Shirley Booth: A Biography and Career Record

by David C. Tucker

Overview

An Oscar-winning Best Actress for her tour-de-force role in Come Back, Little Sheba, Shirley Booth would ultimately win every major acting award that could be bestowed on an actress. Awarded three Tony Awards, two Emmys, and a Golden Globe, Booth was described by the judges at the Cannes Film Festival as "The World's Best Actress." Yet today fans know her best as the warm-hearted, busybody maid of television's Hazel.

This, the first biography of the beloved star, provides complete coverage of a career that encompassed theater, film, radio, and television, and co-stars such as Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. It begins with Shirley's childhood in Brooklyn, and her rebellious decision to become an actress against the wishes of her strict father. Included is complete coverage of her tumultuous marriage to radio comedian Ed Gardner (of "Duffy's Tavern" fame), and a second, happier union that ended abruptly with her husband's death of a heart attack. Readers of this exhaustively researched biography will come to know a versatile and gifted star whose career spanned almost 60 years. Appendices provide extensive details of her Broadway, film, radio and television (episode-by-episode) credits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786436002
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	03/25/2008
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David C. Tucker is the author of numerous books about classic film and television history. A retired public library administrator, he lives just outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Introduction     

1. Thelma Takes Stock     
2. Opening Nights     
3. Mr. Gardner and Miss Duffy     
4. G.I. Bill     
5. Queen of Sheba     
6. The World’s Best Actress     
7. Hot and Cold Spells     
8. Here Comes Hazel     
9. Hanging Up the Uniform     
10. Living with Grace     

Appendix A: Broadway Performances     
Appendix B: Radio Log     
Appendix C: Filmography     
Appendix D: Hazel Episode Guide     
Appendix E: A Touch of Grace Episode Guide     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

David C. Tucker is one of McFarland’s very best authors. Not only does he write well, his research skills are impeccable.”—Classic Images.

From the Publisher