The Entertainment & Celebrities category has 1,571 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 47,373 ratings. The most-rated is Born a Crime.
This Is Gonna Hurt
Summary
This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx is all Nikki Sixx. It is a collection of compelling photography and stories that capture the rage, love, optimism, darkness, and determination that shape his work. It chronicles Sixx's experiences - from his early years filled with toxic waste, to his success with Motley Crue, to his death from an OD, and his eventual rebirth through music, photography, and love. Love story, bad-ass rock tell-all, social commentary, family memoir, This Is Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to survive, connect, and find a happy ending - a search that fuels Sixx's being. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2011 Nikki Sixx (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers
What's So Funny?
Summary
Six-time Emmy Award-winning funnyman Tim Conway, best known for his characters on The Carol Burnett Show, offers a straight-shooting and hilarious memoir about his life on stage and off as an actor and comedian. In television history, few entertainers have captured as many hearts and made as many people laugh as Tim Conway.
There's nothing in the world that Tim Conway would rather do than entertain - and in his first-ever memoir, What's So Funny?, that's exactly what he does. From his pranks in small Ohio classrooms to his performances on national television and movies, Tim has been cracking people up for more than seventy years. Long regarded as one of the funniest comedians around, Tim also boasts an inspiring rags-to-riches story.
What's So Funny? captures Tim's journey from life as an only child raised by loving but outrageous parents in small-town Ohio during the Great Depression, to his tour of duty in the Army - which would become training for his later role in McHale's Navy - to his ascent as a national star and household name. By tracing his early path, this audiobook reveals the origins of many of Tim's unforgettable characters - from Mr. Tudball and the Oldest Man to Mickey Hart to everyone's favorite, Dorf.
What's So Funny? shares the hilarious accounts of the glory days of The Carol Burnett Show and his famous partnerships with entertainment greats like Harvey Korman, Don Knotts, Dick Van Dyke, Betty White, Vicki Lawrence, Bob Newhart, and of course, Carol Burnett. As a bonus, listeners will enjoy never-before-shared stories of hilarious behind-the-scenes antics on McHale's Navy and The Carol Burnett Show.
©2013 Tim Conway (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
Wild and Crazy Guys
Summary
The behind-the-scenes story of the iconic funnymen who ruled '80s Hollywood - Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Eddie Murphy - and the beloved films that made them stars, including Animal House, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NEW YORK
“An enjoyable romp that vividly captures the manic ups and downs of the remarkable group of funny folk who gave us a golden age of small and big screen comedy, from SNL to Groundhog Day.” (Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls)
Wild and Crazy Guys opens in 1978 with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray taking bad-tempered swings at each other backstage at Saturday Night Live, and closes 21 years later with the two doing a skit in the same venue, poking fun at each other, their illustrious careers, triumphs and prat falls. In between, Nick de Semlyen takes us on a trip through the tumultuous '80s, delving behind the scenes of movies such as National Lampoon's Vacation, Beverly Hills Cop, The Blues Brothers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and dozens more. Chronicling the off-screen, larger-than-life antics of Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, John Belushi, John Candy, and Rick Moranis, it's got drugs, sex, punch-ups, webbed toes, and Bill Murray being pushed into a swimming pool by Hunter S. Thompson while tied to a lawn chair. What's not to like?
Based on candid interviews from many of the stars themselves, as well as those in their immediate orbit, including directors John Landis, Carl Reiner, and Amy Heckerling, Wild and Crazy Guys is a fantastic insider account of the friendships, feuds, triumphs, and disasters experienced by these beloved comedians. Hilarious and revealing, it is both a hidden history of the most fertile period ever for screen comedy and a celebration of some of the most popular films of all time.
