Showing titles in Biographies & Memoirs

How Comedy Saved My Life is the brutally honest, darkly funny, and ultimately redemptive story of John Perrotta—a Rhode Island prison guard by day, stand-up comic by night. For decades, John lived two lives. On stage, he was a relentless crowd-work master, booking gigs with rising legends like Bill Burr, Lenny Clarke, Tammy Pescatelli, and Tom Cotter. Off stage, he was drowning in booze, gambling, and drugs, hitting rock bottom more times than he can count—until a near-death experience forced him to make the biggest comeback of his life.

What is life for Giles and Mary outside the willow-patterned cocoon? Giles is a countryman who relishes solitude. His wife, Mary, thrives in company and enjoys frequent escapes to London. After 30 years in a marriage of opposites, Giles and Mary have adapted to a life of domestic misunderstandings within comical misadventures.

REALLY? He didn't get caught, told on, or found out by bosses, parents, neighbors or police?? 50 TIMES? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? JUST UNDER THE RADAR is 50 true (and moderately questionable) short stories from the life of Rock and Roll Musician, Teacher, Actor and Family Man—Skip Wheeler from Maine.

One moment can change everything — but it doesn’t have to end the story. In If You Have Five Minutes to Spare , Dominic Hurley BEM shares an honest, often funny, and deeply human memoir of life after a traumatic brain injury. After a life-altering accident at just twenty-one, Dominic was forced to rethink everything he thought he knew about normality, disability, memory, and identity. This is not a polished tale of instant triumph. It’s a real story of recovery — told with humour, frustration, warmth, and unfiltered truth.

Brought to you by Penguin. Lee Evans is one of the best-loved comedians in the country; a Hollywood star able to sell out arenas in the blink of eye. But he was not always such a roaring success. Read unabridged by the man himself, and with the humour (and the voices!) that he brings to the...

Martin Short, one of today's most inventive and popular comic actors, is best known for his work on Saturday Night Live, SCTV, and in the films The Three Amigos and The Father of the Bride. The creator of such memorable characters as Jiminy Glick, Ed Grimley, and Irving Cohen, Short returned to Broadway in the "alternate autobiography" Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. Here he talks with Dick Cavett.

***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*** This book will single-handedly eradicate the need for parenting and schools. It's that useful. It's a cruel, cruel world out there, a harrowing place filled with crime and illnesses, taxes and grief. And swans. But help is finally here. TommyInnit's...

Romans! Madrigals! The Dark Ages! Revolutions! Trumpets! The Oranges of The First World War! All of this (except trumpets) and more, is covered in this definitive, easy-clean history of all world history so far, written by the 21st Century's leading historian, philosopher and thinkerer Philomena Cunk.

If you thought Dennis Miller was done ranting, guess again. In Still Ranting After All These Years, recorded in early 2002, Miller is in fine form, commenting on everything from ""War and Terrorism"" to Enron; from ""Obsessed Parents"" to the ""End of Class;"" to ""Truth in the Media,"" and so...

From teenage fumblings in the back of a car in Wagga Wagga (teen pregnancy capital of Australia), to performing with Aunty Donna and her own sell-out comedy shows, comedian Michelle Brasier invites you into the highs (seeing Jason Momoa drinking a Guinness next a classic car in SoHo) and the lows (getting dumped ¾ of the way through Pirates of the Caribbean). It's an examination of the tiny things and the big things—how much it hurts to be a woman and a person, and how funny it is to try and get into shapewear and how funerals are silly. It's self help for those of us who hate self help.

Thatcher Stole My Trousers chronicles a time when comedy and politics united in electrifying ways. Recounting the founding of the Comedy Store, the Comic Strip and the Young Ones, and Alexei’s friendships with the comedians who – like him – would soon become household names, this is a unique and beguiling blend of social history and memoir. Fascinating, funny, angry and entertaining, it is a story of class and comedy, politics and love, fast cars and why it’s difficult to foul a dwarf in a game of football.

There's no right way to keep a diary, but if there's an entertaining way, David Sedaris seems to have mastered it. If it's navel-gazing you're after, you've come to the wrong place; ditto treacly self-examination. Rather, his observations turn outward: a fight between two men on a bus, a fight...

Julia Sweeney: Older & Wider is the latest one-person show from renowned monologist and former SNL comedian. She tells stories about her family: her daughter, her husband, and her mother. Poignant and funny. This show had successful theater runs in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The Real Jerry Lewis Story, penned by Rick Saphire, who notably served as Jerry Lewis’s personal manager, offers an intimate and detailed portrait of the legendary comedian. Saphire’s unique vantage point provides listeners with exclusive behind-the-scenes insights that only someone closely associated with Lewis could offer. The book navigates through various stages of Lewis’s illustrious career, shedding light on his comedic genius, professional triumphs, and personal challenges.

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We all have that one older funny family member. You know the one, he tells stories from his experiences and usually has people rolling their eyes. William Stokes is that person! He presents a delightful collection of memories that are truly life lessons even today! Stokes, through his memories and wit, provides opportunities to learn through laughter, sharing of memories and love.

Between them, Denise Scott and Judith Lucy have been doing stand-up comedy for over 60 years. Eavesdrop on their conversations about everything from sex to ageing to work and back to sex – actually, there’s a lot of sex. These conversations are based on material tried and tested at live shows so you get the best of their crapping on. Please note: contains strong language and adult content.

Could you be happier? When Hugh van Cuylenburg went to India on a teaching trip he met a joyful 10-year-old student who taught him lessons that changed his life. Since setting up The Resilience Project, Hugh has shared what he learned with over a million Australians through his show GEM, a series of comical anecdotes, moving stories and practical methods for leading a happier and more resilient life.

Jerry Lewis (1926-2017) achieved superstardom in the 1950s and 1960s with such films as The Caddy, The Bellboy, and The Nutty Professor. Later, Lewis was almost as well known for his dedication to the cause of muscular dystrophy and his annual Labor Day telethon, which he hosted for more than four decades. In King of Comedy, Shawn Levy offers a provocative portrait of the influential comedian, analyzing the complex, sometimes disturbing world of Lewis—from his rise to fame and philanthropic work to the dark side of his career and personal life.

Janey has been a determined fighter all her life - from her tough Glasgow childhood to becoming the much-loved comedian she is now. It was the strength she needed to survive as a sweary-mouthed woman in the male-dominated comedy clubs of the 1990s. At the end of the long sell-out tour which followed she received the devastating news she had ovarian cancer. Her future hung in the balance, but even in treatment, a new tour went ahead, called Not Dead Yet. Janey now faces her fears head on and shares the tumultuous journey she's on, continuing to find humour even in her darkest moments.