Homey Don't Play That!

Homey Don't Play That!
Author: David Peisner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 3
Release: 2018-02-06
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1501143360

“A fascinating inside look at the trailblazing series” (Entertainment Tonight)—discover the behind-the-scenes stories and lasting impact of the trailblazing sketch comedy show that upended television, launched the careers of some of our biggest stars, and changed the way we talk, think, and laugh about race: In Living Color. Few television shows revolutionized comedy as profoundly or have had such an enormous and continued impact on our culture as In Living Color. Inspired by Richard Pryor, Carol Burnett, and Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans created a television series unlike any that had come before it. Along the way, he introduced the world to Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, David Alan Grier, Rosie Perez, and Jennifer Lopez, not to mention his own brothers Damon, Marlon, and Shawn Wayans. In Living Color shaped American culture in ways both seen and unseen, and was part of a sea change that moved black comedy and hip-hop culture from the shadows into the spotlight. Now, the “in-depth, well-researched” (Library Journal, starred review) Homey Don’t Play That reveals the complete, captivating story of how In Living Color overcame enormous odds to become a major, zeitgeist-seizing hit. Through exclusive interviews with the cast, writers, producers, and network executives, this insightful and entertaining chronicle follows the show’s ups and downs, friendships and feuds, tragedies and triumphs, sketches and scandals, the famous and the infamous, unveiling a vital piece of history in the evolution of comedy, television, and black culture.

Living in Color: What's Funny About Me

Living in Color: What's Funny About Me
Author: Tommy Davidson
Publisher: Kensington
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2020-01-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1496712943

In 1990, Tommy Davidson burst onto the scene in the Emmy Award-winning show In Living Color, a pioneering sketch comedy show, featuring a multi-racial cast of actors and dancers who spoke to an underrepresented new generation created by Hip Hop Nation. A story of black excellence, in this revealing memoir, Tommy shares his unique perspective on making it in Hollywood, being an integral part of television history, on fame and family, and on living a life that has never been black and white—just funny and true . . . Abandoned as an infant on the streets of Greenville, Mississippi, and rescued by a loving white family, Tommy Davidson spent most of his childhood unaware that he was different from his brother and sister. All that changed as he came of age in a society of racial barriers—ones that he was soon to help break. On a fledgling network, Tommy joined the cast of In Living Color, alongside other relative newcomers including Jim Carrey, Rosie Perez, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez—all united by an ingenious throng of Wayans siblings (Keenen, Damon, Kim, Shawn, and Marlon), poised to break new ground. Now Tommy gives readers the never-before-told behind-the-scenes story of the first show born of the Hip Hop Nation: from its incredible rise, to his own creation of such unforgettable characters as Sweet Tooth Jones and dead-on impressions of Sammy Davis, Jr., Michael Jackson, M.C. Hammer and Sugar Ray Leonard, and appearing in such classic sketches as “Homie The Clown,” the “Hey Mon, family,” and the unforgettable “Ugly Woman,” through guest-star skirmishes (and black eyes) to backstage tensions and the eventual fall of this pop-culture touchstone. He reveals his own nascent career on the stand-up circuit with Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Louie Anderson and performing with Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor, as well as reflections on working with Spike Lee, Halle Berry, Sam Jackson, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith. And he also shares his very personal story of living with—and being inspired and empowered by—two distinct family histories. Told with humor and hard-won honesty by a singular voice whose family and friendships help him navigate a life of personal and professional highs and lows, Living in Color is a bracing, illuminating, and remarkable success story. An homage to the groundbreaking series In Living Color was featured in Bruno Mars’s music video for his hit song Finesse, a remixed collaboration with Cardi B. It was a loving tribute that exemplified the sustained cultural impact of the show, and now 90s kids can dig into their nostalgia through this humorous memoir of one of its stars!

Honey Badger Don't Care

Honey Badger Don't Care
Author: Randall
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Total Pages: 82
Release: 2012-01-24
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 1449419623

Never before has wildlife narration been this bold and this hilarious. More than 40 million people have viewed Randall’s honey badger video, “The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger.” “It has no regard for anyone or anything—it just takes what it wants! What a little badass!” When viewing wildlife footage, who hasn’t thought at times, “Ewww! What the hell is that?!” Randall thinks it — and says so! In Honey Badger Don’t Care, Randall examines and humorously informs on a dozen crazy, nasty animals of the wild kingdom employing his unique style of telling it like it is! His wildlife writing is refreshingly honest. If an animal scares Randall, he’s not afraid to share. Unlike most nature writers, Randall doesn’t deliver the sugarcoated or drab description. He “goes there” and shares his true feelings with his audience. Because of this, his readers feel that they can relate. Randall loves animals—even the ones that terrify him. He may not agree with how these animals conduct themselves in the world, but Randall wants everyone to know who they are. Just as he introduced the world to the honey badger, the Jesus lizard, and others, so will Randall shed light on twelve bizarre and interesting animals. Designed with callouts, sidebars, and more than fifty photos, Honey Badger Don’t Care presents a wildlife book for adults—hilarious, irreverent, profane, yet charming, chatty, and informative. Don’t be stupid—buy this book!

