Showing results by author "Bob Andelman" in All Categories

Al Dunlap is an original: an outspoken, irascible executive with an incredible track record of injecting new life into tired companies. The business media have coined a new verb"to dunlap"when describing a fast company turnaround. In April 1994 he became CEO and chairman of Scott Paper, which had lost $277 million in 1993, was on credit watch for excessive debt, and whose stock had been comatose for seven years.

Back in '82, I used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile. What actor doesn't dream of at least one role for which they will forever be remembered? For Jon Gries, no doubt, that character is "Uncle Rico" in the 2004 cult classic high school comedy Napoleon Dynamite. Uncle Rico is a ball of confusion, hard-packed with conflicting characteristics, the classic enigma hiding inside a mystery hiding in plain sight.

An audiobook narrated by author Bob Andelman, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life is the authorized biography that explores Eisner's amazing life, detailing a career that spanned 70 years. The biography features interviews with many of Eisner's contemporaries, such as Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman, Denis Kitchen, Jim Warren, Dave Sim, Denny O'Neil, and Stan Lee.

Is it fair to call Carl Wilson the "accidental" Beach Boy? He was the youngest brother - and cousin - in the world’s most enduring and prominent California surf band, the one that probably had other youthful pursuits in mind when older brother Brian recruited him to the band in the early 1960s at age 15. But the rest of The Beach Boys were lucky he got around - I mean, came around - as Carl eventually became the band’s musical director, lead vocalist, and its conscience in the absence of brother Brian.

Like a lot of bands from that era, The Cowsills soon disappeared from view - 1910 Fruitgum Company, anyone? - and I didn’t give them much thought, until last week, when I was invited to watch a new documentary film by Louise Palanker, Family Band: The Cowsills Story, about the real family behind the singing family. Joining me today to talk about his family, the band, and the documentary is Paul Cowsill. Paul still leads The Cowsills, but his day jobs are equally interesting.

Toni Tennille: A Memoir is an okay title for the Alabama native’s life story, but once you read it to the end, you might agree with me that "Toni Tennille: Happy at Last" is more fitting. I cannot deny that I had low expectations as I began reading the autobiography of this singer who I always adored as a teen and held on to over the decades as a guilty pop pleasure. The glamour, the celebrity friends, parties, etc. - ho-hum, we’ve certainly heard it all before. But trust me, you haven’t heard this story.

If you’re going to write a book about the Rolling Stones at this point in their history, you damn well better have something unique to say - which brings us to former Rolling Stone magazine associate editor in London, Robert Greenfield. I am happy to report that the author has added several new colors to what we know of the band. If you love the Stones, you’ll find this tale irresistible. Hear more about it in this interview.

There are two pictures on Tommy Roe’s website of him with The Beatles. I glanced at them the night before this interview and then moved on, looking for ideas about what to ask the man behind such immortal 1960s bubblegum hits as “Sheila", “Dizzy”, and “Jam Up and Jelly Tight". The Beatles knew Roe; they were one of the featured acts on his top-billed tour of the UK, and they recorded a cover of his number one hit from 1962, “Sheila". Tommy Roe’s had his first number one with “Sheila", of course, and subsequently charted a number of songs on the Top 10.

No one ever did undercover police work better or with more distinction than Joe Pistone, who you probably know better as "Donnie Brasco". Brasco became a household name in the 1980s as the undercover character played by Pistone, perhaps the ballsiest FBI agent ever. His six years undercover ultimately led to testimony that sent more than 200 mobsters to jail and - indirectly, several to their deaths. Pistone was famously portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 1997 movie, Donnie Brasco.

Nothing twinkles quite as bright as a classic Hollywood star and few were ever bigger in their day than Lana Turner. In her over-sized collection of family photos and personal anecdotes, Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies, Turner’s daughter Cheryl Crane pulls back the curtain and offers a fascinating peek at a life well lived.

The story of Billy Hayes, an American tourist caught attempting to leave Turkey by plane in 1970 with bags of hashish taped to his stomach, for which he was subsequently jailed for five years - and, with only 42 days left to serve, resentenced to life in prison - was made into a major motion picture starring Brad Davis and written by Oliver Stone. But many key aspects of Midnight Express may have been invented by Stone.

Actress Charlotte Stewart's autobiography delivers on both boldface names and remarkably personal details. A few names in her life’s story: Elvis Presley. Kevin Bacon. Kyle McLachlan. Neil Young. Joni Mitchell. Jimmy Stewart. David Lynch. During today’s conversation, Charlotte will also read a short passage from Little House in the Hollywood Hills, which she co-wrote with Andy Demsky. Her book will blow your mind. Promise.

While most people who lived through the 1970s will remember Elliot Mintz for his Lennon-Ono connection, he was also quite an accomplished journalist, recording conversations with a who's who of the era, including Jack Nicholson, Allen Ginsberg, Mick Jagger, Salvador Dali, Dennis Hopper, Jayne Mansfield, and many, many more.

Grahame Wood opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 as an outlet for Wawa dairy products. Since then, the convenience store has grown into a well-known company that competes against the biggest industry players in the world in three areas: fuel, convenience, and food, all while maintaining their personal approach and small business mentality. Now, almost 50 years later, Wawa has opened its first store in Florida and begun to play on the national field. How did it happen?