{"product_id":"madeline-kahn-being-the-music-a-life-9781617037610","title":"Madeline Kahn: Being the Music, a Life","description":"Best known for her Oscar-nominated roles in the smash hits \u003ci\u003ePaper Moon\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBlazing Saddles\u003c\/i\u003e, Madeline Kahn (1942-1999) was one of the most popular comedians of her time--and one of the least understood. In private, she was as reserved and refined as her characters were bold and bawdy. Almost a Method actor in her approach, she took her work seriously. When crew members and audiences laughed, she asked why--as if they were laughing \u003ci\u003eat her\u003c\/i\u003e--and all her life she remained unsure of her gifts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e William V. Madison examines Kahn's film career, including not only her triumphs with Mel Brooks and Peter Bogdanovich, but also her overlooked performances in \u003ci\u003eThe Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eJudy Berlin\u003c\/i\u003e, her final film. Her work in television--notably her sitcoms--also comes into focus. New York theater showered her with accolades, but also with remarkably bad luck, culminating in a disastrous outing in \u003ci\u003eOn the Twentieth Century\u003c\/i\u003e that wrecked her reputation on Broadway. Only with her Tony-winning performance in \u003ci\u003eThe Sisters Rosensweig\u003c\/i\u003e, fifteen years later, did Kahn regain her standing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Drawing on new interviews with family, friends, and such colleagues as Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett, Gene Wilder, Harold Prince, and Eileen Brennan, as well as archival press and private writings, Madison uncovers Kahn's lonely childhood and her struggles as a single woman working to provide for her erratic mother. Above all, Madison reveals the paramount importance of music in Kahn's life. A talented singer, she entertained offers for operatic engagements long after she was an established Hollywood star, and she treated each script as a score. As Kahn told one friend, her ambition was \"to be the music.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/29\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781617037610\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2015 pg. 77\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/03\/2015\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"William V. Madison","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52161328840885,"sku":"9781617037610","price":29.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_7b711141-ad23-4aa6-9ea3-cd3acff96442.jpg?v=1768317872","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/madeline-kahn-being-the-music-a-life-9781617037610","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}