Black Comedians on Black Comedy

Black Comedians on Black Comedy
Author: Darryl Littleton
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2006
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9781557837301

(Applause Books). Black Comedians on Black Comedy is the only up-to-date book to examine African-American humor. Comedian Darryl Littleton traces the history and evolution of "black comedy" in his narrative and through the 125 interviews he conducted with some of the top African-American comedians in the world. Those interviewed include Dick Gregory, Sinbad, Eddie Murphy, Mike Epps, Cedric the Entertainer, Nick Cannon, Bernie Mac, Eddie Griffin, Damon Wayans, Arsenio Hall, Chris Rock, Marla Gibbs, Robert Townsend, and John Witherspoon.

Happier at Home

Happier at Home
Author: Gretchen Rubin
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2012-09-04
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0385670834

Tolstoy wrote, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." This is the statement that inspired bestselling author Gretchen Rubin to wonder whether she could foster an even greater happiness in her home. During The Happiness Project, the same questions kept tugging at her. How can I raise happy children? How can I maintain a tender, romantic relationship with my spouse--after fifteen years of marriage? How do I keep my Blackberry from taking over my private life? How can I foster a well-ordered, light-hearted atmosphere in my house, when no one else will lift a finger to cooperate? This book is Gretchen's account of her second journey in pursuit of happiness. Prescriptive, easy-to-follow, and anecdotal, Happier at Home offers readers a way of thinking and being that is positive and life-affirming. With specific examples following the calendar year, an intimate voice, and drawing from science and pop culture, this book will resonate with anyone looking to strengthen the bonds of family.

Color by Fox

Color by Fox
Author: Kristal Brent Zook
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 177
Release: 1999
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0195106121

Locating a persistent black nationalist desire - yearning for home and community - in the shows produced in the 1980s and 1990s, Zook shows how the Fox hip-hop sitcom both reinforced and rebelled against earlier black sitcoms from the 1960s and 1970s.

Honey Girl

Honey Girl
Author: Morgan Rogers
Publisher: Harlequin
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2021-02-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1488077509

Named Most Anticipated of 2021 by Oprah Magazine * Marie Claire * Ms. Magazine * E! * Parade Magazine * Buzzfeed * Cosmo * The Rumpus * GoodReads * Autostraddle * Brit & Co * Refinery29 * Betches * BookRiot and others! A LibraryReads Pick “HONEY GIRL is an emotional, heartfelt, charming debut, and I loved every moment of it.” — Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal When becoming an adult means learning to love yourself first. With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls’ trip to Vegas to celebrate. She’s a straight A, work-through-the-summer certified high achiever. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t know…until she does exactly that. This one moment of departure from her stern ex-military father’s plans for her life has Grace wondering why she doesn’t feel more fulfilled from completing her degree. Staggering under the weight of her parent’s expectations, a struggling job market and feelings of burnout, Grace flees her home in Portland for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows. In New York, she’s able to ignore all the constant questions about her future plans and falls hard for her creative and beautiful wife, Yuki Yamamoto. But when reality comes crashing in, Grace must face what she’s been running from all along—the fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood.

The Bee Cottage Story

The Bee Cottage Story
Author: Frances Schultz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2015-07-07
Genre: House & Home
ISBN: 1632208644

Inspired by Frances Schultz’s popular House Beautiful magazine series on the makeover of her East Hampton house, Bee Cottage, what began as a decorating book evolved into a memoir combining the best elements of both: beautiful photos and a compelling personal story. Schultz taps into what she learned during her renovations of Bee Cottage—determining how each area in the house and garden would be used and furnished—to unravel the question of how a mature, intelligent, successful woman could have made such a mess of her personal life. As she figures out each room over a period of years, Frances finds a new path in life, also a continual process. She comes to learn that, like decorating a home, our lives must adapt to who we are and what we need at different points along the way. The Bee Cottage Story is part memoir, part home decorating guide. Frances discusses the kinds of useful, commonsense design issues that professionals take for granted and the rest of us just may not think of, prompting the reader to examine and discover her own “truth” in decorating—and in her life.

Home Is a Window

Home Is a Window
Author: Stephanie Parsley Ledyard
Publisher: Holiday House
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2019-04-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0823441563

A family learns what home really means, as they leave one beloved residence and make a new home in another. A Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People Home can be many things--a window, a doorway, a rug . . . or a hug. At home, everything always feels the same: comfortable and safe. But sometimes things change, and a home must be left behind. Follow a family as they move out of their beloved, familiar house and learn that they can bring everything they love about their old home to the new one, because they still have each other. This heartfelt picture book by Stephanie Parsley Ledyard is richly illustrated by former Pixar animator Chris Sasaki. A BookPage Best Book of the Year A Bank Street Best Book of the Year

The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book

The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book
Author: Vince Waldron
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2001
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9781557834539

The first and only complete, fully authorized "biography" of one of TV's most beloved sitcoms, including the first complete viewer's guide to all 158 episodes, as well as special behind-the-scenes trivia and a full chapter concordance. 50 black and white photos.