The Happy Hoofer

Download or read book The Happy Hoofer written by Celia Imrie and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2011-04-14 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you've been enjoying her latest novels Sail Away and Nice Work (If You Can Get It), do not miss Celia Imrie's fantastic original memoir The Happy Hoofer. 'I've always been wilful ... I've always been stubborn and always determined.' One of our best-loved actresses, Celia Imrie would rather have been a dancer. As a child she planned to join the Royal Ballet and marry Rudolf Nureyev. Now she has become one of our finest and funniest performers, on stage, TV and screen - adored for her roles in Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies, as well as films including Calendar Girls and Nanny McPhee. In her hugely entertaining autobiography, Celia Imrie recounts a life hurtling (not always intentionally) into adventures both on stage and off. Whether it's finding herself on stage with half the scenery stuck to her cardigan, or being kidnapped on her way to location. Somehow she emerges from the chaos that can lie in her wake almost unscathed. Acting, she admits, is a mad, chaotic profession and it is her refreshing honesty, sense of mischief, fun and almost unruffled determination in the face of it all that makes this autobiography a never-ending delight.

Download or read book Orphans of the Storm written by Celia Imrie and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From internationally bestselling author and celebrated actress Celia Imrie, an epic novel set against the backdrop of the sinking of the Titanic. Nice, France, 1911: After three years of marriage, Marcella Navratil has finally had enough. Her husband, Michael, an ambitious tailor, may have charmed her during their courtship, but their few years of marriage have revealed a cruel and controlling streak. The 21-year-old mother of two is determined to get a divorce. But while awaiting the Judges' decision on the custody of their children, Michael receives news that changes everything. Meanwhile fun-loving New York socialite Margaret Hays is touring Europe with some friends. Restless, she resolves to head home aboard the most celebrated steamer in the world. But as the ship sets sail for America, carrying two infants bearing false names, the paths of Marcella, Michael and Margaret cross and nothing will ever be the same again. Orphans of the Storm dives into the waters of the past to unearth a sweeping, epic tale of the sinking of the Titanic that radiates with humanity and hums with life.

Download or read book A Nice Cup of Tea written by Celia Imrie and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ___________________ 'Anything written by Celia Imrie is guaranteed to put a smile on your face' - Good Housekeeping ___________________ The beautiful town of Bellevue-sur-Mer, tucked between glitzy Monte Carlo and the plush red carpets of Cannes, is home to Theresa, Carol, William, Benjamin and Sally: five retired expats who have pooled their resources to set up La Mosaïque, a divine little restaurant. But there is trouble in paradise: the friends are desperately struggling to make ends meet, and when the much hoped for sale of their Picasso mosaic falls through they realise it will take every bit of their talent and gumption to save La Mosaïque... The witty and enchanting third novel from the well-loved actress and Sunday Times-bestselling author of Not Quite Nice and Nice Work (If You Can Get It), perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Fern Britton ___________________ Praise for the Nice series... 'Her work has definite joie de vivre' - Wendy Holden, Daily Mail 'Hugely enjoyable' - Katie Fforde 'Utterly delicious' - Joanna Lumley 'Warm, light-hearted, fast-paced' - Joanne Harris 'Hugely entertaining' - Julian Fellowes 'Such a charming romp' - Fern Britton 'A shaft of early summer sunshine' - Daily Mail 'A delicious piece of entertainment' - The Times

