With Or Without A Song »

"With or Without a Song: A Memoir is a history spanning almost a hundred years. The author, Edward Eliscu, describes the course of his life from his family's emigration to America, his youth in New York City, his experiences in the pre-Borscht Belt Catskills and Broadway theatre of the 1920's and 30's. He traces his career as a songwriter in the pre-Tin Pan Alley era and describes encounters with such luminaries as Vincent Youmans, Billy Rose, Moss Hart, Leonard Sillman, Oscar Hammerstein, the Gershwins, and many others. Additionally, he details his careers and travels between East and West coast, including Hollywood in the 1930's and 40's, return to New York as a television writer, and his eventual recognition as a celebrity in the entertainment field." "Edward Eliscu describes how he survived three blacklists, two in Hollywood, one in New York. He offers an insider's look at the quintessential Hollywood of the Depression and the 1930s, with anecdotes about such stellar players as George Cukor, Katherine Hepburn, Dore Schary, David O. Selznick, Louis B. Mayer, Samuel Goldwyn, Tallulah Bankhead, Joseph Kennedy, Gloria Swanson, and Greta Garbo, and what it was like to work in the major Hollywood studios at that time." "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."--BOOK JACKET.

Booknews

A lyricist ("More Than You Know," "Carioca," "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. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)