Sam Wasson

A history of the uniquely American art form of improv, from its beginnings during the McCarthy Era through the rise of such institutions as Second City, the Groundlings, and the Upright Citizens Brigade and such performers as Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Bill Murray. "From the best-selling author of Fosse, a sweeping yet intimate--and often hilarious--history of a uniquely American art form that has never been more popular. At the height of the McCarthy...

"We see Bob Fosse's legacy everywhere--from Broadway to "Billy Jean" to Beyonce;'s moves in the "Single Ladies" video. Yet in spite of Fosse's deep cultural significance, no biography has ever brought him fully to life, unveiling the man behind the bowler hat and the swaggering sex appeal. Now, acclaimed cultural historian Sam Wasson traces Fosse's numberless reinventions of himself over a career that would spawn The Pajama Game, Cabaret, Pippin,...

"From the New York Times bestselling author of Fifth Avenue, Five A.M. and Fosse comes the revelatory account of the making of a modern American masterpiece. Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its twist ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making. In Sam Wasson's telling, it becomes the defining story of the most colorful...

Before “Breakfast at Tiffany's” Audrey Hepburn was still a little-known actress with few film roles to speak of; after it—indeed, because of it-she was one of the world's most famous fashion, style and screen icons. It was this film that matched her with Hubert de Givenchy's "little black dress". Meanwhile, Truman Capote's original novel is itself a modern classic selling huge numbers every year, and its high-living author of perennial interest. Now,...

"The real story of Hollywood as told by such luminaries as Steven Spielberg, Frank Capra, Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Harold Lloyd, and nearly four hundred others, assembled from the American Film Institute's treasure trove of interviews, reveals a fresh history of the American movie industry from its beginnings to today"--

"Based on director Bob Fosse's own extravagant life, this vibrant and spectacular film follows Fosse's alter ego. Joe Gideon in his relentless pursuit of sex, drugs and self-destruction. His womanizing both supports and debilitates him as he juggles his mistress, ex-wife and beloved daughter. Hovering over all of his excess is an angel. The proceedings are set amid rapturous dream sequences, lavish production numbers and fabulous sets."--Container....