Tom Lisanti's Books

Ryan's Hope

An Oral History of Daytime's Groundbreaking Soap

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Ryan's Hope

An Oral History of Daytime's Groundbreaking Soap

By: Tom Lisanti

In the vein of the bestselling Nothing General About It and Always Young and Restless, a revelatory account of the pioneering Emmy Award-winning, beloved daytime drama— featuring the words of stars including Helen Gallagher, Malcolm Groome, Ron Hale, Ilene Kristen, Michael Levin, Ana Alicia, Roscoe Born, Catherine Hicks, Geoff Pierson, Andrew Robinson, and Gordon Thompson, along with writers, producers, directors and family members—plus never-before-seen photos and plot synopses. From the opening scene of its first episode, in which Mary Ryan walks jauntily down a New York City street to her family’s neighborhood bar, it was clear that Ryan’s Hope would be unlike every daytime soap that had come before. Indeed, from 1975 to 1989, the Emmy award-winning ABC TV serial drew viewers into the world of Maeve and Johnny Ryan, their children, friends, and extended family. This page-turning chronicle gathers memories and exclusive interviews to reveal the show’s fascinating origin story—and explore why it’s missed to this day. Ryan’s Hope was set in a real city, within recognizable communities. The working-class, Irish-Catholic, immigrant Ryans were the core of a show that credibly tackled such topics as infidelity, addiction, religious faith, and women’s rights. There was melodrama, to be sure, but also heart, depth, grit—provided by co-creators and head writers Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer. Labine and Mayer were also the executive producers in the early years, which gave them full control over their creation, from character backstories to lighting and costume. But there were also some missteps along the way, from the constant recasting of fan-favorite characters to ABC’s ill-judged attempts to infuse the homey, family-oriented show with intrigue and adventure. Featuring the words of stars including Helen Gallagher, Malcolm Groome, Ron Hale, Ilene Kristen, Michael Levin, Ana Alicia, Roscoe Born, Catherine Hicks, Geoff Pierson, Andrew Robinson, and Gordon Thomson, along with writers, producers, production crew, and family members—plus never-before-seen photos and plot synopses—soap opera fans will find this insider account as captivating as the beloved show itself.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

728

Publisher

Citadel Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0806542926

ISBN 13

9780806542928

Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema

Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema

Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies

By: Tom Lisanti

Elvis Presley musicals, beach romps, biker flicks, and alienated youth movies were some of the most popular types of drive-in films during the sixties. The actresses interviewed for this book (including Celeste Yarnall, Lana Wood, Linda Harrison, Pamela Tiffin, Deanna Lund, Diane McBain, Judy Pace, and Chris Noel) all made their mark in these genres. These fantastic femmes could be found either twisting on the shores of Malibu, careening down the highway on a chopper, being serenaded by Elvis, or taking on the establishment as hip coeds. As cult figures, they contributed greatly to that period of filmmaking aimed at the teenage audience who frequented the drive-ins of America. They frolicked, screamed, and danced their way into B-movie history in such diverse films as Eve, Teenage Millionaire, The Girls on the Beach, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Three in the Attic, Wild in the Streets, and Paradise, Hawaiian Style. This book is a celebration of the actresses' careers. They have for the most part been overlooked in other publications documenting the history of film. Fantasy Femmes addresses their film and television careers, focusing on their view of the above genres, their candid comments and anecdotes about their films, the people they worked with, and their feelings in general regarding their lives and the choices they made. The book is well illuminated and contains a complete list of film and television credits.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

321

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

147660116X

ISBN 13

9781476601168

Dueling Harlows

The Race to Bring the Actress's Life to the Silver Screen

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Dueling Harlows

The Race to Bring the Actress's Life to the Silver Screen

By: Tom Lisanti

In 1965 producers Joseph E. Levine and Bill Sargent were racing to get their problem-laden biopics of Jean Harlow (both titled Harlow) into theaters first. Levine's film starred Carroll Baker in a big-budget, color production. Sargent's movie starred Carol Lynley in a quickie, black and white production shot in a new process called Electronovision. In the press the two producers conducted one of the nastiest feuds Hollywood had ever witnessed, nearly culminating in fisticuffs at the 1965 Academy Awards ceremony. In recounting the making of the two films, this book (expanded from the original self-published edition) touches on Jean Harlow's life, the failed attempts to make a Harlow biopic in the 1950s, and the reviled, bestselling 1964 biography. It details the aftermath of each movie's release, from scathing reviews to disappointing box office returns to the several lawsuits. Newly discussed are the portrayals of Jean Harlow on stage shortly after the Levine and Sargent films, and the making of the 1977 film Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell starring Lindsay Bloom as Jean Harlow. The book is generously illustrated and includes interviews with people associated with all three films, including Carol Lynley and Lindsay Bloom.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

