Up-close and personal views, by the renowned music critic and orchestra administrator, of musical luminaries from Alfred Brendel to Jessye Norman and beyond. Star Turns and Cameo Appearances is the entertaining and insightful memoir by veteran music critic Bernard Jacobson. Its pages are populated by eminent composers ranging from Hans Werner Henze to Andrzej Panufnik and by renowned performers, including Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Sviatoslav Richter, and Jessye Norman. As a music critic and orchestra administrator, Jacobson has had the opportunity to observe these outstanding musicians andmany of their colleagues at close quarters. Assisting Riccardo Muti at the Philadelphia Orchestra for eight years, he saw sides of that maestro not visible to the music-loving public. Throughout Star Turns and Cameo Performances, Jacobson adds his own sensitive and sympathetic view to public perceptions of musical luminaries of yesterday and today, helping to explain and illuminate their artistry. Bernard Jacobson has worked in the music field for over fifty years, including stints as recording executive, music critic of the Chicago Daily News, artistic director and adviser for international orchestras in Holland, and visiting professor at Roosevelt University's Chicago Musical College. He has also performed and recorded as narrator of concert works and opera.

In this book the different manifestations, meanings, and processes of the star and celebrity confessional will be explored. The confessional is taken to be any moment in which a star, celebrity, or fan engages in revelatory acts that are considered to be authentic, heart-felt, and honest. These confessional encounters can take place in an interview, through performance and presentation events, online, and in ‘unscripted’ encounters. A star may break down in tears, or reveal a previously unknown truth about their private life. However, this authenticity is often found to have been manufactured, or is timed to occur against a new release or product launch. Alternatively, the desire to confess may be seen to draw attention to the centrality of pseudo forms of emotion in contemporary culture and the obsessional behaviour it produces. In this book authors consider acts of confession by celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson, Jade Goody, Britney Spears, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tracey Emin, and Russell Crowe.

Through the intensive examination of films, magazines, advertising and critical texts, Dyer analyses the historical, ideological and aesthetic significance of stars, changing the way we understand screen icons. Paying particular attention to icons including Marlon Brando, Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe and John Wayne.

Extensive account of the cameo’s production history and how audiences affirm their mastery of celebrity culture. Stars and Silhouettes: The History of the Cameo Role in Hollywood traces the history of the cameo as it emerged in twentieth-century cinema. Although the cameo has existed in film culture for over a century, Joceline Andersen explains that this role cannot be strictly defined because it exists as a constellation of interactions between duration and recognition, dependent on who is watching and when. Even audiences of the twenty-first century who are inundated by the lives of movie stars and habituated to images of their personal friends on screens continue to find cameos surprising and engaging. Cameos reveal the links between our obsession with celebrity and our desire to participate in the powerful cultural industries within contemporary society. Chapter 1 begins with the cameo’s precedents in visual culture and the portrait in particular—from the Vitagraph executives in the 1910s to the emergence of actors as movie stars shortly after. Chapter 2 explores the fan-centric desire for behind-the-scenes visions of Hollywood that accounted for the success of cameo-laden, Hollywood-set films that autocratic studios used to make their glamorous line-up of stars as visible as possible. Chapter 3 traces the development of the cameo in comedy, where cameos began to show not only glimpses of celebrities at their best but also of celebrities at their worst. Chapter 4 examines how the television guest spot became an important way for stars and studios to market both their films and stars from other media in trades that reflected an increasingly integrated mediascape. In Chapter 5, Andersen examines auteur cameos and the cameo as a sign of authorship. Director cameos reaffirm the fan’s interest in the film not just as a stage for actors but as a forum for the visibility of the director. Cameos create a participatory space for viewers, where recognizing those singled out among extras and small roles allows fans to demonstrate their knowledge. Stars and Silhouettes belongs on the shelf of every scholar, student, and reader interested in film history and star studies.

An eminent film historian illuminates the stars of silent film.

A comprehensive guide to European actors in American film, this book brings together 15 chapters with A-Z entries on over 900 individuals. It includes case studies of prominent individuals and phenomena associated with the emigres, such as the stereotyping of European actresses in 'bad women' roles, and the irony of Jewish actors playing Nazis.

After he and Jasmine have spent more than two years together, Nick is certain the time has come to settle down; he’s never been so in love before, and Jasmine is everything he could ever hope for in a woman. As he sets the stage with a romantic weekend in an exquisite log cabin nestled in the Vermont wilderness, Nick pops the question, to which Jasmine replies, "I have to think about it." When she turns him down, Nick is shattered. Heartbroken, he moves to Chicago for a new job and a new start. Determined to put his experience with Jasmine behind him, Nick takes the advice of his best friend, Malloy, and sets out to drown his sorrows in fine female companionship. After dating women from his gym (Asanti), his classes (Angelica), and clubs (Tamara), Nick finds himself more depressed by the superficiality of the relationships and no closer to erasing Jas-mine’s memory. Nick is equally disappointed with his work–his job at the bank is uninspiring–and the best parts of his week are the acting classes he signed up for on a whim. When old college friends invite him down to Atlanta for Freaknik, Nick is ready to let loose and enjoy the wild and sometimes scandalous spring-break activities. His interest is further piqued when he learns that Jasmine has relocated to Atlanta. Ultimately, Nick must decide whether he wants to re-create what he had with Jasmine or move on with his life. Without Jasmine, can Nick live happily ever after? Nick’s Six Cardinal Rules of Dating No. 1: Never date someone from a health club. Health club relationships are doomed from the start. Their whole premise relies upon physical attraction, a foundation with all the durability of rice paper. No. 2: Never date someone with whom you work. That is a no-brainer. No. 3: Never date someone from class. If all goes sour, you’re stuck seeing a pissed-off face mean-mugging you for the rest of the quarter. No. 4: Never let an ex back into your life. Exes only exist to stir up long-settled emotions and to confuse you. And they do. No. 5: Never date a neighbor. If all hell breaks loose, you can’t get rid of your neighbor . . . legally. No. 6: Never date a married woman. It’s just plain wrong.