Showing results by narrator "Nat Segaloff" in All Categories

Writer-director Melville Shavelson survived five wars: WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and Hollywood. In this often funny and always enjoyable memoir, he recalls the heyday of the studio system and what it was like to work with such powerful forces as Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, the State of Israel, the family of President Eisenhower, and Paramount Pictures.

Between 1934 and 1968, no Hollywood studio could make a movie without the permission of, and a seal of approval from, the Production Code Administration. Formed in 1930 but not enforced until 1934, the Production Code was Hollywood’s official censorship system. Screenplays, books, plays, costumes, and even story ideas and song lyrics had to be cleared by the Code before they could be filmed, and Code staffers watched at every stage of the production process to ensure compliance.

To some, she was the female Tarzan. To others, she was the sexiest pin-up of their teenage years. To the Coca-Cola Company, she was the way to liberate millions of dollars held hostage in Africa. But to executive producer Yoram Ben-Ami, she was the most complex and challenging motion picture he had ever made. Now, in My Adventure with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, Ben-Ami tells about shooting the first major studio film made entirely in Africa, from dealing with a director who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer to a rhinoceros that wouldn’t take direction.

Everything you always wanted to know about the 1975 monster-movie hit Jaws and the other monsters that swam in its wake.

Heavyweight (in every sense of the word) actor William Conrad made his name in radio drama as Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke and then powered his way into television with Cannon, Nero Wolfe, and Jake and the Fat Man. A producer and director as well as one of the most successful voice actors in history, Conrad rude success with aplomb. This audiobook relates his early years, life, family, and friendships interwoven with his credits.

Writer-Producer Robert Youngson’s seminal compilation documentaries of silent comedy in the 1960s inspired a Renaissance in the legacies of Charley Chase, Snub Pollard, and, above all, Laurel and Hardy as well as other comedians from movies of the teens and '20s. Youngson died young, but his widow, Jeanne, tells author Manago about her late husband’s obsession with movies, laughter, and food.

Sometimes fiction is the best way to tell the truth. In this, his first collection of short stories, Nat Segaloff (Final Cuts, Guarding Gable, Mr. Huston/Mr. North) reveals the truth behind some of Hollywood’s biggest scandals, agendas, and confidences. First published by reporter/columnist Nikki Finke on her acclaimed website HollywoodDementia.com, these romans-à-clef expose long-hidden secrets about the Blacklist, the Oscars, publicity stunts, studio follies, ageism, celebrity weirdness, and other gambits that, even today, are barely whispered.

The Hollywood Canteen was the jewel in the crown of World War II Hollywood. From 1942 to 1945, over three million servicemen came through its doors on their way to fight in the Pacific - some never to return. There, in a converted barn in the heart of Hollywood, soldiers were fed, entertained by, and danced with some of the biggest stars in the world.

Ward Morehouse III’s father, the late drama critic Ward Morehouse, lovingly introduced his son to the glamorous life of luxurious hotels. This is his memoir of his experiences at New York’s Plaza Hotel, including the many actors and actresses who came and went, the glamour and glitz, and also the animals that were brought there, even a bear named Bangkok who lived for a time at the Plaza Hotel.

Screenwriter Jeb Rosebrook presents a captivating behind-the-scenes memoir of the making of Junior Bonner, a 1972 Western classic starring Steve McQueen and directed by Sam Peckinpah.

Author Michael J. Hayde's definitive work about Superman on radio and television. Hayde is well-known for My Name's Friday: The Unauthorized but True Story of Dragnet and The Films of Jack Webb and Little Elf: A Celebration of Harry Langdon, and this new treasure trove of information on the Man of Steel covers comprehensive episode logs for the radio series and the original television series, plus the complete story lines for two unproduced television series episodes, and dozens of "deleted scenes" taken right from the scripts.

Sonnets & Sunspots tells the story of one of the most beloved popular science series of all time and the charismatic educator who became an icon to several generations of students. The audiobook is also a fascinating history of popular science programming in television and film, from its primitive beginnings to the 21st century. Along the way there are entertaining behind-the-scenes stories of each production and the personalities that were involved with them.

In the summer of 1987, a group of the screen's most notable stars gathered in glamorous Newport, Rhode Island, to make Mr. North, a charming but unpretentious film about a magical man who turns the town upside down. They included Anthony Edwards, Anjelica Huston, Lauren Bacall, Harry Dean Stanton, Virginia Madsen, Tammy Grimes, and a host of other talents, including legendary director John Huston. The filmmaker was Danny Huston, John's son.

To many people, the Marx Brothers always seemed cartoonish. Small wonder that film animators plucked their personas from their first appearances in The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930) and caricatured them in countless animated appearances in theatrical cartoons. Their animated likenesses have since been wisecracking in television cartoons, direct-to-video movies, fan films, commercials, flip books, avatars, emoji, a slot machine, and two TV pilots so rare they were once thought not to exist.

Guarding Gable - an original audio novel by Nat Segaloff - starts with an actual event in the life of the screen's number one star and becomes a story worthy of a Hollywood movie. It's 1942 and World War II is just beginning. Beloved actress Carole Lombard is killed in a plane crash while returning from a bond-selling tour and her husband, Clark Gable, is beyond consolation. Depressed to the point of suicide, he enlists in the US Army Air Corps, telling his bosses at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that he doesn't care if he ever comes back.

Since we first peeked into Stars Hollow, Connecticut in October 2000, Gilmore Girls has delighted people worldwide. Combining unparalleled writing with endearing characters and a respect for the complexities of life, the series continues to bring people together today. The Gilmore Girls Companion takes you behind the scenes of this television classic, from the first glimmer of the idea to the making of the series finale.

Michael Landon was an actor, writer, director, and producer. For over three decades, Michael Landon's creative gifts touched millions of viewers around the world on Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven, and in several other productions. This is the first detailed examination of his work both in front of and behind the camera, including information about every Landon script.

For over 20 years, the name John Agar on a marquee meant action to moviegoers - from World War II land, sea, and air battles, to the frontier West, to the new frontier of 1950s science fiction, where he stood fast against some of the era's most memorable movie monsters. Agar's rise to fame was meteoric: during World War II, the $83-a-month buck sergeant met and later married "America's Sweetheart", Shirley Temple, and was soon offered a screen test and dramatic instruction by Hollywood mega-mogul David O. Selznick.

With his chiseled features, effortless screen presence, otherworldly vitality, and striking blue eyes, Jan-Michael Vincent seemed destined for superstardom. However, the real Jan-Michael Vincent was a reluctant sex symbol plagued by doubt and low self-confidence, a perpetual misfit doomed to alcoholism. Jan-Michael Vincent: Edge of Greatness covers Vincent’s entire life and details the difference between Jan Vincent, a shy, small-town boy, and Jan-Michael Vincent, Hollywood’s golden boy.

When Charles Chaplin signed a record-setting contract with the Mutual Film Corporation in February 1916, it was the culmination of events that changed the motion picture business. Mutual's founders redefined how films were bought, sold, and distributed. Chaplin redefined screen comedy with a character that leapt into the hearts of moviegoers around the world. Together they established the value of star power and created 12 magnificent comedies that have endured for generations.