228

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476651663

ISBN 13

9781476651668

Drive-in Dream Girls

A Galaxy of B-Movie Starlets of the Sixties

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Drive-in Dream Girls

A Galaxy of B-Movie Starlets of the Sixties

By: Tom Lisanti

During the 1960s, a bushel of B-movies were produced and aimed at the predominantly teenage drive-in movie audience. At first teens couldn't get enough of the bikini-clad beauties dancing on the beach or being wooed by Elvis Presley, but by 1966 young audiences became more interested in the mini-skirted, go-go boot wearing, independent-minded gals of spy spoofs, hot rod movies and biker flicks. Profiled herein are fifty sexy, young actresses that teenage girls envied and teenage boys desired including Quinn O'Hara, Melody Patterson, Hilarie Thompson, Donna Loren, Pat Priest, Meredith MacRae, Arlene Martel, Cynthia Pepper, and Beverly Washburn. Some like Sue Ane Langdon, Juliet Prowse, Marlyn Mason, and Carole Wells, appeared in major studio productions while others, such as Regina Carrol, Susan Hart, Angelique Pettyjohn and Suzie Kaye were relegated to drive-in movies only. Each biography contains a complete filmography. Some also include the actresses' candid comments and anecdotes about their films, the people they worked with, and their feelings about acting. A list of web sites that provide further information is also included.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

361

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786471654

ISBN 13

9780786471652

Trippin' with Terry Southern

What I Think I Remember

By: Gail Gerber,Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Trippin' with Terry Southern

What I Think I Remember

By: Gail Gerber,Tom Lisanti

This award-winning memoir about "the hippest guy on the planet" recollects novelist/screenwriter Terry Southern's highs and lows, his association with the Beat Generation, and his movie cult classics Dr. Strangelove and Easy Rider. In 1964, Terry Southern met actress Gail Gerber on the set of The Loved One. He was enjoying his success from co-writing the risque novel Candy, a satire of Candide, and the movie Dr. Strangelove; she had just co-starred with Elvis Presley in Girl Happy. Though they were both married, there was an instant connection and they remained a couple until his death 30 years later. In her memoir, Gail recalls what life was like with "the hippest guy on the planet." It documents their life together and contains numerous photographs of Terry and Gail with friends both famous and notorious. The wickedly gifted satirist, who had a stint writing for Saturday Night Live, kept company with the likes of Lenny Bruce, Dennis Hopper, Ringo Starr, William Burroughs, George Segal, Harry Nilsson, George Plimpton, David Amram and Rip Torn. It also reveals what went on behind the scenes of Gail's movies (including The Girls on the Beach and Village of the Giants), and Terry's movies (including The Cincinnati Kid, Casino Royale, Barbarella, The Magic Christian, End of the Road, and Easy Rider).

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

277

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786487275

ISBN 13

9780786487271

Pamela Tiffin

Hollywood to Rome, 1961-1974

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Pamela Tiffin

Hollywood to Rome, 1961-1974

By: Tom Lisanti

Dark-haired 60s cult pop icon Pamela Tiffin debuted in Summer and Smoke (1961) and was a scene-stealing comedienne opposite James Cagney in Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961) before becoming the queen of teenage drive-in movies in State Fair (1963), Come Fly with Me (1963), For Those Who Think Young (1964), The Lively Set (1964) and The Pleasure Seekers (1964). After landing a sexy adult role opposite Paul Newman in Harper (1966), she went blonde and ran away to Italy to star in such films as Kiss the Other Sheik (1968), The Fifth Cord (1971) and Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears (1973). This thoroughly researched career retrospective pays tribute to the talented Tiffin, hailed by Cagney for her "remarkable flair for comedy," and addresses why she did not achieve superstardom. Interviews with co-stars, including Franco Nero, and film historians offer a behind-the-scenes look at her most popular films.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

