person and a mystery man. - that is, until now. In a startlingly frank autobiography, PORN KING was written in large part prior to his death (with new material added by his widow, Laurie). Holmes tells the story of his incredible life. This is not a typical celebrity story, filled with bright lights and glamor, giant sound stages and movie moguls. It is, instead, a rare portrait of a young man drawn into an unknown Hollywood, a secret, forbidden Hollywood, and the parallels between his astounding career and the sexual revolution in American films. Holmes knew his subject better than anyone. Holmes candidly tells of a lucrative but often harrowing "other" life as a male prostitute to the rich and famous, a shattering fall into drugs and his side of the grisly Wonderland Murders and his desperate cross-country right afterwards. From start to finish, in this newly revised edition, complete with never-before-seen candid photos of Holmes in his private life, PORN KING is a sizzling, sensuous, fast-paced story laced with controversy.If ever there was an untold story, PORN KING is it.Website address: www.johnholmes.com

Walt Disney was a pioneer in the art of animation but by the mid-fifties due to the increasing costs of producing animated films, Disney began to specialize in producing live-action films. The films explored in this book include such classics as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Pollyanna, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Parent Trap, Mary Poppins and The Love Bug. But the films covered also include some wonderful, yet lesser known Disney titles such as Toby Tyler, Babes in Toyland, Miracle of the White Stallions, Savage Sam, Summer Magic, Blackbeard's Ghost-and many more. The book's main focus is on the live-action films that the studio produced from roughly 1955 thru 1980 and the people who were part of them including a solid stock company of actors who audiences identified immediately-even if they didn't always know the name of the actor. Many of those actors give their memories in this book as do several others including Fess Parker (Davy Crockett), Tommy Kirk (Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog), Ann Jillian (Babes in Toyland), Billy Mumy (Rascal), Arthur Hiller (director of Miracle of the White Stallions), Marta Kristen (Savage Sam), James Drury (Pollyanna, Ten Who Dared), Eddie Hodges (Summer Magic, The Happiest Millionaire), Peter Brown (Summer Magic, A Tiger Walks)-and many more.About the Author:Charles Tranberg has written five previous books: I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead, Not so Dumb: The Life and Career of Marie Wilson, Fred MacMurray: A biography, The Thin Man Films: Murder over Cocktails, and Robert Taylor: A Biography. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Step right up to this eye-opening account of how circuses are scouted, produced, directed and ballyhooed - and forever reinventing themselves. Covering them all, from the Kings of the sawdust rings to the bottom feeder big tops, the author's unflinching candor and rich historical grasp may change forever how you view and experience the great spangled parade!"Step right up for a visit to the American Circus! There could be no finer guide than David Lewis Hammarstrom ... His passion for sawdust and spangles bubbles from every line but - a rarity among circus writers - he's as quick to point out the rubbish and rip-offs as the wonderful" -- THE STAGE, London "Fascinating! ... Something we need in these changing times more than anything else." -- PLANET CIRCUS, Germany "Bold and ambitious ... Timely and provocative! ... It is difficult to disagree with most of his views." -- CIRCUS REPORT, USA"Once in the audience, how can viewers evaluate what they see? ... A concise guide ... Hammarstrom's memories are vivid, and his enthusiasm is infectious" -- CHOICE "I eagerly read this book - as a circus arts performer and instructor I found it entertaining, and as an academic educator I found it very useful ... strikes a fun balance between history and gossip, critical guide and personal insights into the diversity that is the world of the modern circus show." -- ELSIE SMITH ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, NEW ENGLAND CENTER FOR CIRCUS ARTS"A thought-provoking book... how circus, particularly American circus, has changed and developed over the past 50 to 60 years, this book is packed with information and opinion." -- KING POLE, UK¿Penetrating ... Informative ... Takes us out of our comfort zones.¿ ¿ THE WHITE TOPS"Roll up, while you still can, to the greatest show on earth! 'fresh, alive, magical and compelling.' Along with the author of this fine volume, I urge you to buy tickets for the world of sawdust and spangles before it's too late and circuses go the way of steam trains." -- THE DAILY MAIL, London"Pay Attention! ... A good show!... This engaging study functions as a sort of everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-circus-business-today-but-were-too-mildly-nostalgic- to-ask." -- SPECTACLE, USA

