{"product_id":"madeline-kahn-being-the-music-a-life-hollywood-legends-9781617037610","title":"Madeline Kahn: Being the Music  a Life (Hollywood Legends)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBest known for her Oscar-nominated roles in the smash hits Paper Moon and Blazing Saddles  Madeline Kahn (1942-1999) was one of the most popular comedians of her time--and one of the least understood. In private  she was as reserved and refined as her characters were bold and bawdy. Almost a Method actor in her approach  she took her work seriously. When crew members and audiences laughed  she asked why--as if they were laughing at her--and all her life she remained unsure of her gifts. William V. Madison examines Kahns film career  including not only her triumphs with Mel Brooks and Peter Bogdanovich  but also her overlooked performances in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother and Judy Berlin  her final film. Her work in television--notably her sitcoms--also comes into focus. New York theater showered her with accolades  but also with remarkably bad luck  culminating in a disastrous outing in On the Twentieth Century that wrecked her reputation on Broadway. Only with her Tony-winning performance in The Sisters Rosensweig  fifteen years later  did Kahn regain her standing. Drawing on new interviews with family  friends  and such colleagues as Lily Tomlin  Carol Burnett  Gene Wilder  Harold Prince  and Eileen Brennan  as well as archival press and private writings  Madison uncovers Kahns lonely childhood and her struggles as a single woman working to provide for her erratic mother. Above all  Madison reveals the paramount importance of music in Kahns life. A talented singer  she entertained offers for operatic engagements long after she was an established Hollywood star  and she treated each script as a score. As Kahn told one friend  her ambition was \"to be the music.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45279824576565,"sku":"ByrdShop_1617037613","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781617037610.jpg?v=1780612291","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/madeline-kahn-being-the-music-a-life-hollywood-legends-9781617037610","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}