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Title details for Charles Addams by Linda H. Davis - Available

Charles Addams

A Cartoonist's Life

by Linda H. Davis
Steve Menasche
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
The Addams Family is creepy and kooky, but wait till you see what their creator had in his apartment.
In Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life, meet the legendary cartoonist behind the altogether ooky Addams Family in this first biography, written with exclusive access to Charles Addams's private archives.
Take a front-row seat to the widespread rumors and storytelling genius behind one of America's oddest and most iconic creators. Even as The Addams Family grew in fame, the life of Charles Addams remained shrouded in mystery. In reality, Addams himself was charismatic and spellbinding as the characters he created. Discover the real stories behind Addams's most famous, and most private drawings, including the cartoon that offended the Nazis. From his dazzling love for sports cars and beautiful women—Jackie Kennedy and Joan Fontaine among them—to the darkest relationship of his life, this witty book reveals Addams's life as never before.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 23, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666191394
      • File size: 373465 KB
      • Duration: 12:58:03

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Steve Menasche sounds astonished as he narrates tales of Charles Addams sleeping in a coffin. They're not true, but the cartoonist who brought the original Addams Family to life in THE NEW YORKER was a memorable character regardless. Menasche sounds amused as he describes macabre aspects of Addams's life and work, including a stint at the sensationalist TRUE DETECTIVE magazine. Addams's datebook was full of women, including Greta Garbo and Joan Fontaine, while also hinting at years of dustups with an ex-wife. Artists might especially like this audiobook, which enlivens the discussions of Addams's work. Some memos asking Addams for revisions get a merry narration from Menasche, and he vividly describes cartoons, based on Davis's descriptions. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 26, 2006
      In this buoyantly written first biography of Charles Addams, Davis dispels the myths surrounding the cartoonist and challenges facile assumptions that Addams was the archetype of his own creepy creations. Though fascinated by "the aberrations of life," he loved Aston Martins and Bugattis, cigars, drinking and beautiful women (he often dated famous ones, including Greta Garbo, Joan Fontaine and Jackie Kennedy). Addams—whose living room centerpiece was a draining device for corpses called a "drying out table"—gleefully perpetuated the myths surrounding him. He liked to imagine "that if he hadn't been a cartoonist, he might have been a criminal." However, a more sustained exploration of Cecil Beaton's comment that Addams's work "introduced a gothic element into daily life" would have added a deeper dimension to this portrait. Overall, it's more affectionate than critical, and never fully explains why Addams's work became so beloved or significant. Yet the book, which includes previously unpublished artwork, photographs and personal drawings, is sure to interest Addams fans and New Yorker
      history buffs.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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