Praise for Wild and Crazy Guys
“Eminently readable . . . Children of the 1980s, take note: this is a fond, engrossing look back at the making of movies that became cultural touchstones.” (Booklist, starred review)
“Nick de Semlyen smartly charts the pinballing career paths of the stars of this new comic wave. . . . His punchy, nonstop narrative . . . tells a [story] where art and commerce smash hard against each other, sometimes causing destruction, but sometimes making sparks fly.” (The Sunday Times (UK))
©2019 Nick de Semlyen (P)2019 Random House Audio
My Infamous Life
Summary
From one of the greatest rappers of all time, the memoir of a life cut short, a revealing look at the dark side of hip hop’s Golden Era.... In this often violent but always introspective memoir, Mobb Deep’s Prodigy tells his much anticipated story of struggle, survival, and hope down the mean streets of New York City. For the first time, he gives an intimate look at his family background, his battles with drugs, his life of crime, his relentless suffering with sickle-cell anemia, and much more. Recently released after serving three and a half years in state prison due to what many consider an unlawful arrest by a rumored secret NYPD hip hop task force, Prodigy is ready to talk about his life as one of rap’s greatest legends. My Infamous Life is an unblinking account of Prodigy’s wild times with Mobb Deep, who, alongside rappers like Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, and Wu-Tang Clan, changed the musical landscape with their vivid portrayals of early ’90s street life. It is a firsthand chronicle of legendary rap feuds like the East Coast-West Coast rivalry; Prodigy’s beefs with Jay-Z, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Ja Rule, and Capone-N-Noreaga; and run-ins with prodigal hit makers and managers like Puff Daddy, Russell Simmons, Chris Lighty, Irv Gotti, and Lyor Cohen. Taking the listener behind the smoke-and-mirrors glamour of the hip hop world, so often seen as the only way out for those with few options, Prodigy lays down the truth about the intoxicating power of money, the meaning of true friendship and loyalty, and the ultimately redemptive power of self. This is the heartbreaking journey of a child born in privilege, his youth spent among music royalty like Diana Ross and Dizzy Gillespie, educated in private schools, until a family tragedy changed everything. Raised in the mayhem of the Queensbridge projects, Prodigy rose to the dizzying heights of fame and eventually fell into the darkness of a prison cell. A truly candid memoir, part fearless confessional and part ode to the concrete jungles of New York City, from the front line of the last great moment in hip hop history.
©2005 Urban Audiobooks (P)2019 Albert "Prodigy" Johnson
Wanna Bet?
Summary
"Lange’s entertaining book makes it clear that, no matter how wild and risky his lifestyle may be, he takes comedy more seriously than anything else." (Publishers Weekly) When Artie Lange's first book, the number-one New York Times best seller, Too Fat to Fish, hit the top of the charts, audiences learned what Howard Stern listeners already knew: that Artie is one of the funniest people alive. He is also an artist haunted by his fair share of demons, which overtook him in the years that followed. After a suicide attempt, a two-year struggle with depression, and years of chronic opiate addiction, Artie entered recovery and built himself back up, chronicling his struggle in brave detail in his next book and second New York Times best seller, Crash and Burn. In his hilarious third book, the two-time best-selling author, comedian, actor, and radio icon explains the philosophy that has kept his existence boredom-free since the age of 13 - the love of risk. An avid sports better and frequent card player, Lange believes that the true gambler gets high not from winning, but from the chaotic unknown of betting itself. He recounts some of his favorite moments, many of which haven't involved money at all. In this candid and entertaining memoir, he looks back at the times he's wagered the intangible and priceless things in life: his health, his career, and his relationships. The stories found in Wanna Bet? paint a portrait of a man who would just as quickly bet tens of thousands of dollars on a coin toss as he would a well-thought-out NBA or NFL wager. Along for the ride are colorful characters from Artie's life who live by the same creed, from a cast of childhood friends to peers like comedian and known gambler Norm McDonald. The book is a tour of a subculture where bookies and mobsters, athletes and celebrities ride the gambling roller coaster for the love of the rush. Through it all, somehow Artie has come out ahead, though he does take a few moments to imagine his life if things hadn't quite gone his way. Unrepentant and unrestrained, the book is Lange at his finest. Cover design by Rob Grom
©2018 Five Points Posse LLC (P)2018 Audible, Inc.
