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Intimate Strangers: Comic Profiles and Indiscretions of the Very Famous
Schwarzenegger intimidates.
Sharon Stone strips.
Leno and Letterman duel.
In twenty years of raw and raucous celebrity profiles
Irreverently bold journalist Bill Zehme has long been celebrated for his ability to get under the skins of our most elusive icons, from the evasive Warren Beatty to the ever-unpredictable Madonna to the much misunderstood Barry Manilow. Now his most provocative work is collected for the first time, with over twenty-five landmark profiles, including Frank Sinatra, Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld, Liberace, Howard Stern, Eddie Murphy, and Woody Allen.
Zehme witnesses Hugh Hefner withstanding the single blow that never entered into an adolescent boy’s dreams--losing his fantasy woman. He gets a nude massage with Sharon Stone, and an earful about men, sex, and the shotgun she keeps under her bed. Included, too, is Zehme’s exclusive firsthand coverage of David Letterman and Jay Leno, before and throughout their late-night feud. Here is entertainment history through the eyes of a man the Chicago Tribune called “one of the most successful and prolific magazine writers in the country.”
Hilarious, endearing, and wickedly insightful, Intimate Strangers captures the business of celebrity for what it a big, lusty, star-crossed love affair between our icons and ourselves.
Sharon Stone strips.
Leno and Letterman duel.
In twenty years of raw and raucous celebrity profiles
Irreverently bold journalist Bill Zehme has long been celebrated for his ability to get under the skins of our most elusive icons, from the evasive Warren Beatty to the ever-unpredictable Madonna to the much misunderstood Barry Manilow. Now his most provocative work is collected for the first time, with over twenty-five landmark profiles, including Frank Sinatra, Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld, Liberace, Howard Stern, Eddie Murphy, and Woody Allen.
Zehme witnesses Hugh Hefner withstanding the single blow that never entered into an adolescent boy’s dreams--losing his fantasy woman. He gets a nude massage with Sharon Stone, and an earful about men, sex, and the shotgun she keeps under her bed. Included, too, is Zehme’s exclusive firsthand coverage of David Letterman and Jay Leno, before and throughout their late-night feud. Here is entertainment history through the eyes of a man the Chicago Tribune called “one of the most successful and prolific magazine writers in the country.”
Hilarious, endearing, and wickedly insightful, Intimate Strangers captures the business of celebrity for what it a big, lusty, star-crossed love affair between our icons and ourselves.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 15, 2020
Well written.
March 8, 2008
Celebrity profiles by one of the best magazine writers in the business. Warren Beatty can dial a phone faster than anyone else who ever lived! Barry Manilow's father was a truck driver! Sharon Stone is a great baker and keeps a loaded shotgun under her bed! Eddie Murphy was driving around sketchy areas and talking to prostitutes years before he got caught with a transvestite in his car! Madonna smells unbelievably good in person! Who knew??
Some of Zehme's more unusual questions:
To David Letterman: "How would you explain your work to foreigners?" (Answer: "You're the guy on the show who has the best wardrobe, so people in the audience at least know where to look.")
To Madonna: "What does Prince smell like?" (Answer: Lavender.)
Some of Zehme's more unusual questions:
To David Letterman: "How would you explain your work to foreigners?" (Answer: "You're the guy on the show who has the best wardrobe, so people in the audience at least know where to look.")
To Madonna: "What does Prince smell like?" (Answer: Lavender.)
October 27, 2012
Bill Zehme is a little too impressed with himself for me to have thoroughly enjoyed this book. That said, some of the profiles were indeed fabulously interesting and engaging. However, some were just funny, and some were depressingly mean. Worth reading the individual chapters on the celebrities you most love, but as a book, it doesn't hold together, in my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews