American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story, by Cynthia True

(pb; 2002; biography. Foreword by Janeane Garofalo)

From the back cover:

"Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman -- add Bill Hicks to that list of brilliant, fearless comics. Just emerging from underground cult status when he died at age thirty-two, Bill Hicks spent most of his life making audiences roar -- and censors cringe -- with biting social satire about everything from former president George Bush to rock stars who hawk diet Coke. His nervy talent redefined the boundaries of comedy in the '80s and won him a list of admirers that includes John Cleese, George Carlin, and Thom Yorke of [the band] Radiohead.

"This posthumous biography reveals for the first time what made Bill Hicks tick -- what made him laugh, what pissed him off, and what he saw as his ultimate mission: to release people from their prison of ignorance. From his first comedy gig at Bible camp to his infamous cancellation on The Late Show with David Letterman, Cynthia True portrays an artist whose outrage, drive, and compassion fueled a controversial body of work that still resonates today."

Review:

Excellent biography, as intense as its subject. Hicks comes off as someone who strove to be more than just a joke-teller; he was a literate spiritual philosopher, who, for a time, loved drugs, all the while seeking to combat collective (often religious) ignorance, kneejerk uber-patriotism, and unthinking political and social conservatism.

Often savage and pornographic in his rock n' roll-themed stage act, Hicks was a friend of Sam Kinison (with whom he shared similar comedic sensibilities) and Denis Leary, who, in his 1993 No Cure For Cancer routine, ripped off Hicks' "kill talentless rock stars" riffs (from Hicks' 1989 Dangerous set).

It's a cliché, but in Hicks' case, it's true: he was ahead of his time, and, as the book's back blurb notes, his often-hilarious, sharp commentaries are still applicable to today's American society.

Check this out.

Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin

(pb; 1978: Book One in the Tales of the City series)

From the back cover:

"Anna: a mystical landlady, an Earth-Space Mother, the kind of woman F. Scott Fitzgerald would have kissed. Mary Ann: a child of Ohio who caught the last dream leaving Cleveland for the coast. Michael: a gay person singular who wanted another person plural with whom he could buy a Christmas tree. And Mona: a writer, a little lonely, a little looney, and a lotta lovable.

"Shooting sentiment and joy straight from the hip, Tales of the City tells what happened to reality when it moved to San Francisco."

Review:

Warm, witty, and occasionally bawdy and sad work, this. The characters come from wildly-varied backgrounds, allowing San Francisco -- which, true to the cliché, is a character itself -- to be seen from many different views.

The year is 1976. The hippie movement has largely burnt out, leaving the more street-savvy or idealistic characters (Anna Madrigal, Mona Ramsey, Michael Tolliver, Brian Hawkins) to deal with its bittersweet ashes. Idealism still abounds in the city, but it's taken a few bruises, and, accordingly, its adherents have become more practical in their attitudes, goals and methods.

Maupin wrote a celebratory, life-affirming work when he penned this. I've read this a couple of times before, and the third time was no less effective in sparking its effervescent, occasionally-shaded moods in me.

Worth owning, this.

Followed by More Tales of the City.

Tales of the City, the PBS television mini-series, aired stateside on January 10, 1994. Richard Kramer wrote the teleplay. Alastair Reid directed.

Laura Linney played Mary Ann Singleton. Olympia Dukakis played Anna Madrigal. Donald Moffat played Edgar Halcyon. Chloe Webb played Mona Ramsey. Cynda Williams played D'orothea/Dorothy Williams. Marcus D'Amico played Michael "Mouse" Tolliver. Bill Campbell (billed as "William Campbell") played Jon Fielding. Paul Gross played Brian Hawkins.

Barbara Garrick played DeDe Day Halcyon. Thomas Gibson played Beauchamp Day. Robert Downey Sr. (father of Robert Downey Jr.) played Edgar's doctor. Parker Posey played Connie Bradshaw.

Mary Kay Place played Prue Giroux. Ian McKellen played Archibald Anson Gidde. Rod Steiger played "Bookstore Owner". An uncredited Janeane Garofalo played "Coppola Woman". Paul Dooley played Herbert "Herb" L. Tolliver. Michael Jeter played Carson Callas. Paul Bartel played Charles Hillary Lord. Karen Black played herself. Country Joe MacDonald played Joaquin.

Book author Armistead Maupin, in an uncredited role, played "Writer in window".