The Off-Broadway hit musical Godspell became a worldwide cultural phenomenon in 1972 when, just over a year after its award-winning emergence on stages around the world and with the Top 20 Billboard hit "Day by Day," Columbia Pictures decided to film and release it on the silver screen across the globe. In the process, it created cinematic history for its use of locations around New York City (including the then-unfinished World Trade Center) and, at the same time, accomplished the nearly-impossible by taking a small stage show¿one that had been originally created as a college thesis¿and unleashing it upon a world of moviegoers who have since continued to embrace it as one of the greatest musical hits of all time, as well as a celebrated Easter special and a score that will live forever.Film historian Andrew Martin has captured every step of the show's journey, from school play to an indelible part of modern culture, and depicts in glowing detail all the highs¿and lows¿of a production that will always live on in the hearts and minds of all who watch and enjoy. Featuring interviews with composer Stephen Schwartz, producer Edgar Lansbury, and star Victor Garber, besides all of the film's surviving co-stars and key players from the creative team, this impossible-to-put-down story of "the little show that could" is certain to bewitch the reader from the very first sentence. About the AuthorANDREW MARTIN is an award-winning writer and entertainer who, for over thirty years, has been an actor/singer/dancer on stage as well as film and television, an entertainment journalist for news in print, broadcast and Internet sources, a standup comedian and cabaret singer, and film historian. All for the Best is his first published book. He currently resides in his native New York City.

Perfect Fool: The Life and Career of Ed Wynn is the first-ever biography of the master comedian, chronicling a legendary career that spanned over half a century.It was Ed who coined this famous definition: "A comedian is not a man who says funny things; a comedian is a man who says things funny." Ed did both, first as a vaudeville and Ziegfeld Follies star,then as the "Perfect Fool" (so named from one of his many self-produced Broadway revues), as radio's "Fire Chief" on the popular Texaco-sponsored program, and as an early pioneer at the dawn of network television. He attained a level of praise and respect from his comedy peers, critics, and, of course, the public, rarely matched by any other comedian since. In his later years, he became a highly acclaimed dramatic character actor, much to the surprise and joy of all who didn't know he had it in him (including Ed himself).Yet for all his impressive achievements, this comedian/actor/director/writer has been too often overlooked in the years since his death in 1966. Perfect Fool is meant to help correct this injustice, with reviews, interviews, and never before published photos, some courtesy of grandson Tracy Keenan Wynn. This book is an appreciation of Ed Wynn's talents, foresight, and highly regarded ability to make people laugh virtually at will.About the Author:Garry Berman is an entertainment historian and freelance writer. His previous books include Best of the Britcoms, a celebration of the finest British situation comedies to appear on American television, and We're Going To See The Beatles!, an oral history of the Beatlemania era as told by the original generation of fans who lived it first-hand. Berman has also published a comic novel, Old Wave, and writes comedy scripts in between book projects. He lives in New Jersey with his wife Karen and theirtwo spoiled dogs.

