Notes on a Cowardly Lion
The Biography of Bert Lahr
Published on 22. January 2013
394 pages
978-1-4532-8874-0 (ISBN)
Description
John Lahr's stunning and complex biography of his father, the legendary actor and comedian Bert Lahr Notes on a Cowardly Lion is John Lahr's masterwork: an all-encompassing biography of his father, the comedian and performer Bert Lahr. Best known as the Cowardly Lion in MGM's classic The Wizard of Oz, Lahr was a consummate artist whose career spanned burlesque, vaudeville, Broadway, and Hollywood. While he could be equally raucous and polished in public, Lahr was painfully insecure and self-absorbed in private, keeping his family at arm's length as he quietly battled his inner demons. Told with an impressive objectivity and keen understanding of the construction--and destruction--of the performer, Notes on a Cowardly Lion is more than one man's quest to understand his father; it is an extraordinary examination of a life in American show business.
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Book
12/2017
Open Road Media
€21.00
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Person
John Lahr was the senior drama critic at the
New Yorker for twenty years. He has twice received the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism and was the first critic to win a Tony Award, for coauthoring
Elaine Stritch at Liberty.
The acclaimed author of eighteen books, ranging from fiction to biography, Lahr is best known for
Notes on a Cowardly Lion
: The Biography of Bert Lahr and
Prick Up Your Ears
: The Biography of Joe Orton. He lives in London.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- A Dramatic Chronology
- Preface: The Lion and Me
- From the Wings: An Introduction
- 1. Roots
- 2. Burlesque
- 3. Vaudeville: Lahr and Mercedes
- 4. Broadway Beginnings
- 5. Scandals and Follies
- 6. Buffooneries
- 7. Other Edens
- 8. ". But What Do I Do Next Year?"
- 9. Back to Broadway
- 10. Waiting for Godot
- 11. A Decade of Moments
- 12. Dad
- 13. A Beginning and an End
- Epilogue
- Appendices
- Appendix 1
- Appendix 2
- Appendix 3
- Appendix 4
- Appendix 5
- Appendix 6
- Appendix 7
- Image Gallery
- Index
- Personal Acknowledgements
- Copyright Page
