Books by Sandra Grabman

Voted "Book of the Year 2004" by Classic Images magazine!You know the face. You know the credit list: Lost in Space, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Kung Fu, The Twilight Zone and hundreds more... But who was Albert Salmi? Born of Finnish parents in the Finnish section of Brooklyn, Albert Salmi had a childhood he would recall fondly, even though it was plagued by the hardships of the Great Depression. In an attempt to earn money as a teenager, he broke the law; and the very wise judge gave him a sentence that turned his life around. Salmi set his sights for an acting career and, thanks to the GI Bill, got the best training possible. The result was that for forty years he appeared on the Broadway stage (Bus Stop, etc.), national television (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, I Spy, That Girl, Dallas, etc., etc.), and in countless films (The Unforgiven, Caddyshack, etc.). Sandra Grabman's biography is a frank and loving tribute, combined with many memories from Salmi's family, friends, and co-stars, and includes never-before-published memoirs from the man himself. From humble beginnings -- to a highly successful acting career -- to a tragic death that shocked the world -- Albert Salmi's story is unlike any other you'll ever read.This 2nd edition has 2 extra chapters and much more information.

You know the face. You know the credit list: Lost in Space, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Kung Fu, The Twilight Zone and hundreds more... But who was Albert Salmi? Born of Finnish parents in the Finnish section of Brooklyn, Albert Salmi had a childhood he would recall fondly, even though it was plagued by the hardships of the Great Depression. In an attempt to earn money as a teenager, he broke the law; and the very wise judge gave him a sentence that turned his life around. Salmi set his sights for an acting career and, thanks to the GI Bill, got the best training possible. The result was that for forty years he appeared on the Broadway stage (Bus Stop, etc.), national television (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, I Spy, That Girl, Dallas, etc., etc.), andin countless films (The Unforgiven, Caddyshack, etc.). Sandra Grabman's biography is a frank and loving tribute, combined with many memories from Salmi's family, friends, and co-stars, and includes never-before-published memoirs from the man himself. From humble beginnings -- to a highly successful acting career -- to a tragic death that shocked the world -- Albert Salmi's story is unlike any other you'll ever read.This is the updated, second edition!

That's right! Can you imagine flubbing your line in front of the whole country without a chance to try again to make it right? That's what it was like back in the 1940s and 1950s. Week after week we saw these brave actors and actresses take on the challenge, and they did an amazing job.Wright King was there on our screens in such shows as Studio One, Robert Montgomery Presents, and Kraft Television Theatre, and has fond memories of those exciting days. He and his fellow actors tell us the circumstances that led them to their first live television production, what it was like on the set as the time of the broadcast drew nigh, and the reactions they got from people on the street when they left the studio.So come on in and relive with us the days of yore when everything we saw on television was being broadcast live and absolutely anything could happen.

Coming into our hearts first as the young Jane Eyre, twelve-year-old Peggy Ann Garner then proceeded to give an Oscar-winning performance in the 1945 film A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The studio execs were so pleased that they then put her in a movie bought especially for her, Junior Miss. Before long, however, the studio system broke up, throwing many contract players out on the streets. Peggy was among them. She took her talents to the stage and ended up on Broadway. We also saw her in many top television series over the next few decades: Studio One, The US Steel Hour, Bonanza, Naked City, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Untouchables, Batman, Police Woman, etc.Sure, Peggy Ann made newspaper headlines occasionally. Her flamboyant mother made more. Strong-willed Mrs. Garner's ambitions for her little girl resulted in the Hollywood career she craved, but also caused what was once a loving mother-daughter relationship to take on nightmarish overtones. She went too far, and pain and estrangement was the end product. Were Peggy Ann's inner strength and caring nature enough to help her overcome this handicap? Would she ever achieve contentment?Sandra Grabman (author of Spotlights & Shadows: The Albert Salmi Story and Pat Buttram, The Rocking-Chair Humorist, and co-author of No Retakes!) has painted a loving, but even-handed portrait through family letters and communication with friends Carol Burnett, Gregory Peck, Johnny Sheffield, Margaret O'Brien, and others.Once you get to know her, you'll fall in love with Peggy Ann all over again.Foreword by Margaret O'Brien.

Pat Buttram is known by today's youth as the yodel-y voice in the Disney animated films The Rescuers, Robin Hood, The Fox and the Hound, The Aristocats and A Goofy Movie. To their parents, he's Mr. Haney, the hilarious con-man from Green Acres; and to their grandparents, he's Gene Autry's humorous sidekick. Pat was one of Hollywood's truest success stories. He lived his dream of making people laugh, winning honors from the The Pacific Pioneers Broadcaster's award all the way up to an Emmy, and everyone who knew him loved him. No one could keep an audience laughing as well as Pat could.Born in 1915 in rural Alabama, the seventh of eight children grew up to be one of the most interesting voices in movies and television. This is his story, told for the first time by his many friends, family members, co-stars, and co-workers at Gene Autry Enterprises. Interspersed throughout the book are many of Pat's original one-liners. If they make you laugh, they will have earned their keep.