Gather It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here: My Journey Through Show Business Portrayed By Charles Grodin Readable In Version
Charles Grodin who passed away at the age offrom cancer, I really liked this book and just realized I never wrote a review, Rec. Tracie Higgins I devoured this funny and insightful book in two days, I've been a fan of Charles Grodin since high school when I saw Midnight Run, Saw the movie again on cable recently and decided to buy/read this book, I was also a fan of his appearances through the years on David Letterman, There are a lot of great clips of the latter on YouTube, This biography is just a really funny series of stories about his life in theater and movie making, It is about dealing with rejection, the value of persistance, and playing the "long game" in one's career, Fascinating story of the making of a movie star! i read this book eons ago, and i still find myself remembering snippets and quotes from it all this time later.
. . Charles Grodin has such a funny outlook on life and a way with words, it was kind of a letdown when i got towards the end of the book! i wanted more.
. . One of my favorites you can read this book in a day, . . impossible to put down. Would've given this bookif he'd mentioned The Great Muppet Caper, This is an intriguing bio, I'm obsessed with really good famous people stories and I loved this, You see a great actor have a shitty career, It shows just how messed up Hollywood can be to an original and unique talent like Grodin, Though it doesn't make it up to the Beethoven and Clifford MY FAVE years, It's truly interesting and quite a tale, My buddy Demorge recommended it and said it has a lot of significance today, As the same old crap still happens to talented people trying to get some clout for their hard work, A decent autobio weakened by Grodins apparent reluctance to say much about his life as he finds success, He becomes a hardtodecipher character in his own story when time jumps and the shy and struggling actor is replaced by the firm creative very careful to say little about his life outside the pictures.
I love Charles Grodin and think he's one of our most underrated actors, I spent much of the's hoping for him to have a Bill Murrayesque renaissance to no avail, This droll memoir is some comfort, A funny and poignant memoir about show business that I enjoyed, This book seemed to take forever, I like Charles Grodin less now, Not so funny funniest parts were King Kong and Midnight Run, And surprisingly bitter.
As I first started it and suffered through his childhood with him I was surprised to find that I was thinking that it was a Charles Grodin movie, as his character seemed to reflect that.
I then realized that maybe that wasn't so strange, that maybe it was by design, but then in a number of places especially in the section for the Heartbreak Kid Grodin is shocked that people think that he's like the character he plays.
Here's another gaping lack of selfawareness and a fair example of his self righteous gracelessness: During Grodin's first big Broadway break, TchinTchin, Anthony Quinn apologizes for abruptly breaking character during a performance yelling at two stagehands who were chatting and ruining his concentration.
Grodin rebuffs his apology, as in his mind it was a fatal act of unprofessional ism and inconsiderate of his fellow actors, Grodin then revels in the reaction, portraying Quinn's surprise at Grodin's gracelessness as Quinn surprised that he's not accorded special treatment, I realized that this was the same guy who submarined the SNL cast by not dropping the conceit that he didn't know it was a live show.
Grodin is one of those people who are extraordinarily sensitive when it comes to their own self regard and whose commitment to winkling out slights requires so much energy that he's completely inconsiderate of others.
He sometimes sees this, as he explains his first meeting with Elaine May,
If I seem judgmental and morally fingerwagging, in my defense, that's completely in the spirit of the book,
He is a very good writer, and there's two or three sequences that were certainly worth reading:
His discussion of being a struggling actor in new york was very good, including his discussion of mean and abusive acting teachers
His description of the clash between timing comedians
and method comedians
His saga of getting the Joy of Sex / Movers and Shakers to screen might be helpful for anyone who wants a career in Hollywood.
. .
I still think he's great to watch as an actor, but this book makes him seem absolutely insufferable,
sitelink youtube. com/watchvQHIuV
Although Charles Grodin has enjoyed stardom, his career has had its share of catastrophic setbacks, and Grodin writes about them with candor and liberating humor, dispensing invaluable advice about the art of surviving in the celluloid jungle.
I had this book on my TBR pile for a long time and when I finally picked it up to read, I was less than enchanted.
It's a nice enough book, about a nice enough man, It's just me. Sigh . I think I expected more verve from Grodin,
Best darned book i ever read! I loved this book, but then I love Charles Grodin, There were times with this book that I had tears running down my face because it was so funny, Charles Grodin is an Emmy Award winning American actor, comedian, author and former cable talk show host, .