Something stirs in the darkness and pads along the moonlit path...Werewolf stories have long captivated film audiences and lovers of pulp fiction.Thomas McNulty's Werewolves! explores the genesis for this cultural phenomenondating back centuries when stories of shape shifters and wolf-men werepredominant in folk tales. The book traces the origins of lycanthropy inmythology through modern times. Included are discussions of wolf mythology andthe importance of the wolf symbol around the globe. Included is an examinationof key werewolf stories and novels with an emphasis on popular fiction and pulpfiction. This is followed by a survey of the Hollywood films with chaptersdevoted to the Wolf-Man films starring Lon Chaney Jr. and the groundbreakingSpanish werewolf films of Paul Naschy. The survey of films includes titles fromHollywood's Golden Age to present times with commentary on over 70 werewolffilms. The work includes a bibliography, filmography and index. Illustrated withrare photographs.Thomas McNulty is the author of the critically acclaimed biography, Errol Flynn,and the novels Trail of the Burned Man, Wind Rider, Death Rides a Palomino, andShowdown at Snakebite Creek. His feature articles have appeared in numerousmagazines and periodicals. He lives in Crystal Lake, Illinois with his wife,Jan, and daughter, Brenna.

(This is the second, expanded edition.) Most people might, understandably, predict that the world's first porn star was a woman, but they would be wrong. John Curtis Holmes was just a simple country boy from Ohio when he moved to California in 1964. It was the infancy of hardcore, so in Holmes' wildest dreams, he could not have predicted the turbulent ride on which he had embarked by publicizing his private parts. With the fame he achieved by playing his most famous character - a gun toting detective named Johnny Wadd - came money. Holmes was pleased to spend it on his wife and mistresses, but soon was in over his head after he became addicted to cocaine. Unfortunately for Holmes, in the years that followed, his addiction led him into several desperate choices - including setting up a robbery at the home of Ed Nash, a powerful L.A. nightclub owner. The robbery resulted in one of the most gruesome, unsolved, multiple-murders in Hollywood history. Amazingly, before his untimely death in 1988, Holmes regained his momentum, remarried and rebuilt his life and career. However, the grave consequences of his addiction, his association with the Wonderland murders, and his AIDS-related death made him an infamous figure in pop culture. Digging past the stigmas, John Holmes: A Life Measured in Inches - the first biography about John C. Holmes - unearths the human being behind the penis and proves that there was more to him than could be measured in inches. This biography includes material from the authors' new interviews with: Laurie Holmes, Bill Amerson, Bob Chinn, Julia St. Vincent, Detective Tom Lange, Detective Frank Tomlinson, Paul Thomas, Ron Jeremy, Seka, Marilyn Chambers, Candida Royalle, Rhonda Jo Petty, Dr. Sharon Mitchell, Bill Margold, and many others! John Holmes: A Life Measured in Inches also includes 114 reviews of John's most notable feature films, 86 loops synopses, 3 photos sections with rare nudes, and a 21 page comprehensive filmography. "The tree of life represents the roots of man. The branches are the different directions a man can take, live or exist. When you're dead, those that you leave behind will put you in a part of that tree. It represents what was, what is and what will be. It's eternal." -- John Holmes

Arguably the most famous fighting organization of all time, the French Foreign Legion's fame is largely due to the motion pictures that used it as a subject. Well over one hundred films have been made since the first two-reelers in 1912. They have been produced in a number of countries, mostly in the United States and France, but also in Europe and as far afield as China and Turkey. The Legion itself saw action in many nations, having its origins in the imperialist nineteenth century. Beginning in Morocco and Algeria, units of the Legion later were sent to Mexico and Vietnam, then known as French Indo-China. Novels and stage plays about the Foreign Legion began to appear in the late nineteenth century, and were followed by motion pictures in the second decade of the twentieth. Eventually, many leading names of the film industry, such as Gary Cooper, Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich, would appear in Foreign Legion films in both the silent and sound eras. Cartoon characters like Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny appeared in animated films, for not even the French Foreign Legion could escape being satirized.Radio and television productions about the famed fighting force followed in due course, as did a number of documentaries. Films featuring the Spanish Foreign Legion are also included here. All media productions through 2007 are listed chronologically in their various sub-topics in this volume.

Mrs. Gari admits that some of the "scams" she revealed in the book are actually just practical jokes, but she contends that practical jokes are, in reality, nonprofit scams. All of the stories are true, preposterous as they might seem.It's interesting that many of the incidents mirror the old movies of her father, Eddie Cantor, where, in the end, the weak underdog always outwitted the culprit.

