The well-known actor takes readers backstage for a revealing and humorous look at what really happens on movie sets and talk shows, discusses critics, and discloses that he was banned from the "Tonight Show" more than once Even casual viewers of Carson and Letterman have watched Grodin's facetiously hostile appearances and laughed nervously along with the flustered interviewers. As Grodin reveals-here living up to the "behind the scenes" promise in his subtitle-the hosts were in on the joke all the time. Along with his annotated list of the "100 most powerful" Hollywoodians, Grodin's straight poop on talk shows is the funniest material presented in this book-and, unfortunately, it comes first. Grodin is a modest but proud man, and though charmingly self-effacing he's not shy about touting his previous books (How I Get Through Life, LJ 3/15/92; It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here, LJ 8/89). He is best known for his role as the converted dog-hater of the Beethoven films, but he's a do-everything professional in theater (director), film (screenwriter), and television (producer of a 1969 Simon and Garfunkel special). Indeed, while this is a worthy addition to the entertainment collections of public libraries, academic libraries with strong media and theater programs may value it more for its diversity of good-humored insights on his profession. Scott H. Silverman, Bryn Mawr Coll. Lib., Pa. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. Actor Grodin again invites us on a jolly excursion into his world. "My personal interest in the theater, as regards my own work, is now only as a playwright," he writes in a line that illuminates both his self-image and his occasional lapses of literary style. Elsewhere he commits other lapses, into a certain triviality, yet he takes himself and his career seriously. He has a clear understanding of the circumstances of that career. For example, his discussion of how an actor's roles inevitably color public perception of his personality seems right on target, and it is typical of the valuable insights that, along with entertaining observations and showbiz schmoozing, make up the book. The section "Personalities" is particularly wonderful reading, both for sheer enjoyment and as delicious lowdown on the stars; it consists--as do most of the other sections, for that matter--of short takes, here on a variety of entertainment industry personalities. An entertaining and valuable addition for popular-culture and entertainment-industry collections. Mike Tribby Actor, director, producer Grodin (How I Get Through Life, 1992) makes an appearance as a purveyor of theatrical anecdotes. Noel Coward he's not. Written between takes during the production of his recent film Heart and Souls, this disjointed effort to depict Grodin's career as Mister Showbiz is not uniformly dull, to be sure, but the proud exhibitions of putative wit are wan indeed. After a Nixonesque assertion that, unlike the characters he has played, he is ``not a jerk,'' Grodin recounts all the clever things he's done and said. Obviously, he is no jerk, but with banalities on the order of ``sometimes life feels so short and strange,'' he's not the deepest thinker, either. This backstager sometimes reads like a parody of personal hype. ``Forgive me for this self-aggrandizement,'' he apologizes parenthetically, ``I'm trying to make a point about stupidity.'' It's not all self-centered. For example, there are comments about others--like those who didn't dig his oblique wit or couldn't handle his success. Names drop like hailstones. ``Danny Thomas was a friend of mine whom I knew through his daughter, my friend Marlo.'' Otto Preminger and Diane Sawyer, Art Carney and Oliver Stone, Gilda, Johnny, and Dustin all serve as second bananas to our Chuck. Conversations are recalled, oddly, as scripted dialogue in this stream of self-consciousness. The text begins with spirit as Grodin denies close relationship with most of the ``100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood'' and gains strength again near the end with a diary of the making of Heart and Souls, which has since turned out to be a very modest box-office draw. But, on the whole, the occasional author and full-time light comedian upstages all, including himself. If not quite a bomb, Grodin's latest presentation isn't a hit, either. It's just a dud. (First serial to Premiere; author tour) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
