This meticulously researched book contains interviews with Frawley's and Vance's colleagues, friends, and relatives, and explores their personal and professional lives before, during, and after I Love Lucy. With a complete filmography and videography of each, Meet the Mertzes finally sets the record straight on the lives and legacies of these compelling stars who detested one another.You'll learn about:-Vance's successful Broadway career prior to I Love Lucy-Frawley's vaudevillian roots and his passion for baseball-Vance's nervous breakdown after the collapse of her first marriage-Frawley's drinking and carousing-Lucille Ball's caustic relationship with both of her costars-Vance's hatred of being known to the world as Ethel Mertz

    This comprehensive tome contains a detailed episode guide, character biographies, glossary, and plenty of behind-the-scenes anecdotes and insights from the cast and crew.

    Inspired by the artistic styles that defined 1960s advertising, Dyna Moe creates a candy-colored record of the time, exploring such topics as: •The office culture, including secretary etiquette and hangover workarounds •The cocktail craze, with Sally Draper's cocktail menu •Pastimes and fads, such as Pete and Trudy's dancing lessons and Bert Cooper's art • '60s icons from Jackie to Marilyn •Boardroom and bedroom shenanigans •The burgeoning suburban lifestyle •Fabulous fashion, including hairstyle how-tos and bonus paper dolls of Joan

    It was Aaron Sorkin versus Tina Fey, and it was clear which series critics thought was more promising. The Baltimore Sun called it a competition 30 Rock “can’t win.” By November, the New York Times was noting lackluster ratings for both shows, and adding that 30 Rock was “perilously close to a flop.” But while Studio 60 was canceled after 22 episodes, Fey’s madcap buddy comedy lasted 138 episodes. It resurrected the career of Alec Baldwin, survived an extended absence by Tracy Morgan, and permeated the culture—it’s breakneck pacing, oddball characters, and extremely rich joke writing are deeply beloved by millions of fans. In this combination of narrative and oral history, culture writer and editor Mike Roe brings to life the history of the gloriously goofy show through interviews with the creators, stars, writers, and bit players.

    But final editorial control has always belonged to the winners. And nobody likes winners... This will be the very first in-depth examination of the creation of a British institution like no other, arguably the greatest sitcom of all time. With the participation -- so far -- of Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry and producer John Lloyd, this will be the definitive history of the programme. The author will use all existing archive footage and rare literature, plus new revelations from personal interviews with the makers themselves, to finally reflect the full scope of the tale of how the 70s alumni of three great universities -- Oxford, Cambridge and not Hull, but Manchester -- discovered a unique chemistry that would see them build a timeless comic masterpiece.

    revival starring longtime fan Johnny Depp, directed by Tim Burton, that premieres May 11, 2012. The large format book includes color photographs and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Kathryn Leigh Scott and three other original cast members who filmed cameo roles with Johnny Depp, Helene Bonham-Carter and Michelle Pfeiffer in the new Gothic epic. With the ongoing fascination for all things vampiric, this book about the making of the new film and the history of the original series will be an enticing volume for new and old fans alike.This book also features hundreds of exclusive photographs of Dark Shadows then and now, along with behind-the-scenes information, production materials and unique archival elements that provide context for the Depp/Burton Warner Bros. film.The suspenseful Gothic tales of Dark Shadows center on the wealthy but tormented inhabitants of the mysterious Collinwood estate in the small fishing village of Collinsport, Maine, where the powerful Collins family has been haunted for generations by vengeful curses and other supernatural secrets that span the centuries.

    Learn how to launch and sustain a writing career and get a rare, intimate look inside the yearlong process of creating, selling, and getting a TV show made. Edited by writers' program director Linda Venis, Inside the Room is the ultimate guide to writing one's way into the Writers Guild of America."Venis corrals an accessible and useful guide for anyone with the dream and the drive who needs to know, practically, what to do. An engaging and helpful how-to for hopeful TV writers or anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of this ephemeral art."- Kirkus Reviews

    The complete story of the actor's career, including his secret gay life. Raymond Burr (1917-1993) was an enigma. A film noir star regularly known for his villainous roles in movies like Rear Window, he delighted millions of viewers each week with the top-rated shows Perry Mason and Ironside, which ran virtually uninterrupted for 20 years. But Burr was leading a secret gay life at a time in Hollywood when such a lifestyle was akin to career suicide. He invented a tragic biography for himself in which he was mythologized as a heartbroken husband and father. There was even an invented affair with a teenage Natalie Wood, 21 years his junior. He fought for truth as Perry Mason and Robert T. Ironside, yet he couldn't admit his own deception. Burr met his partner, struggling actor Robert Benevides, on the set of Perry Mason, and they remained together for over 35 years until Burr's death. Together, they built a business empire, traveled the world, and shared their passion for orchids and fine wine keeping the true nature of their relationship a secret from all but their closest friends a secret revealed here for the first time in depth.

