The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
Augusta Maria Trapp
This is Maria’s telling of the story that The Sound of Music is based on. It’s a wonderfully lively read and a tale every bit as amazing as the one depicted in the musical. You can have lots of fun playing ‘spot the difference’ with the fictionalised film and/or stage versions. And I bet that, like me, you’ll be surprised by some of the bits that Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (who, for the uninitiated, wrote the book – Richard Rogers did the music, Oscar Hammerstein II the lyrics) didn’t make up.
Early Havoc
June Havoc
June Havoc is the real life Dainty Baby June (as portrayed in the musical Gypsy) and an all-round, impressive human being. The daughter of archetypal pushy stage mother Rose Hovick, June broke free and made her own way by dint of sheer determination and hard graft. From vaudeville child stardom through the nightmares of the 1930s dance marathons and finally on to Broadway, this first of her two volumes of memoir is the honest and witty life story of an inspirational human being. Sadly, it’s out of print (as is vol 2: More Havoc), but you can find copies on
Child Star: an autobiography
Shirley Temple Black
What can I say about Shirley Temple’s autobiography, except that it’s an intelligent down-to-earth account of her years as the 20th century’s highest-profile child performer, her family relationships and her second working life as a diplomat that proves that early fame doesn’t always wreck lives. Also out of print, but last time I looked there were a fair number available on
Walt, Mickey and Me
Paul Petersen
Petersen was a former child star who went off the rails, got back on again and formed A Minor Consideration, the US organisation dedicated to supporting performing children ‘past, present and future’ (check out the link above right). And this book is a ferociously intelligent analysis of both the might of the Disney Empire and its effects – good and bad – on the children it employed as Mouseketeers. Ignore the 1970s hairstyle: Petersen has some remarkably cogent – and relevant – things to say about children in the entertainment industry. Yet another one that’s out of print, but you can often get lucky on
Former Child Stars: the story of America’s least wanted
Joal Ryan
Hooray. This one’s in print. Journalist Joal Ryan tells the later life stories of some of America’s best known kids-off-the-telly (plus the odd film star or two). It’s smart and pithy and she also ruminates on how sitcom reruns make it hard for their juvenile stars to grow up and why their audiences turn against them when they do.
buy this book… and check out Joal’s blog
The Great American Mousical
Julie Andrews Edwards
& Emma Walton Hamilton
Last, but not remotely least, this engaging and beautifully illustrated tale of theatrical mice directing, producing and performing a musical (ok, mousical) on – or, rather, under – Broadway.