You Are Special
Summary
The beloved host of PBS’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, subject of the acclaimed documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and the forthcoming biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood starring Tom Hanks, offers warm words of advice and encouragement, along with reflections on his own childhood. For more than 50 years, Fred Rogers and his enchanting neighborhood have educated, comforted, and influenced millions of people, both young and young at heart. Organized by themes - relationships, childhood, communication, parenthood, and more - this touching collection gathers his signature sayings and wise thoughts, all of which he enriches with his own memories of being a child and growing up. His ability to understand all kinds of people will inspire viewers past and present, and his straightforward, compassionate guidance will help show you how to get the most from life. PLEASE NOTE: This is the abridged edition.
©1994 Family Communications, Inc. (P)1994 Penguin HighBridge Audio
How Star Wars Conquered the Universe
Summary
In 1973, a young filmmaker named George Lucas scribbled some notes for a far-fetched space-fantasy epic. More than 40 years and $37 billion later, Star Wars-related products outnumber human beings, a stormtrooper army spans the globe, and “Jediism” has become a religion in its own right. Lucas’s creation has grown into far more than a cinematic classic; it is, quite simply, one of the most lucrative, influential, and interactive franchises of all time. Yet until now the complete history of Star Wars - its influences and impact, the controversies it has spawned, its financial growth and long-term prospects - has never been told. In How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, veteran journalist Chris Taylor traces the series from the difficult birth of the original film through its sequels, the franchise’s death and rebirth, the prequels, and the preparations for a new trilogy. Taylor provides portraits of the friends, writers, artists, producers, and marketers who labored behind the scenes to turn Lucas’s idea into a legend. He also jousts with modern-day Jedi, tinkers with droid builders, and gets inside Boba Fett’s helmet, all to find out how Star Wars has attracted and inspired so many fans for so long. Since the first film’s release in 1977, Taylor shows, Star Wars has conquered our culture with a sense of lightness and exuberance, while remaining serious enough to influence politics around the world and spread a spirituality that appeals to religious groups and atheists alike. Controversial digital upgrades and critically savaged prequels have actually made the franchise stronger than ever. Now, with a new set of savvy bosses holding the reins and Episode VII on the horizon, it looks like Star Wars is just getting started. An energetic, fast-moving account of this creative and commercial phenomenon, How Star Wars Conquered the Universe explains how a filmmaker’s fragile dream beat out a surprising number of rivals and gained a die-hard, multigenerational fan base - and why it will be galvanizing our imaginations and minting money for generations to come.
©2014 Chris Taylor (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
Note to Self
Summary
In his New York Times best-selling memoir, A Work in Progress, Connor Franta shared his journey from small-town Midwestern boy to full-fledged Internet sensation. Exploring his past with humor and astounding insight, Connor reminded his fans of why they first fell in love with him on YouTube - and revealed to newcomers how he relates to his millions of dedicated followers. Now, two years later, Connor is ready to bring to light a side of himself he's rarely shown on or off camera. In this diary-like look at his life since A Work in Progress, Connor talks about his battles with clinical depression, social anxiety, self-love, and acceptance; his desire to maintain an authentic self in a world that values shares and likes over true connections; his struggles with love and loss; and his renewed efforts to be in the moment - with others and himself. Told through short essays, letters to his past and future selves, and poetry, Note to Self is a raw, in-the-moment look at the fascinating interior life of a young creator turning inward in order to move forward.