This is Volume 3 of a 3 Volume set. Rediscover radio as it was broadcast during the Golden Age. From shows fondly remembered to those long forgotten, this was the experience of days spent listening to the radio during the early part of the past century.This three-volume set, researched and compiled by author Keith D. Lee, features published radio listings from New York City from 1929 through 1954, forthe four major networks and their local New York affiliates.

This is Volume 2 of a 3 Volume set.Rediscover radio as it was broadcast during the Golden Age. From shows fondly remembered to those long forgotten, this was the experience of days spent listening to the radio during the early part of the past century.This three-volume set, researched and compiled by author Keith D. Lee, features published radio listings from New York City from 1929 through 1954, forthe four major networks and their local New York affiliates.

This is Volume 1 of 3 volumes. Rediscover radio as it was broadcast during the Golden Age. From shows fondly remembered to those long forgotten, this was the experience of days spent listening to the radio during the early part of the past century.This three-volume set, researched and compiled by author Keith D. Lee, features published radio listings from New York City from 1929 through 1954, forthe four major networks and their local New York affiliates."

Never heard of him? Not surprising, as Ben Pivar was one of the faceless craftsmen who inhabited the sizable world of Hollywood's cinematic underbelly, the B film. But while often disparaged and mocked for their low-budget look, breakneck storytelling, and low wattage casts, B films occupied the second half of most theaters' bill during the thirties and forties-something most patrons expected to fill out their evening's entertainment. And Ben Pivar was responsible for a staggering number of them.Stop Yellin' chronicles Pivar's life, both the highs and lows, concentrating on his most productive years while at Universal Studios. From his late-1920s start as a film cutter at Universal, Pivar advanced into film production in the 1930s at Columbia, Grand National, and Republic, before settling in at Universal as associate producer in 1938. For the next eight years, Pivar would master his craft and churn out a lot of slick, thoroughly enjoyable films; his eventual promotion to one of the studio's coveted executive producer positions placed him at the top of the B unit hierarchy. It's his horror films that have stood the test of time, the films that Pivar is remembered for today: The Mummy's Hand and its three sequels; the Inner Sanctum series featuring Lon Chaney, Jr.; The Mad Ghoul; Horror Island; and She-Wolf of London. There were Pivar's own personal creations as well: Captive Wild Woman and its two sequels; and the Rondo Hatton "Creeper" series, House of Horrors (the source of the oft-quoted "Stop Yellin'" line) and The Brute Man.

Forget Dancing with the Stars. Walk all over them, instead... you'll never get voted off!Get to know these talented Walk of Stars celebrities who have contributed so much to the magic and allure of the entertainment world. What better way to honor those who helped created Camelot in Hollywood and Palm Springs?Marilyn Mitchell is a columnist for Desert Entertainer magazine, a musician's booking agent, and editor of her late husband's book, Star Walk. She was formerly a Hollywood writer's agent and producer of a celebrity-drive talk radio show. President of the Palm Springs Women's Press Clube, she is also a member of Women in Film and Media Mavens.

From 1955 to 1957, Science Fiction Theatre, a semi-documentary series, explored the "what ifs" of modern science. Placing an emphasis on science before fiction, television viewers were treated to a variety of complex challenges from mental telepathy, robots, man-eating ants, killer trees, man's first flight into outer space and the possibility of visitation from outer space. Hosted by Truman Bradley, a former radio news commentator, Science Fiction Theatre became an influential program for the time, courtesy of Ivan Tors, a man with a healthy regard for science and nature. Hollywood actors Gene Barry, Ruth Hussey, Gene Lockhart, Basil Rathbone, Howard Duff, William Lundigan and Vincent Price are but a few who lent their talents.For the first time ever, this 530-page book documents the entire history of the television program with biographies about Fred Ziv, Ivan Tors and Truman Bradley; behind-the-scenes production details; over 150 exclusive never-before-published photographs; and an episode guide for all 78 episodes including dates of production, fake science props, cast list, salary fees, location shooting, and much more!

