Description
Book SynopsisEdward Eliscu has lived three celebrated lives for much of this centuryon Broadway, in Hollywood, and in Connecticut. Known among his peers as the exemplary professional lyricist and to many others as a trenchant and witty playwright, screenwriter, performer, director, essayist, critic, poet, and political polemicist, Eliscu is best known to the general public as the writer of such memorable songs as Without a Song, More Than You Know, Great Day, Carioca, and Flying Down to Rio. As a screenwriter he wrote more than twenty films and adapted many prestigious dramatic plays for live television. This memoir is an exciting personal history of an artist with a conscience, his era, and the places he lived.
Trade Review[A] useful addition to the always excellent and informative Scarecrow Filmmakers series, which has done much to preserve the memories of the veterans of the cinematic community. * Historical Journal of Film, Radio, & Television *
A lyricist ("More Than You Know," "Flying Down to Rio"), playwright, screenwriter, performer, director, critic, and political activist, Eliscu looks back on the century his life nearly spanned. "My jumbled career is replete with contrary motives, unpredictable enthusiasms, and impractical commitments to both popular entertainment and unpopular causes," he notes in an introduction. "Such a split identity invites public clarification," which he provides with brio. Edited by Eliscu's son David; Eliscu died in 1998. Includes a handful of family photos. * Reference and Research Book News *
This book will be especially appreciated by students of the history of American entertainment and popular culture, particularly those interested in the American theatre, film and song writing industry. It will also be of interest to those studying the phenomenon of the American blacklist and the socially concerned artist's response to his political, economic and social environment. * Amazon.Com *
