Showing titles in Biographies & Memoirs

Original comedy material from some of the best comedy writers around! These audio programs feature highlights of the onling monthly reading series "Say the Word".

Mike had managed to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a stand-up comedian in the San Francisco comedy scene of the 1980s. He was appearing on television and rubbing shoulders with the big stars of the day. His future was bright and the last thing he needed was a woman to come along who would shake his ideas of what true happiness was. But, come along she did, daring him to achieve something even greater than fame and fortune.

Zwei Rentner aus Sachsen-Anhalt verreisen mit ihrem Sohn. Was soll schon schiefgehen...?! «Urlaub mit den Eltern. Wir sitzen 5 (!) Stunden vor Abflug am Flughafen, und Mutter verzweifelt, weil sie die Bordkarten auf DIN A3 ausgedruckt hat und denkt, dass wir deshalb nicht mitfliegen dürfen.» So begann André Herrmann, 36, Comedian aus Berlin, die Dokumentation seiner Reise mit seinen Eltern, die binnen kürzester Zeit viral ging. Unter dem Hashtag #UmdE berichtet er acht Tage lang von den Unwegsamkeiten der gemeinsamen Reise und begeisterte damit schnell eine riesige Followerschaft.

Bestselling children's author Andy Stanton has made a career out of writing differently—from the unconventional ‘hero' of his bestselling Mr Gum series to his penchant for absurdist plots, his children's books are anything but formulaic. When a friend introduces him to ChatGPT, the new large language chatbot, Andy is as sceptical as he is curious. Can this jumble of algorithms really mimic the spontaneity of human thought? Could it one day replace human authors like him for good? And are we soon to be ruled over by despotic robot overlords.

"El mejor trofeo de la vida es reírse". De ese modo pensaba Cantinflas, uno de los mejores cómicos del cine en el siglo XX. Un actor versátil dotado de una habilidad interpretativa extraordinaria y una genialidad sorprendente para seducir con su espíritu...

For anyone who loves American comedy, the long wait is over. Here are the never-before-told, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and remembrances from a master storyteller, filmmaker, and creator of all things funny. All About Me! charts Mel Brooks' meteoric rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. 

One of Canada’s top comedians shares the funniest stories from his life and career in this collection of hilarious essays For more than two decades, Gerry Dee has made audiences laugh, first as a hard-working stand-up comedian, and then as the star of his own CBC television program, Mr. D. Dee...

Comedy has been Shaun Micallef’s guiding light, his refuge, his passport, his lifebuoy, his drug, his mask, his means, his end, his lingua franca, his Self. But it’s not everything. Join Shaun on a journey from his earliest days as a gangly, bespectacled comedy nerd growing up on the mean streets of Adelaide to his rightful place today as a glittering star in Australia’s TV firmament. Though his road to success has not been without its failures – in fact, many, many failures – only a few of them can be blamed on others.

A hilarious window into the world of comedian and social-media star Arron Crascall, as he embarks on a life-changing journey of discovering what truly makes him happy. In the same vein as his favourite TV show, The Wonder Years, old Arron (full of See Ya Later wisdom) meets young 13-year-old Arron and tackles all the big stuff. As he revisits some of the key moments in his life, Arron will give his young self some words of wisdom on how to navigate the big issue of being a contented and fulfilled grown-up.

This book is a personally written account of Jimmy’s "50 Golden Years", in show business, from holiday camp Redcoat to Bluecoat then onto his first big break on television, (after many struggles), going on to headline for four of his own series for Central television in the 1980s with 'Royal Command Performances' and TV Variety shows in between, then his BBC Radio 2 series written by the great scriptwriter Eddie Braben in the 1990's which ran for five years called, 'Jimmy's Cricket Team'.