©2017 Connor Franta (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio
Roadshow
Summary
For 30 years, drummer, author, and songwriter Neil Peart had wanted to write a book about "the biggest journey of all in my restless existence: the life of a touring musician." Finally, the right time, and the right tour. In the summer of 2004, after three decades, 20 gold albums, and thousands of performances spanning four continents, the band Rush embarked on a celebratory 30th Anniversary World Tour. The "R30" tour traveled to nine countries, where the band performed 57 shows in front of more than half a million fans. Uniquely, Peart chose to do his between-show traveling by motorcycle, riding 21,000 miles of back roads and highways in North America and Europe - from Appalachian hamlets and Western deserts to Scottish castles and Alpine passes. Roadshow illuminates the daunting rigors of a major international concert tour, as well as Peart's exploration of the scenic byways and country towns along the way. His evocative and entertaining prose carries the listener through every performance and every journey, sharing the bittersweet reflections triggered by the endlessly unfolding landscape. Observations and reflections range from the poignantly, achingly personal to the wickedly irreverent. Part behind-the-scenes memoir, part existential travelogue, Roadshow winds through 19 countries on both sides of the Atlantic, in search of the perfect show, the perfect meal, the perfect road, and an elusive inner satisfaction that comes only with the recognition that the journey itself is the ultimate destination. The inner workings of the tour, the people Peart works with and the people he meets, the roads and stages and ever-changing scenery - all flow into an irresistible story.
©2011 Neil Peart (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
And on That Bombshell
Summary
For 13 years, 22 series and 175 shows, Richard Porter was script editor of Top Gear, from the first faltering pilot episode in 2002 until the very last show presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May in 2015. Along the way they destroyed cars, sparked diplomatic incidents, set fire to caravans, almost killed one of the presenters, and somehow transformed Top Gear from a shabby BBC Two motoring show into an Emmy-winning, record-breaking, planet-straddling behemoth. And on That Bombshell tells stories from behind the scenes of one of the world's most successful television programmes, taking in driving monkeys, broken bones, flying cars, angry rednecks and Jeremy Clarkson's secret nickname. Richard Porter provides a unique insight into how the programmes were made, revealing behind-the-scenes disasters more comical than anything seen on screen and explaining what it was like to work inside the self-professed 'poky motoring show' that accidentally became a global phenomenon. Read by Ben Elliot and with an introduction read by the author.
©2015 Richard Porter (P)2015 Orion Publishing Group
Heaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles (1974-2001)
Summary
The Eagles are the bestselling, and arguably the tightest-lipped, American group ever. Now band member and guitarist Don Felder finally breaks the Eagles years of public silence to take fans behind the scenes. He shares every part of the bands wild ride, from the pressure-packed recording studios and trashed hotel rooms to the tension-filled courtrooms, and from the joy of writing powerful new songs to the magic of performing in huge arenas packed with roaring fans.
©2008 Don Felder (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Empire of Imagination
Summary
The life story of Gary Gygax, godfather of all fantasy adventure games, has been told only in bits and pieces. Michael Witwer has written a dynamic, dramatized biography of Gygax from his childhood in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to his untimely death in 2008. Gygax's magnum opus, Dungeons & Dragons, would explode in popularity throughout the 1970s and '80s and irreversibly alter the world of gaming. D&D is the best-known, best-selling role-playing game of all time, and it boasts an elite class of alumni - Stephen Colbert, Robin Williams, and Junot Diaz all have spoken openly about their experiences with the game as teenagers, and some credit it as the workshop where their nascent imaginations were fostered. Gygax's involvement in the industry lasted long after his dramatic and involuntary departure from D&D's parent company, TSR, and his footprint can be seen in the genre he is largely responsible for creating. But as Witwer shows, perhaps the most compelling facet of his life and work was his unwavering commitment to the power of creativity in the face of myriad sources of adversity, whether cultural, economic, or personal. Through his creation of the role-playing genre, Gygax gave two generations of gamers the tools to invent characters and entire worlds in their minds. Told in narrative-driven and dramatic fashion, Witwer has written an engaging chronicle of the life and legacy of this emperor of the imagination.
©2015 Michael Witwer (P)2015 Audible, Inc.