281

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476620164

ISBN 13

9781476620169

Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema

Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema

Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies

By: Tom Lisanti

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

321

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

147660116X

ISBN 13

9781476601168

Dueling Harlows

The Race to Bring the Actress's Life to the Silver Screen

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Dueling Harlows

The Race to Bring the Actress's Life to the Silver Screen

By: Tom Lisanti

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

228

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476692599

ISBN 13

9781476692593

James Bond FAQ

All That's Left to Know About Everyone's Favorite Superspy

By: Tom DeMichael

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

James Bond FAQ

All That's Left to Know About Everyone's Favorite Superspy

By: Tom DeMichael

A favorite of film followers for 50 years, James Bond is the hero loved by everyone: Men want to be just like him, women just want to be with him. Moviegoers around the world have spent more than $5 billion to watch his adventures across the last five decades. What's not to enjoy about such a glorious multitude of gadgets, gals, grand locations, and grandiose schemes hatched by master villains and megalomaniacs? Now, James Bond FAQ is a book that takes on the iconic cinema franchise that's lasted for so many years. Sometimes serious as SPECTRE, sometimes quirkier than Q, but always informative, this FAQ takes the reader behind-the-scenes, as well as in front of the silver screen. Everyone's included: Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig; little-known facts about TV's first shot at 007, the same Bond story that was made into two different films; whatever happened to those wonderful cars and gizmos that thrilled everyone; plus much more. It's a book for the casual, as well as hardcore, James Bond fan. James Bond FAQ is filled with biographies, synopses, production stories, and images and illustrations seldom seen in print, leaving little else to be said about the world's favorite secret agent. This book includes a foreword by Eunice Gayson.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

626

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1480337862

ISBN 13

9781480337862

Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood

Seventy-Five Profiles

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood

Seventy-Five Profiles

By: Tom Lisanti

During the 1960s, many models, Playboy centerfolds, beauty queens, and Las Vegas showgirls went on to become "decorative actresses" appearing scantily clad on film and television. This well illustrated homage to 75 of these glamour girls reveals their unique stories through individual biographical profiles, photographs, lists of major credits and, frequently, in-depth personal interviews. Included are Carol Wayne, Edy Williams, Inga Neilsen, Thordis Brandt, Jo Collins, Phyllis Davis, Melodie Johnson, and many equally unforgettable faces of sixties Hollywood.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

253

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476612412

ISBN 13

9781476612416

Drive-in Dream Girls

A Galaxy of B-Movie Starlets of the Sixties

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Drive-in Dream Girls

A Galaxy of B-Movie Starlets of the Sixties

By: Tom Lisanti

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

361

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786493429

ISBN 13

9780786493425

Trippin' with Terry Southern

What I Think I Remember

By: Gail Gerber,Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Trippin' with Terry Southern

What I Think I Remember

By: Gail Gerber,Tom Lisanti

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

277

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786487275

ISBN 13

9780786487271

Ryan's Hope

An Oral History of Daytime's Groundbreaking Soap

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Ryan's Hope

An Oral History of Daytime's Groundbreaking Soap

By: Tom Lisanti

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

728

Publisher

Citadel Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0806542926

ISBN 13

9780806542928

Carol Lynley

Her Film & TV Career in Thrillers, Fantasy and Suspense

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Carol Lynley

Her Film & TV Career in Thrillers, Fantasy and Suspense

By: Tom Lisanti

Since she was a child, the beautiful Carol Lynley graced television and movie screens from 1956 until 2002. She successfully progressed from child model, to teenage idol, to ingénue in such hit films as The Light in the Forest, Blue Denim, Return to Peyton Place, Sand Under the Yum Yum Tree. Then her cool beauty was put to perfect use as the bewildered blank-faced mother searching for a missing daughter who may or may not exist in the cult mystery thriller Bunny Lake Is Missing. This propelled Lynley to adult leads where she excelled playing the lady in peril culminating with her most famous role as terrified pop singer Nonnie in The Poseidon Adventure. Carol Lynley: Her Film & TV Career in Thrillers, Fantasy and Suspense highlights Carol's appearances in the titled genres. She has been terrorized on screen by everything from psychotic relatives to werewolves and the Blob, from murderous convicts to rampaging beasts and sinking upside down ocean liners. Most fans of these genres do not realize how prolific Carol was, going from theatrical features (The Shuttered Room, The Cat and the Canary, Blackout), to made-for-TV movies (The Immortal, The Night Stalker, Death Stalk), to television guest appearances (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Invaders, Night Gallery, Fantasy Island, Tales of the Unexpected) and back again for over thirty years. Peppered with comments from Carol Lynley specifically for this book and past published sources, it also features fascinating behind-the-scenes tales from her co-workers including Arledge Armenaki, Stephan Chase, Matt Dotson, John Goff, Howard Kazanjian, Harry Langdon, Jr., Alan J. Levi, and Tina Sinatra. Tom Lisanti goes beyond The Poseidon Adventure to shine a light on Carol Lynley's underrated work in the thriller/fantasy/suspense/horror genres with this meticulously researched and well-illustrated tribute book.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