"Everything that made us laugh when we were fourteen, and everything that makes us laugh today."- Joe Bob Briggs "Remember the good old days when cartoons used to be funny? Kit is proof that the good old days are still here. A Sherman Tank of humor."-Shannon Wheeler, New Yorker cartoonist, creator of Too Much Coffee Man "Kit Lively's cartoons have been determined to cause brain damage in lab rats. I can think of no higher praise." -Scott Nickel, MAD magazine cartoonist "There are gags here that genuinely make me laugh out loud... but then comes the guilt." -Noel Anderson, Hustler cartoonist and morning radio show personality "Without doubt, the best gag-writer in the business today!"- Diego Jourdan, comic book artist Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "No holds barred, raunch-out humor is best served cold, and Kit brings it on at dry ice temperature. Extremely funny." - Bob Shreiber, The Joe Bob Report "Dark, twisted and very funny. Kit's cartoons make me laugh out loud and feel uncomfortable at the same time."- Dale Ashmun, Psychtronic Video "Kit's humor is insane! My hat is off to him." - Jay Lynch, The Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages "Hip, twisted and laugh out loud funny!" - Bruce David, editor Hustler magazine Kit is one of MAD magazine's Usual Gang of Idiots, and contributes (along with strip creator Scott Nickel) the regular comic strip feature The Dork Side to MAD. His cartoons have also been published by National Lampoon, Joe Bob Briggs, Medical Economics, Troma Entertainment, Hustler, SmartAlex Greetings and many other even less reputable places. He lives in Dallas, TX with his wife Julie and their two slightly smelly dogs.

Not long after the end of World War II, television began to comeinto its own as an important household entertainment and informationalmedium. In the 1950s, New York expanded as the major broadcast hubfor a wide spectrum of programs: dramatic anthologies, soap operas, quizshows, sporting events, variety shows, newscasts, and "spectaculars" ofevery sort. And to maintain these extensive weekly schedules, more andmore actors, emcees, musicians, news journalists and sportscasters turnedto the far-reaching and influential new medium.Westport and Weston, Connecticut contributed a fair number of on-camerapioneers to the new medium, having already had the well-deservedreputation as home to artists and entertainers. A number of writers andproducers also chose Westport as the setting for their sitcoms. Thesevideo pioneers, Westport and Weston TV Neighbors, helped to establishthe fledgling medium.This book grew out of an exhibit, Westport and Weston TV Neighbors, atthe Westport, Connecticut, Historical Society. It inaugurated the Society's newBetty and Ralph Sheffer Exhibition Hall in 2003.

Stephen King is one of the finest and most successful novelists in the history of American literature. Here, for the first time, is a one-of-a-kind collection of quotations by King on subjects as varied as writing, Hollywood, God and religion, his work, popular culture, critics, success, money, the supernatural, censorship, and Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of The Shining. These bon mots were culled from hundreds of print and television interviews, as well as essays and assorted works of nonfiction. Edited by Andrew J. Rausch, The Wit and Wisdom of Stephen King contains an entertaining selection of observations both comic and profound.

When NBC- TV abruptly pulled The Robert Taylor Show from its fall primetime schedule in the middle of July 1963, Jeffrey Hunter's Temple Houston western series was rushed into production and into the spotlight. The cast and crew had just a few chaotic weeks to get their one-hour weekly dramatic series underway.Packed with newly published photographs, production information from the Warner Brothers Archives, and new interviews, this is the never before told full story of Jeffrey Hunter and Temple Houston. Included are biographies of Hunter and co-star Jack Elam, as well as the previously untold history behind Robert Taylor's lost television series.Jeffrey Hunter and Temple Houston is a lively and entertaining look at a fascinating piece of television history.