Kasher in the Rye
Summary
Rising young comedian Moshe Kasher is lucky to be alive. He started using drugs when he was just 12. At that point, he had already been in psychoanlysis for eight years. By the time he was 15, he had been in and out of several mental institutions, drifting from therapy to rehab to arrest to...you get the picture. But Kasher in the Rye is not an "eye opener" to the horrors of addiction. It's a hilarious memoir about the absurdity of it all. When he was a young boy, Kasher's mother took him on a vacation to the West Coast. It was more of an abduction - just not officially. She stole him away from his father and they moved to Oakland, California. That's where the real fun began, in the war zone of Oakland Public Schools. He was more than just out of control - his mother walked him around on a leash, which he chewed through before running away. Those early years were part Augusten Burroughs, part David Sedaris, with a touch of Jim Carrol...but a lot more Jewish. In fact, Kasher later spent time in a Brooklyn Hasidic community. Then came addicition. Brutally honest and laugh-out-loud funny, Kasher's first literary endeavor finds humor in even the most horrifying situations.
©2012 Moshe Kasher (P)2012 Hachette
Rachel Maddow
Summary
The first biography of the most popular anchor in cable news. Rachel Maddow has beaten the odds in a way that's novel in today's America: She uses her brain. In a world of banal and opinionated soundbites, she regularly crushes Sean Hannity's ratings thanks to her deeply researched reports. And in our highly polarized world, Maddow amiably engages the staunchest conservatives, while never hesitating to expose their light-on-facts defenses. As a result, she's become the top anchor for MSNBC and a beloved representative for all that progressive America holds dear. The news that Maddow was the first publicly-out lesbian to anchor a prime-time TV news show seemed almost anticlimactic to her millions of viewers, who will be surprised and intrigued by little-known details of her life, as written by New York Times best-selling biographer Lisa Rogak.
©2020 Fat Pencil, LLC (P)2020 Tantor
Themes and Variations
Summary
An Amazon Charts Bestseller. In this surprising essay, international bestselling humor writer David Sedaris shares the rewards of a book tour and his devoted readers’ worst-kept secrets. Dismissed by a bored author at a book signing, a betrayed young man named David Sedaris made a vow. Someday, when it was his turn at the table, he’d connect with his readers. The experience has been even more revealing than he’d hoped. In this hilarious and perceptive essay, the celebrated humorist reflects on the unusual patterns of forced socialization between author and audience, and the obligations and sometimes surprising returns of not-so-chance encounters with strangers: jokes, secrets, insights, and even charity.
©2020 David Sedaris (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
I Know I Am, But What Are You?
Summary
Candid, outspoken, laugh-out-loud funny essays from the much-loved Samantha Bee, the Most Senior Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Critics have called her “sweet, adorable, and vicious.” But there is so much more to be said about Samantha Bee. For one, she’s Canadian - whatever that means. And now, she opens up for the very first time about her checkered Canadian past. With charming candor, she admits to her Lennie from Of Mice and Men-style love of baby animals, her teenage crime spree as one-half of a car-thieving couple (Bonnie and Clyde in Bermuda shorts and braces), and the fact that strangers seem compelled to show her their genitals. She also details her intriguing career history, which includes stints working in a frame store, at a penis clinic, and as a Japanese anime character in a touring children’s show. Samantha delves into all these topics and many more in this thoroughly hilarious, unabashedly frank collection of personal essays. Whether detailing the creepiness that ensues when strangers assume that your mom is your lesbian lover, or recalling her girlhood crush on Jesus (who looked like Kris Kristofferson and sang like Kenny Loggins), Samantha turns the spotlight on her own imperfect yet highly entertaining life as relentlessly as she skewers hapless interview subjects on The Daily Show. She shares her unique point of view on a variety of subjects as wide ranging as her deep affinity for old people, to her hatred of hot ham. It’s all here, in irresistible prose that will leave you in stitches and eager for more.