    It contains never-before-published photos, never-before-produced comedy sketches, details on Graham's very unconventional life, thoughts on Monty Python, and tales of mad adventure with the Dangerous Sports Club and pals like The Who's Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, and much, much more.You'll learn who really wrote the "Dead Parrot Sketch", where the Ministry of Silly Walks came from, and many other factoids that will do you absolutely no good whatsoever. Graham Crackers includes a foreword by John Cleese, a backward by Eric Idle, and a sideways by Terry Jones, living Pythons all.

    In answer to countless requests from I Love Lucy fans around the world, Bart Andrews has revised, updated, and expanded his classic book on TV's most beloved series.B & W photographs throughout.

    I work here, I carry a badge. The story you are about to see is true..." Before Charlie's Angels, Miami Vice, or NYPD Blue, there was Dragnet. From 1951 to 1959, Jack Webb starred as Sergeant Joe Friday in the most successful police drama in television history. Webb ("Just the facts, ma'am") was also the creator of Dragnet, and what made the show so revolutionary was its documentary-style format and the fact that each episode was "ripped" from the files of the LAPD. But 1950s television censors deemed many of the stories in the LAPD's files too violent or sensational for the airwaves. The Badge is Webb's collection of stories that could not be presented on TV: untold, behind-the-scenes accounts of the Black Dahlia murder, the Brenda Allen confessions, Stephen Nash's "thrill murders," and Donald Bashor's "sleeping lady murders," to name just a few. Case by case, The Badge takes readers on a spine chilling police tour through the dark, shadowy world of Los Angeles crime. "Some books influence a writer. Books rarely shape a writer's curiosity whole. I'm anomalous that way. I got lucky at the get-go. It was one-stop imaginative shopping. I found all my stuff in one book." -- James Ellroy on The Badge

    But in the ensuing decades, many vilified the show as an embarrassment that needed to be swept under the rug if Batman -- and super-heroes -- were to be taken seriously. Now, we can return to Adam West's Gotham... to the unapologetic fun of colorful, cackling villains hatching bizarre schemes... to phrases like "Atomic batteries to power!" and "Same bat-time, same bat-channel!"... to deadpan heroes climbing walls and defying deathtrap cliffhangers... and find these aspects rich with cultural meanings we may have ignored. GOTHAM CITY 14 MILES offers the series the critical reevaluation it deserves. The book's diverse essays examine Batmania, camp, the role of women, the show and '60s counter-culture, the show's celebrated actors, its lasting cultural effects, and other subjects. From Sequart Research & Literacy Organization. More info at http: //Sequart.org

    Broadcasting into family living rooms from the 1960s to the 1990s, this wildly creative art form wrought a beloved rite of passage. From the hours of 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., parents could sleep in while their children plopped on the couch to consume cartoons galore. From The Bugs Bunny Show, The Jetsons, and Jonny Quest to The Smurfs, He-Man, and Animaniacs, this window of time promised pure entertainment and an experience that united generations. With concept art, archival images, and all-new interviews, this collection is a celebration and exploration of the shows, characters, songs, and TV commercials that made Saturday morning cartoons a pop culture event. This highly produced package is perfect for artists and illustrators, pop culture fanatics, or anyone who loves a heaping portion of nostalgia.

    While the series has surreal elements, he believes it provides the answers to all the questions which have confounded viewers: who is Number 6? Who runs The Village? Who—or what—is Number 1? According to Cox, the key is to view the series in the order in which the episodes were made, not in the order of the UK or US television screenings. In this book he does exactly that, and provides an entirely original and controversial “explanation” for what is perhaps the best, and certainly the most perplexing, TV series of all time.

    Discover the secrets, never before seen on television, of Twin Peaks' most-wanted man, who scored a perfect 100 on his marksmanship test and once let a gentle, beautiful woman lead him astray. He's Dale Cooper - the man who seems too good to be true - and this is his story.