Intimate Strangers: Comic Profiles and Indiscretions of the Very Famous

by Bill Zehme

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385333749
• ISBN13: 9780385333740
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Delta
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A fine primer for magazine writers

Bill Zehme, one of the premier magazine writers of this era, is at his best in this compilation of pieces from Esquire, Rolling Stone, Playboy and other publications.The book gets off to an ideal start with a 1996 Esquire piece on Frank Sinatra. Zehme's portrait of The Chairman of the Board as a wise old man who wants to impart his knowledge to future generations is never pretentious for a second, as Zehme keeps us mindful of the man's swagger, and the validity of many of his insights.A 1998 look at Hugh Hefner is nice, touching just enough on his vulnerability without trying to make us feel sorry for someone who has lived out the fantasies of most American men.A Rolling Stone article on Arnold Schwarzenegger from 1991 might be the strongest in the book, taking note of the actor's impact on other males within the context of the "Iron John" movement that had gained so much notoriety at the time, but doing it in a way that makes fun of the basic absurdity of his image. Another standout is a 1989 Rolling Stone profile of Eddie Murphy, which reads to some degree like an extension of Murphy's rants from his concert film "Raw." Most of the piece is done as a Q & A, as Zehme is aware that the candidness and charisma of his subject lend itself to that kind of treatment.The material on the Jay Leno-David Letterman feud is, for all intents and purposes, the denouement of the collection, and it's welcome here as the definitive portrait of both men, and the issues involved in Letterman's defection to CBS, outside of Bill Carter's "The Late Shift."For journalists, as Cameron Crowe points out in his foreword, the mere study of Zehme's leads is rewarding enough. To grab a reader's attention in that first graf without promising something you can't deliver, or failing to flag something the reader should be sure to look for, is most definitely an art, one that many journalists never master.Zehme is also a wizard of context and perspective. Where is the celebrity in his or her career? What are the trends going on in the larger culture that this person is taking advantage of or becoming marginalized by? Is the subject playing a lot of games during the interview itself, putting on a performance that has someting to do with his or her essential appeal? These questions are always asked, and answered for us in a way that is never obvious or pedantic.In summary, this is great magazine writing, easily worthy of study in graduate journalism programs -- and yet lots of fun for the casual reader.

Zehme is a writer for all readers!

In a profession that typically spends its time doing PR for the next "hit," Zehme has managed to create his own style filled with a simple candor and a wry humor that supercedes the typical celebrity drivel. Whether it be actors, musicians or talk show hosts, Zehme offers great insight into not only the characters themselves, but also into the ever-humbling plague of the writers who follow them. Unabashedly observant, always charming, this is a collection for anyone who reads, but especially those who think people, and celebrities in particular, are just plain funny.

Great Collection

This is one helluva package, journalistically speaking. Got it for Christmas from a pal and read it over the holidays. Showbiz writing usually eats it, but Zehme's work, much to my delight, doesn't eat it at all. Not even a tiny bit. In comedy slang, it kills. These pieces aren't simply written, they're meticulously crafted, surprisingly insightful and packed with intimate, often hilarious details. Sinatra, Beatty and Manilow are especially great. And Seinfeld, too. And Letterman. And Hef. Hell, they're all worth reading. Zehme even makes Heather Graham interesting, and that's nothing short of miraculous. Snap this one up right away!

Simply the best

Zehme is the kind of writer who inspires other writers to boldly break new ground in their own work -- or to simply give up, get jobs in the food service industry, and spend their lunch breaks puzzling over how he does it. Intimate Strangers (very clever title), is a primer's primer in both style and substance, not to mention as real as it gets when writing about cultural icons. Zehme takes his work seriously, his subjects not seriously at all, and manages to make each piece seriously funny because there is never a crack in his conceit that these people merit the serious treatment they would give themselves, if only they could write the stories as well as be the subjects. Zehme punctures and lacerates and shows you the cracks in their pancake makeup with a verbal dexterity that would, to mix metaphors, make a slight-of-hand magician jealous. And yet it's not all about bringing down his subjects a peg or two or ten. Zehme also manages to write most lovingly and authentically about those icons like Manilow, etc. who suffer in the media because -- despite huge popularity -- no one cool takes them seriously. Zehme gives these folks their due as the truly cool. Intimate Strangers is entertaining and provocative from start to finish, with a point of view seen nowhere else, except perhaps in a celebrity's mirror in the morning when they come face to face with their inner faker and know the truth.A wonderful book. And now, I have to go because lunch is over and I have to get back to flipping hamburgers.

BEST JOURNALISM COLLECTION IN YEARS

Nobody touches Zehme in this realm--he's the master. Look at the preface here written by Cameron Crowe--who got started writing for Rolling Stone--and you'll understand what Zehme means to his contemporaries. The genesis of his great Sinatra book--THE WAY YOU WEAR YOUR HAT--begins this book, a piece called AND THEN THERE WAS ONE, which is a gorgeous lament to a lost era, starting with the death of Dean Martin. He makes the famous more human, often hilariously so, than any writer I know. And the Leno-Letterman saga--covering his 20 years of knowing both of them--is essential to all late-night-heads. All of this stuff is just amazing.