In March 2020 the Prime Minister told Mrs V to shield for 12 weeks. Then for a bit longer. And just a little bit longer. No cuddles, no snogging, no tasting other people's cocktails to see if they were nicer than hers; pick a spot and stay put. This was bad news for everyone, except possibly the ice cream industry. Mrs V immediately laid claim to the dining room and created her little slice of self-isolation. From her perch in Covid Corner, she blogged about the daily ups and downs of family life in lockdown, keeping her readers laughing as the world got weirder.

"Dieses Buch hat die gleiche Botschaft wie meine Comedy: Du bist okay. Selbst wenn du glaubst, du bist es nicht." Maxi Gstettenbauer hat Depressionen und erleidet häufig Panikattacken – was für einen Stand-up-Comedian mit regelmäßigen Auftritten im Fernsehen und auf der Bühne keine ganz ideale Kombi ist. Dennoch: Maxi stellt sich ins Rampenlicht, ist erfolgreich, füllt Clubs und Hallen und hat keine Lust mehr, seine Erkrankung zu verheimlichen.

Ever wonder what goes on in the life of a factory worker? After 18 years of working in a field that I had no intention of toiling in, I have decided it is time to share my experiences with others. I am coming to the table to share tales that are too rich to be simply forgotten. If you are looking to be impressed with superb plots and subplots, you won't find it here. I'm simply telling stories that are conjured up from my years of experience wearing a blue collar.

This book contains numerous short stories as seen through the eyes of a dusty old baker. The stories are made up of observations, history, and imagination, as the author watches the world go by as he sits at the large table in the middle of his bakery.

David Acuff is a Hollywood insider, a military brat, a comic, a piano recital survivor, a BMW murderer, an offensive linebacker, a dog licker, a divorced TikToker, a father of three Jedi princesses, and possibly a child prodigy. He is also a semi-centurion. That's a word he made up when he turned 50 this year because "quinquagenarian" sounds like a horse disease or a Menudo song. And before he could move on to the next nifty fifty, he wanted to process how he'd lived, laughed, loved, and litigated along the way. So he wrote this semi-memoir. A semi-memie, let's call it.

Andy Smart's early adventures are a series of jaw-dropping feats and bizarre situations from which, amazingly, he emerged unscathed. Living on his wits, sleeping rough, and accepting lifts that get him into bizarre and often dangerous situations, Andy's six years spent on the road stands as a unique record of life as it was in the late 1970s and early '80s.

Uber Taxi Cab Confessions is a whirlwind tour of true short stories viewed through the eyes of a part time Uber driver. You will be a passenger on every ride, discovering the hottest bars and restaurants and the secret after-hour clubs in Fairfield County as we pick up riders and take them to wherever they want to go. Your life changes once you turn on the Uber app. The show begins as soon as a rider opens the door to your cab.

Ageing as a runner is no joke. Paul Tonkinson discovers that in running, as in life, you are gradually overtaken by a stream of young people wearing clothes you couldn’t get in to and in shoes you don’t recognise. He observes that your relationship with running changes – you no longer run as fast as you can, you run as fast as your body can handle, which is slow. So, embrace it. Why not the toughest footrace on earth? The Marathon Des Sables, a week long, 250km self-sufficient sweat fest across the Sahara Desert. What could possibly go wrong?

Matt Rife is well aware that he’s both the most loved and the most controversial comic in America today. And honestly, he thinks that’s your problem. In his very first book, Matt reveals without apology everything that led him to becoming comedy’s biggest lightning rod before he reached thirty, in a story full of bold and hysterical takes on everything from Justin Bieber tramp stamps and rap battles with ex-cons to Matt’s battles with depression and his many brushes with failure before finally hitting it big.

Comedian Tony Martin has strip-mined his often unremarkable life to tell sixteen small tales fraught with laughter and detail. Choosing to ignore his many dubious achievements in the world of Australian show business (Martin/Molloy, The Late Show, a short-lived but torrid affair with Sharon on Kath & Kim), New Zealand-born Martin instead recalls dozens of tiny life-changing moments that, frankly, could have happened to anybody.