The Art of the Headshot

NPR just ran a delightful story about the new book Holy Headshot! A Celebration of America’s Undiscovered Talent, by Patrick Borelli and Douglas Gorenstein. In it, Borelli and Gorenstein examine the art of the actor’s headshot. From a pool of 50,000 entries, they chose 103 to appear in the book, spotlighting the original, creative, spunky, bizarre, and downright baffling. I mean, what possesses an actor to appear in his headshot covered in rainbow-colored feathers? Or an actress to feature tiny plastic babies crawling across her face? Whatever possesses these people, it makes for a damn hilarious book.

Some other highlights of Holy Headshot!:

  • Linda Leven, who “said she came to Los Angeles to be a ballerina, but everyone kept telling her she looked like an actress, so she gave in.”
  • Kitten Kay Sera, who posed with her dyed-pink dog Miss Kisses and asserts in her resume that she will only wear pink.
  • Ray DeFeis, whose headshots feature him wearing women’s lingerie while holding a cupcake tray.
  • Shelley Krawchuck, who posed for her headshots at the beach — while sitting on the crapper!
  • Sybil Presley, who prefers the name “The Tennessee Stressbuster”, posing in fabulous rainbow-striped glasses, fringey magenta pillbox hat, and a vest emblazoned with smiley-face flowers.
  • Yenz Von Tillborg, whose hair is so spirited (his resume says he is an “innovator in hair concepts”) it deserves its own headshot.
  • Brian Costello, the epitome of an anti-GQ model, who landed in, of all things, GQ. He’s actually pretty sexy, and the Snark approves of his views: “I’m an ugly GQ model who follows his dreams and has no aspirations for fame or wealth.” I disagree with the ugly part, but I love the fuck-all attitude. Go, Brian!
  • Ushasi Kitchen, my personal favorite, who says on her resume, ”I have dreamed of being a Model/Actress since I was a Lady.” And a Model/Actress you are, Ushasi!

For a sample of headshots appearing in the book, visit NPR’s photo gallery.

For more information, visit the Holy Headshot! website.

Story Source NPR, Holy Headshot!

November 19, 2008 | Filed Under Humor | 3 Comments 

George Hamilton Doesn’t Mind If He Does

Everyone’s favorite tangerine, George Hamilton, has written his autobiography. Don’t Mind If I Do, co-written with celebrity biographer William Stadiem, is currently available.

The book is, of course, a Hollywood tell-all in the grand fashion. Not only do we learn Hamilton lost his virginity at age 12 — to his stepmother — but we are also regaled with numerous sexual conquests, including Marilyn Monroe, Mamie Van Doren, Judy Garland, Danielle Steel, Imelda Marcos, Lynda Bird Johnson, Merle Oberon, Princess Soraya of Iran, and Elizabeth Taylor. He was married just once, to Alanna Collins (a former wife of Rod Stewart), with whom he has a son, Ashley, 34 (and incredibly sexy). George also has an 8-year-old son, G.T., with Kimberly Blackford, “an eye-catching beauty in her 20s.”

Don’t Mind If I Do comes during a barrage of what The New York Times calls “pretty-boy memoirs”. Tony Curtis, Robert Wagner, and Robert Vaughn have all recently written their autobiographies, “but nobody outdoes Mr. Hamilton in milking his life story” (again, the NYT).

But this milking seems to be exactly what he’s going for. Hamilton drops names and anecdotes with aplomb, has no trouble detailing his sexual adventures (yeah, that stepmother thing is just oogy), and describes his desire to be the youngest, politest stud in the room — an anti-bad boy to the James Deans that seduced Hollywood in Hamilton’s heyday.

Just don’t expect any secrets on how you, too, can achieve that luxurious carrot-colored tan.

Story Source Yahoo News, The New York Times | Image Source KPBS

November 18, 2008 | Filed Under Biography & Memoir, Newsies | 27 Comments 

Animals in the Trailer Park

There is no shortage of books out there about the furry companions with whom we share the earth. For today’s Trailer Park, I chose three animal-related book trailers, each one quite unique and effective.

The first is The Devious Book for Cats by Fluffy and Bonkers. Not only are Fluffy and Bonkers the most amazing names I’ve ever seen on a book jacket, but part of me suspects my two snarkitties could’ve been uncredited collaborators on this book.

When it comes to the animal kingdom, there are few creatures I don’t care for. One of them I could do without is surely the snake. I respect their right to be here, and I gladly share the planet with them, they exist for their own reasons, and blah blah blah. Nonetheless, I don’t ever need to see another one. Especially after this trailer for The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death in Pursuit of Knowledge by Jamie James.

Finally, this being an election year and all, Duck for President, written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, has been reissued. What I can’t tell is whether Duck is a Republican or a Democrat.

November 14, 2008 | Filed Under Trailer Park | 3 Comments 

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      WHAT IS A SNARK?




      The Snark is a creature created by Lewis Carroll in his poem "The Hunting of the Snark". To give a proper description of Snarks, one must look no further than Carroll himself, who summed them up in one word: Unimaginable.

      But this much we do know: some have feathers, some have whiskers. Snarks sleep a lot, yet they are an ambitious lot -- with very little sense of humor. They love bathing-machines and tend to bring them wherever they go; they are also handy for striking a light. Snarks live on a far-off island, a place filled with chasms and crags, and are constantly on the lookout for Snark-hunters. Their mortal enemies are hope, care, thimbles and forks.

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