FAME-ISH: My Life at the Edge of Stardom

by Mary Lynn Rajskub

Overview

A debut collection of hilarious essays and endearing missteps on the road to becoming fame-ish—now in paperback!

It’s not easy being kind of famous. Fortune. Younger men. Exclusive invites. Being mistaken for different actresses who are slightly prettier and more famous than you. It’s all part of the gig, and Mary Lynn Rajskub is a pro. Hilarious and self-deprecating, FAME-ISH is Mary Lynn Rajskub’s debut collection of riotously funny essays.

Smart, satirical, and relatable, this book gives new meaning to the word icon as Mary Lynn navigates the entertainment world against the backdrop of her own quirky idiosyncrasies. She describes what it’s like to make out with Tom Cruise, be a waitress at Denny’s, and find your life’s purpose in 300 indecipherable, not-easy-steps—all in a day’s work. Mary Lynn is honest about her experiences with bisexuality, her college years as a slug, and the bright lights of stardom, ultimately giving the people what they want: an endearing, hilarious look at what it’s like to almost make a name for yourself in Hollywood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419754807
Publisher:	Abrams Press
Publication date:	05/23/2023
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.95(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Mary Lynn Rajskub is an actress, comedian, and writer, best known for playing Chloe on the Fox drama 24 and Gail the Snail from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She has also been in Safety Not Guaranteed, Little Miss Sunshine, Legally Blonde 2, Julie and Julia, Grey’s Anatomy, and many other popular movies and TV shows. Rajskub performs stand-up comedy across the country. She lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2022

In this series of self-deprecatingly humorous personal essays, actress Rajskub, best known for her roles on the TV series 24 and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, explores what it's like to be almost-famous. Not all actors enjoy lives of glitz and glam, Rajskub reveals—indeed, she discusses doing her own laundry and showing up at an event in a discounted skirt from Ross Dress for Less. Her essays tackle her stint at Denny's (waiting on others turns out to be good training for actors because they will be doing a lot of it as they await their big break); her stand-up comedy; the horrors of auditioning (don't go drunk, she cautions readers); and the question fans ask most: What was it like working with Kiefer Sutherland? (Intimidating.) Rajskub also dishes about Gary Shandling (on the set of The Larry Sanders Show, he paused the cameras to give her an acting lesson), Tom Cruise (she made out with him in Magnolia, but the scene was cut from the film), and Harrison Ford ("funny and gruff but kind of humble"). Rajskub's advice to young actors and comics starting out? "Perform as much as possible." VERDICT Aspiring actors and fans of 24 and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will enjoy Rajskub's humor, words of wisdom, and down-to-earth tone.—Rosellen "Rosy" Brewer

Library Journal

2022-03-23
An actor and comedian pens a series of tongue-in-cheek personal essays on how “fifty years of living” have transformed her into “a real person with insights and a certain perspective on the world.”

Rajskub grew up in a Michigan town so small that for a time she dreamed of becoming a trucker to escape it. Until she left, she was worried that she would do nothing more in life than “marry [her] high school sweetheart and work at Olive Garden.” The one place she felt happiest was drama class, which gave her room to express emotions she was unable to experience in a world that often made her feel “invisible.” Emboldened by her limited theatrical experiences, Rajskub left for Los Angeles. There, her gutsiness as a performer eventually landed her parts in sitcoms like NewsRadio and Over the Top. A small role as Adam Sandler’s sister in Punch-Drunk Love led to a stint opposite Kiefer Sutherland on the popular TV series 24. That role earned Rajskub widespread recognition and the chance to work on other projects like Little Miss Sunshine. She spent her modest wealth on everything from expensive cars to a “women’s commune” mansion she shared with two lesbian friends. Yet for all the success the author found in her many film, TV, and stand-up appearances, it seemed like she could do no more than rub shoulders with megawatt Hollywood stars, some of whom rejected her on celebrity dating apps. So she settled for the kind of recognition that included seeing her face 10 years after the show ended “on the side of a 24-themed pinball machine” and maternity ward nurses telling her to call Sutherland’s character Jack Bauer for help. This funny, quirky account of a small-town girl’s rise to something like fame will appeal to both Rajskub fans and readers with a penchant for dryly comedic memoirs.

Light, entertaining reading.

Kirkus Reviews