©2010 Samantha Bee (P)2010 Simon & Schuster, Inc
Full Service
Summary
Newly discharged from the Marines after World War II, Scotty Bowers arrived in Hollywood in 1946. Young, charismatic, and strikingly handsome, he quickly caught the eye of many of the town's stars and starlets. He began sleeping with some himself, and connecting others with his coterie of young, attractive, and sexually free-spirited friends. His own lovers included Edith Piaf, Spencer Tracy, Vivien Leigh, Cary Grant, and the abdicated King of England Edward VIII, and he arranged tricks or otherwise crossed paths with Tennessee Williams, Charles Laughton, Vincent Price, Katharine Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Errol Flynn, Gloria Swanson, Noël Coward, Mae West, James Dean, Rock Hudson and J. Edgar Hoover, to name but a few. Full Service is not only a fascinating chronicle of Hollywood's sexual underground, but also exposes the hypocrisy of the major studios, who used actors to propagate a myth of a conformist, sexually innocent America, knowing full well that their stars' personal lives differed dramatically from this family-friendly mold. As revelation-filled as Hollywood Babylon, Full Service provides a lost chapter in the history of the sexual revolution and is a testament to a man who provided sex, support, and affection to countless people.
©2012 Scotty Bowers and Lionel Friedberg (P)2012 Tantor
Total Recall
Summary
One of the most anticipated autobiographies of this generation, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Recall is the candid story by one of the world's most remarkable actors, businessmen, and world leaders. Born in the small city of Thal, Austria, in 1947, Arnold Schwarzenegger moved to Los Angeles at the age of 21. Within 10 years, he was a millionaire businessman. After 20 years, he was the world's biggest movie star. In 2003, he was elected governor of California and became a household name around the world. Chronicling his embodiment of the American Dream, Total Recall covers Schwarzenegger's high-stakes journey to the United States, from creating the international bodybuilding industry out of the sands of Venice Beach to breathing life into cinema's most iconic characters and becoming one of the leading political figures of our time. Proud of his accomplishments and honest about his regrets, Schwarzenegger spares nothing in sharing his amazing story.
©2012 Fitness Publications, Inc (P)2012 Simon & Schuster, Inc
Help Is on the Way
Summary
After a friend real-talks Mindy into hiring a baby nurse, she finds the help she needs--and so much more--in this soulful essay by the acclaimed writer, actress, producer, and director. Becoming a new mother after losing her own, Mindy Kaling needs help--like someone to answer the questions What is a baby, and why don’t they have kneecaps? Enter Rose. The in-demand, dedicated baby nurse alleviates Mindy’s fears, from the minor to the profound. From the acclaimed writer, actor, director, producer, and New York Times bestselling author comes Nothing Like I Imagined. In these essays, Mindy Kaling shares the latest chapters of a multitasking life in Hollywood. Listen to them in a single sitting. They’re pitch-perfect.
©2020 Mindy Kaling (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Don't Stop Believin'
Summary
With humor and warmth, legendary musician, actress, activist, and icon Olivia Newton-John shares her fascinating life story - from her unforgettable rise to fame in the classic musical Grease to her passionate advocacy for health in light of her battles with cancer. Perfect for fans of Tina Turner’s My Love Story and Sally Field’s In Pieces, this New York Times best seller - with new exclusive material - is an extraordinary can’t-miss memoir. For more than five decades, Olivia Newton-John has been one of our most successful and adored entertainers. A four-time Grammy Award winner, she is one of the world’s best-selling recording artists of all time, with more than 100 million albums sold. Her starring roles in the iconic movies Grease and Xanadu catapulted her into super-stardom. In addition to her music and screen successes, Olivia is perhaps best known for her strength, courage, and grace. After her own personal journeys with cancer, she has thrived and become an inspiration for millions around the world. A tireless advocate for countless charities, her true passion is as the founding champion of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. Olivia has always radiated joy, hope, and compassion - determined to be a force for good in the world. Now she is sharing her journey, from Melbourne schoolgirl to international superstar, in this deeply personal book. Candid and moving, Don’t Stop Believin’ is Olivia Newton-John’s story in her own words for the very first time. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Olivia Newton-John (P)2019 Simon & Schuster