Stefan Kanfer

An all-encompassing profile of the golden age icon includes coverage of everything from his childhood and friendships to his four marriages and working relationships with directors and actors, evaluating his achievements against a backdrop of historical and cultural events.

The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart

Tough Without a Gun

Writings by, for, and about Groucho Marx

The Essential Groucho

A candid portrait of the century's most memorable comedian traces Groucho Marx's rise to stardom; his famous ego; his relationships with wives, mistresses, and children; and much more. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx

Groucho

Marlon Brando will never cease to fascinate us: for his triumphs as an actor (On the Waterfront, The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris), as well as his disasters; for the power of the screen portrayals he gave, and for his turbulent, tumultuous personal life. Seamlessly intertwining the man and the work, Kanfer takes us through Brando's troubled childhood, to his arrival in New York in the 1940s, where he studied with the legendary Stella Adler, and at the age of twenty-three became the toast of Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire. Kanfer expertly examines each of Brando's films - from The Men in 1950 to The Score in 2001 - making clear the evolution of Brando's singular genius, while also shedding light on the cultural evolution of Hollywood itself. And he brings into focus Brando's self-destructiveness, his lifelong dissembling, his deeply ambivalent feelings towards his chosen vocation, and the tragedies that shadowed his final years. This is a never-before-seen portrait of one of the most extraordinary talents of the twentieth century.

The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando

Somebody

A portrait of the redheaded comic icon discusses her lonely childhood, discovery of her comedic talents, marriage to and divorce from Desi Arnaz, runaway successes on the "I Love Lucy" show, and her painful final years. 40,000 first printing.

The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball

Ball of Fire

No, Groucho is not my real name, I'm just breaking it in for a friend.' Presenting the greatest and most hilarious examples of Groucho, one of the most influential and well-loved figures in the long and glittering history of comedy. From early scripts to complete screenplays, from magazine funnies to fascinating personal correspondence, via books, greedy banks, even greedier lawyers and the coming of television, Kanfer's collection captures the essence of Groucho's inimitable comic genius. 'I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception...

Writings by, for and about Groucho Marx

The story of the attempt to build a Jewish Eden in the Catskills, from the days of the ghetto to the rise and decline of the great resorts.

The Attempt to Build a Jewish Eden in the Catskills, from the Days of the Ghetto to the Rise and Decline of the Borscht Belt

A Summer World

Stefan Kanfer, acclaimed biographer of Lucille Ball and Groucho Marx, now gives us the definitive life of Marlon Brando, seamlessly intertwining the man and the work to give us a stunning and illuminating appraisal. Beginning with Brando’s turbulent childhood, Kanfer follows him to New York where he made his star-making Broadway debut as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire at age twenty-three. Brando then decamped for Hollywood, and Kanfer looks at each of Brando’s films over the years—from The Men in 1950 to The Score in 2001—offering deft and insightful analysis of his sometimes brilliant, sometimes baffling performances. And, finally, Kanfer brings into focus Brando’s self-destructiveness, ambivalence toward his craft, and the tragedies that shadowed his last years.

In an insightful portrait of an iconic artist, the author of The Eighth Sin interweaves Marlon Brando's tumultuous personal life with his remarkable acting career as he documents the actor's troubled childhood, stage and film work, self-destructive nature, often contradictory attitude toward his craft, and the tragedies that marked his final years. 50,000 first printing.

An all-encompassing profile of the golden age icon includes coverage of everything from his childhood and friendships to his four marriages and working relationships with directors and actors, evaluating his achievements against a backdrop of historical and cultural events. Reprint.

La vida personal y profesional de uno de los grandes iconos del siglo XX.

Bogart

As a movie actress Lucille Ball was, in her own words, “queen of the B-pluses.” But on the small screen she was a superstar–arguably the funniest and most enduring in the history of TV. In this exemplary biography, Stefan Kanfer explores the roots of Lucy’s genius and places it in the context of her conflicted and sometimes bitter personal life. Ball of Fire gives us Lucy in all her contradictions. Here is the beauty who became a master of knock-down slapstick; the control freak whose comic alter ego thrived on chaos, the worshipful TV housewife whose real marriage ended in public disaster. Here, too, is an intimate view of the dawn of television and of the America that embraced it. Charming, informative, touching. and laugh-out-loud funny, this is the book Lucy’s fans have been waiting for.

A portrait of the redheaded comic icon discusses her lonely childhood, discovery of her comedic talents, marriage to and divorce from Desi Arnaz, runaway successes on the "I Love Lucy" show, and her painful final years. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

A Journal of the Plague Years

In Stardust Lost, Stefan Kanfer brings the colorful Yiddish stage roaring back to life. Born of ancient traditions stretching back to the drama of the Old Testament, the Yiddish theater was a vibrant part of the immigrant experience. Kanfer invokes the energy, belief, and pure chutzpah it took to establish and run the thriving, influential theaters. He reveals the nightly drama and comedy that played out behind the scenes as well as onstage, and introduces all the players—actors, divas, playwrights, directors, and producers—who made it possible. A richly evocative chronicle of its brief but dazzling existence in America, this is both an elegy for and a tribute to Yiddish theater—lost, but not forgotten.

The Triumph, Tragedy, and Meshugas of the Yiddish Theater in America

Stardust Lost

"Timely corporate history--as exciting and poignant as any good tale of derring-do against great odds by all-too-flawed giants. " - Kirkus Reviews With a scholar's precision and a novelist's eye, Stefan Kanfer tells the inside story of De Beers Consolidated Mines - from the nineteenth century diamond rush that transformed Johannes De Beer's humble South African farm into an exotic klondike, to the Oppenheimers' shadow empire that has achieved umatched global reach.

De Beers, Diamonds, and the World

The Last Empire

A Humphrey Bogart comes along only once in a century: someone who isn't conventionally handsome or particularly versatile, but who can convince an audience that whatever character he's playing is of great importance, because he represents something vital about themselves and their time. He honed his craft for years in the theatre only becoming a star at the age of 42 as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. In the 16 years that were left to him, he made an indelible mark on movies - such that film-makers as diverse as Woody Allen and Jean-Luc Godard paid homage to him in their films. At the heart of this biography is Bogey's love affair with the 19-year-old Lauren Bacall, who stole TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT - and his heart - by lolling in a doorway, tossing insolent remarks and teaching him to put his lips together and whistle.

Stefan Kanfer

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