Download or read book Charles Walters written by Brent Phillips and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-12-02 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “lively biography” of the director who choreographed Fred Astaire, Debbie Reynolds and more: “a real backstager” on the making of Hollywood musicals (Wall Street Journal). From the trolley scene in Meet Me in St. Louis to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers's last dance on the silver screen to Judy Garland's tuxedo-clad performance of "Get Happy", Charles Walters staged the iconic musical sequences of Hollywood's golden age. The Academy Award-nominated director and choreographer showcased the talents of stars such as Gene Kelly, Doris Day, and Frank Sinatra—yet Walters's name often goes unrecognized today. In the first full-length biography of Walters, Brent Phillips chronicles the artist's career from his days as a Broadway performer to his successes at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Phillips takes readers behind the scenes of beloved musicals including Easter Parade, Lili, and High Society. He also examines the director's uncredited work on films like Gigi, and discusses his contributions to musical theater and American popular culture. This revealing book also considers Walters's personal life and explores how he navigated the industry as an openly gay man. Drawing on unpublished oral histories, correspondence, and new interviews, this biography offers an entertaining and important new look at an exciting era in Hollywood history.

Download or read book Not Quite Nice written by Celia Imrie and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-01-14 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sunday Times Bestseller Theresa is desperate for a change. Forced into early retirement, tired of babysitting her bossy daughter's obnoxious children, she sells her house and moves to a picture-perfect town, just outside Nice. Once the hideaway of artists and writers, Bellevue-Sur-Mer is now home to the odd movie star and, as Theresa discovers, a close-knit set of expats. Settling to the gentle rhythm of the seaside, Theresa embraces her new-found friendships and freedom. But life is never as simple as it seems, and when skeletons fall out of several closets, Theresa starts to wonder if life on the French Riviera is quite as nice as it first appeared ...

Download or read book What the Eye Hears written by Brian Seibert and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2015-11-17 with total page 670 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magisterial, revelatory, and-most suitably-entertaining, What the Eye Hears offers an authoritative account of the great American art of tap dancing. Brian Seibert, a dance critic for The New York Times, begins by exploring tap's origins as a hybrid of the jig and clog dancing from the British Isles and dances brought from Africa by slaves. He tracks tap's transfer to the stage through blackface minstrelsy and charts its growth as a cousin to jazz in the vaudeville circuits and nightclubs of the early twentieth century. Seibert chronicles tap's spread to ubiquity on Broadway and in Hollywood, analyzes its decline after World War II, and celebrates its rediscovery and reinvention by new generations of American and international performers. In the process, we discover how the history of tap dancing is central to any meaningful account of American popular culture. This is a story with a huge cast of characters, from Master Juba (it was probably a performance of his in a Five Points cellar that Charles Dickens described in American Notes for General Circulation) through Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and Gene Kelly and Paul Draper to Gregory Hines and Savion Glover. Seibert traces the stylistic development of tap through individual practitioners, vividly depicting dancers both well remembered and now obscure. And he illuminates the cultural exchange between blacks and whites over centuries, the interplay of imitation and theft, as well as the moving story of African-Americans in show business, wielding enormous influence as they grapple with the pain and pride of a complicated legacy.What the Eye Hears teaches us to see and hear the entire history of tap in its every step.

Download or read book Nice Work (If You Can Get It) written by Celia Imrie and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2016-12-13 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Witty and enchanting, the second novel from the well-loved actress and author of Not Quite Nice follows the hilarious exploits of expats in the South of France. Somewhere on the French Riviera, tucked between glitzy Monte Carlo and Cannes' red carpets, lies the pretty town of Bellevue-Sur-Mer. Sheltered from the glittering melee, it is home to many an expat--including an enterprising team who plan to open a new restaurant. Snapping up a local property and throwing themselves into preparations, Theresa, Carol, William and Benjamin's plans are proceeding unnervingly well. But when Theresa encounters a mysterious intruder, she begins to wonder what secrets the building is concealing. Meanwhile Sally, an actress who gave up the stage to live in quiet anonymity, has decided not to be involved. The famous Cannes Film Festival is on and she is far too busy entertaining unexpected visitors from her past, and an intriguingly handsome Russian. As the razzmatazz of the festival begins to spill over into Bellevue-Sur-Mer, its inhabitants become entangled in complex love triangles and conflicting business interests. With the race on to get the restaurant open in time, the gang find themselves knee-deep in skulduggery, and realize they can no longer tell who's nasty . . . and who's nice.