Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in Entertainment & Celebrities

As lead singer and songwriter for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis has lived life on the razor's edge. Much has been written about him, but until now we've only had his songs as clues to his experience from the inside. In Scar Tissue, Kiedis proves himself to be as compelling a memoirist as he is a lyricist, giving us a searingly honest account of the life from which his music has evolved.

Exploding on the music scene in the early 1970s, the rock group KISS combined raw energy with theatrical showmanship—not to mention face painting! Founding member Gene Simmons—an outrageous star whose superlong tongue, legendary sexual exploits, and demonic makeup have made him a rock icon—recounts his own story as well as the history of the band. In KISS and Make-Up, Simmons shares a wild, shocking, and unbelievable tale about an immigrant boy from Israel who studied to be a rabbi but was saved by rock and roll and became one of the most notorious rock stars in the world.

Jackie Chan has never told his own story in his own words. In I Am Jackie Chan, he tells the fascinating, harrowing, ultimately triumphant story of his life: How the son of refugees in 1950s Hong Kong became the disciplined disciple of a Chinese Opera Master. How, after years of plunging off skyscrapers and living to tell the tale, a once scared seven-year-old boy broke into the Hollywood big time by breaking almost every bone in his body.

For more than twenty years, Kelsey Grammer played the brilliant but fussy psychiatrist Frasier Crane, first on Cheers, then on the wildly successful spinoff, Frasier. During those two decades, Grammer received 17 Emmy nominations, winning four as the psychiatrist-turned-radio host and another one for providing the voice of Sideshow Bob on yet another television classic, The Simpsons.

Funny, cynical, and earthy, Bound for Glory is the stirring account of Guthrie's life and a superb portrait of America's Depression years. This Grammy-nominated recording is performed by his son, Arlo Guthrie, who—like his father—is known for engaging storytelling and performing songs of protest against social injustice.

Their love was both passionate and full of hope, yet ultimately hopeless. This is the true story of the love between a man and a woman — a romance doomed from the start — besieged by media and public opinion on the world stage. The woman was Diana, the Princess of Wales; the man was Captain James Hewitt. Their love affair lasted for nearly five years and is a story of support, encouragement, and love — but alas, one that didn' t result in a fairy tale ending.

In the world of opera, no figure in modern times loomed larger than the late Luciano Pavarotti, especially in his triumphant collaborations with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras as the Three Tenors. Pavarotti captured the imagination of audiences around the world. In this memoir, the Grammy-award winning legend shares both the fortunate and the regrettable events that marked his life, including his forays into popular music, his performances in China, and the boos he endured at La Scala.

Once a superstar in the world of cycling and one of its most interesting personalities, Lance Armstrong is known for pushing his body to the extreme, intimidating his rivals, and breaking the rules. Armstrong's many achievements were consistently dogged by allegations of doping and secrecy, allegations to which the cyclist ultimately acknowledged. Lance takes a long, hard, objective look at Armstrong's life—before his admission of guilt—both on and off the bike, beginning with his humble origins and his single mom's struggle for survival.

This is the only authorized biography of the charismatic superstar, as told by his daughter, Nancy Sinatra. With unabashed love and surprising candor, this memoir captures the understanding and depth of feeling that could only come from someone so closely linked to Frank. Accounts of her father's rise to fame as a hit singer, movie star, and international celebrity are as detailed as the stories of scandalous divorces, Frank Jr.' s kidnapping, the false rumors of Mafia connections, and more.

Before she became a teenager, Elizabeth Taylor was already a star, appearing in such films as Lassie Come Home and National Velvet. One of the few child actors to transition to a successful film career as an adult, Taylor starred in such classics as Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In addition to receiving two Academy Awards, Taylor led a tumultuous personal life that kept her in the headlines for decades.

The American guy is not to be confused with a husband, father, hunk, or intellectual, says guy expert Dave Barry. Published just in time (the American guy faces extinction due to feminism, the men's movement, and stricter sanitation laws), this guide gives women helpful advice for understanding Him (or It) and offers men useful tips on remembering the names of their children and other dilemmas of life.

Tupperware ladies, eighties people, and leisure concept salesmen beware: Dave Barry is on the loose and no one is safe! In this collection of eighty essays, the inimitable columnist observes everything that makes America the unique, special place you've grown to love: taxes, toilets, airbags, baseball, beer commercials, and numerous other American artifacts.

This laugh-out-loud memoir takes listeners backstage and inside the writers' room of one of America's best-loved shows. With more than 17 million viewers and more than seventy Emmy nominations — including two wins for best comedy — Everybody Loves Raymond reigned supreme in television comedy for almost a decade. Phil Rosenthal was there at the beginning. United by a shared lifetime of family dysfunction, he and Ray Romano found endless material to keep the show fresh and funny for its entire run.

A funny and touching memoir by the queen of comedy! For decades, Joan Rivers was known as America's top female comedian...her brash unsparing style and truly tenacious spirit inspired both her fellow comedians and millions of fans. In Enter Talking, Rivers recounts her road to success and stardom from the inside out—detailing her anguish, her anger, her insight, and her inspiration. Hear the comedian's rags-to-riches struggle to the top—in her own voice—and learn how her breakthrough act not only changed her world but also changed the world of stand-up comedy.

Debbie: My Life is a heartfelt, feel-good autobiography that chronicles the rags-to-riches-to-rags story of the indomitable Debbie Reynolds. The much-beloved actress first grabbed America's heart when, as a poor 16-year-old, she entered and won the Miss Burbank contest. Ms. Reynolds went on to embody fresh-faced American grace and gumption in such classic films as Singing' in the Rain, How the West Was Won, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Sex scandals have rocked Hollywood since the industry began, but Once More With Feeling: You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again, Again is a brand new collection of stories that this town will never recover from - again.

Without bothering to get approval from the President, the State Department, or even the FTC, Dave Barry's publishers sent him to Tokyo. You'd think they would have known better. Now the word is Barry has set back our diplomatic relations with the whole Pacific Rim by a couple of decades. Japanese culture, dining, sport, and industry all come under Barry's relentless scrutiny.

Aiming to cash in on the success of The Beatles, American television producers created a television show that featured a quartet of fun-loving musicians, achieving instant success with The Monkees. Davy Jones, a young, aspiring actor was cast in the series. In this lively and entertaining memoir, Jones recounts his life and career—from The Monkees' beginnings to the 1980s reunion and revival—with funny, nostalgic, and revealing memories of the glamorous people and high-rolling deals that lie behind the scenes of show business.

One of the most popular and best-known Playboy pin-ups ever, Shannon Tweed burst on the scene in the 1980s as Playmate of the Year and Hugh Hefner's love interest. She soon became a successful actress, appearing in countless movies and television series. She met Gene Simmons at a party at the Playboy Mansion, and they lived happily ever after with their two children.

Howard Hughes (1905-1976) was a true American original: legendary lover, record-setting aviator, idiosyncratic film producer, talented inventor, ultimate eccentric—and, for much of his lifetime, the richest man in the United States. His desire for privacy was so fierce and his isolation so complete that even several decades after his death, inaccurate stories continue to circulate about him. Richard Hack explodes the illusion of Hughes' life and exposes the man behind the myth.