770

Publisher

BearManor Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1629336335

ISBN 13

9781629336336

Talking Sixties Drive-In Movies (Hardback)

By: Tom Lisanti

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Talking Sixties Drive-In Movies (Hardback)

By: Tom Lisanti

Talking Sixties Drive-in Movies is a collection of profiles, interviews, and tributes about actors and films popular with the drive-in movie crowd during the sixties.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

314

Published Date

ISBN 10

1593939981

ISBN 13

9781593939984

Film Fatales

Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973

By: Tom Lisanti,Louis Paul

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Film Fatales

Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973

By: Tom Lisanti,Louis Paul

Sean Connery began the sixties spy movie boom playing James Bond in Dr. No and From Russia with Love. Their success inspired every studio in Hollywood and Europe to release everything from serious knockoffs to spoofs on the genre featuring debonair men, futuristic gadgets, exotic locales, and some of the world's most beautiful actresses whose roles ranged from the innocent caught up in a nefarious plot to the femme fatale. Profiled herein are 107 dazzling women, well-known and unknown, who had film and television appearances in the spy genre. They include superstars Doris Day in Caprice, Raquel Welch in Fathom, and Ann-Margret in Murderer's Row; international sex symbols Ursula Andress in Dr. No and Casino Royale, Elke Sommer in Deadlier Than the Male, and Senta Berger in The Spy with My Face; and forgotten lovelies Greta Chi in Fathom, Alizia Gur in From Russia with Love, and Maggie Thrett in Out of Sight. Each profile includes a filmography that lists the actresses' more notable films. Some include the actresses' candid comments and anecdotes about their films and television shows, the people they worked with, and their feelings about acting in the spy genre are offered throughout. A list of websites that provide further information on women in spy films and television is also included.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

356

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786411945

ISBN 13

9780786411948

Life and Adventures of Tom the Bomb

By: Tom Ryan

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Life and Adventures of Tom the Bomb

By: Tom Ryan

This book is not a biography. I consider them to often times have too much dull material in them. Instead, this is a compilation of dozens and dozens of interesting, even spell binding events in my life, so much so, that readers tell me there isn't a dull paragraph in the 221 pages of my book! In addition to being very readable, I actually believe that any thoughtful person who reads this and wants to, can easily learn how to become physically stronger, mentally more serene and courageous, and even adept at becoming more spiritually oriented." So I say to you, "Read and enjoy!

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

224

Publisher

Xlibris Corporation

Published Date

ISBN 10

1465321225

ISBN 13

9781465321220

My Father's Story

By: Tom Norton

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

My Father's Story

By: Tom Norton

A father (Tom) hears his son Richard say, “School is OK except I don’t like learning numbers or arithmetic.” After dinner, Tom sits with Richard and tells him a story of a kingdom long ago where the use of numbers is forbidden by King Kcaj and of the chaos that ensues because of it. As Tom’s story unfolds, he hopes to instill in Richard a sense of the importance of learning numbers, counting, and arithmetic along with other life lessons.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

Publisher

Xlibris Corporation

Published Date

ISBN 10

1450057640

ISBN 13

9781450057646

Mourning Doves

By: Tom Upton

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Mourning Doves

By: Tom Upton

The short story is alive and well. With this collection Upton examines the triumphs, the tragedies, and the folly of human existence. From the sad to the hilarious, from the everyday to the bizarre-- Upton covers it all, spinning beautifully written tales filled with insights for the reader to ponder long after the story is read.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

141

Publisher

Tom Upton

Published Date

ISBN 10

1440439117

ISBN 13

9781440439117

Ol' Tom and Laura

By: Tom Kelly

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Ol' Tom and Laura

By: Tom Kelly

A Classic Father-Daughter Love Story by Colonel Tom Kelly. Selected Childhood chapters from; Dealer’s Choice, Better on A Rising Tide, A Year Outside, The Boat, & A Few Loose Chapters. “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale, her infinite variety.” -William Shakespeare

Average ratings

N/A