The first-ever biography of the legendary comic and the most improbable rise to fame in the history of American comedy. Getting there wasn’t always a laughing matter.Rodney Dangerfield’s fidgety delivery, self-deprecating humor, and catchphrase “I don’t get no respect” made him a comedy icon in nightclubs, on television, and in movies. But Rodney’s long road to stardom was as rocky as his real life. Born Jacob Cohen in 1921 to a coldhearted mother and absentee fath...

An entertaining, hilarious, biting biography of “Mr. Warmth,” the infamously prickly comic who dominated Hollywood and Las Vegas for decades, making an artform out of heckling his friends, family and especially his audiences—and they couldn’t get enough of it.Having ridden a wave of success that lasted more than sixty years, Don Rickles is best known as the “insult” comic who skewered presidents, royalty, celebrities, and friends and fans alike. But there ...

Ringo: With a Little Help is the first in-depth biography of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who kept the beat for an entire generation and who remains a rock icon over fifty years since the Beatles took the world by storm. With a Little Help traces the entire arc of Ringo's remarkable life and career, from his sickly childhood to his life as The World's Most Famous drummer to his triumphs, addictions, and emotional battles following the breakup of the Beatles as he comes to...

Long live the King of Deadpan! The first-ever biography of one of the most influential comedians in show business whose extraordinary, nearly 65-year run made him an American treasure.Why did Chicago-born accountant George Robert Newhart go into comedy? In his own words, it was because he “wasn’t a very good accountant.” A wise move. In 1961, his album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, recorded the year before at his debut stand-up gig in a small club i...

Two 8-page photo inserts

In the early months of 1966, a handsome, hardworking thirty-five-year-old Canadian-born actor named William Shatner was cast as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, a troubled, low-budget science-fiction television series set to premiere that fall on NBC. Star Trek struggled for viewers and lasted only three seasons, but it found a huge, rabidly dedicated audience when it premiered in syndication following its cancellation—turning Shatner into a pop-culture icon and launching him on a career path he...

Riding a wave of success that lasted more than sixty years, Don Rickles is best known as the "insult" comic who skewered presidents, royalty, celebrities, and friends and fans alike. But there was more to "Mr. Warmth" than a devilish ear-to-ear grin and lightning-fast put-downs. Rickles was a loving husband, an adoring father who suffered a devastating loss, and a loyal friend to the likes of Bob Newhart and Frank Sinatra. Sex, race, religion, nationality, physical appearance, political le...

Rodney Dangerfield's fidgety delivery, self-deprecating humor, and catchphrase, "I don't get no respect," made him a comedy icon in nightclubs, on television, and in movies. But Rodney's long road to stardom was as rocky as his real life. That's when he decided to give comedy one last shot . . .Back in the clubs and thanks to a fortuitous prime-time set on The Ed Sullivan Show, at the age of forty-five, the newly christened Rodney Dangerfield was an "overnight" success. It...

Ringo: With a Little Help is the first in-depth biography of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who kept the beat for an entire generation and who remains a rock icon since the Beatles took the world by storm over fifty years ago. This book traces the entire arc of Ringo's remarkable life and career, from his sickly childhood to his life as the world's most famous drummer to his triumphs, addictions, and emotional battles following the breakup of the Beatles. Born in 1940 as Richard Sta...

Why did Chicago-born accountant George Robert Newhart go into comedy? In his own words, it was because he "wasn't a very good accountant." A wise move. In 1961, his album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, recorded the year before at his debut stand-up gig in a small club in Houston, won two Grammy Awards, was a multimillion-copy bestseller, reached number one on the Billboard charts, saved Warner Bros. Records from extinction, and introduced America to the self-effacin...

Bloomsbury presents Shatner by Michael Seth Starr, read by Curt Bonnem.In the early months of 1966, a handsome, hardworking thirty-five-year-old Canadian-born actor named William Shatner was cast as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, a troubled, low-budget science-fiction television series set to premiere that fall on NBC. Star Trek struggled for viewers and lasted only three seasons, but it found a huge, rabidly dedicated audience when it premiered in syndication following its ca...

Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul documents the beloved singing star’s rocky personal life and internationally acclaimed show business career. An in-depth and frank examination of Aretha, this definitive biography traces her career from her beginnings as a twelve-year-old member of a church choir in the early 1950s, recording her first album at the age of fourteen, a major recording contract at eighteen, and stardom in her twenties, right up through her headline-grabbing 2010 hea...