Performing Artists is an essential resource for students who need to write reports, speeches or other assignments requiring biographical details. Students can delve into the lives of 120 popular singers, actors, dancers, comedians, musicians and television personalities in this unique new source of biographical information about the hottest performers of today and yesterday. The direct language and diverse entries promise to satisfy students' wide range of interests.
Designed especially for students age 10 and up, Performing Artists' entries are entertaining as well as informative. The straightforward, detailed biographies focus on each artist's background, including youth, career and notable achievements. Each biography is peppered with anecdotal quotes from the artists and those that have written about them, all with a quality that draws the reader into each personality.
The most popular artists in an easy-to-find format
Classic names like Fred Astaire and Elvis Presley to contemporary names that may not be familiar to everyone, like Queen Latifah and 10,000 Maniacs, are listed in a single alphabetical sequence across three volumes. Students will also find artists listed by field of endeavor. Three volumes of less than 250 pages each are comprehensive yet manageable. Each entry ranges in length from three to nine pages, so readers can quickly and easily find the details they need. Students can use the table of contents or cumulative index to make cross-disciplinary comparisons.
Facts and photos add interest
Each entry begins with a photo, birth date and place on each entrant. Quotes by the artist or about them are featured below each photo. Interesting notes, often information you won't find elsewhere, appear highlighted at the top of pages within most entries. These include:
- In order to appear sickly in Philadelphia, Hanks lost 35 pounds and thinned his hair
- "To know so many people care about me on a personal level is something I'll have for the rest of my life. It's the most any human being can hope for, to be loved." (Gloria Estefan, singer)
- So that he doesn't forget his roots, Snipes keeps a clothespin attached to his motorcycle. This reminds him of when he used to hang his clothes out the window to dry when he lived in the Bronx (Wesley Snipes, actor)
- Roseanne has a collection of 200 dolls and each doll represents one aspect of her personality (Roseanne, actress and comedian)
- Carvey modeled the character of Garth on his brother Brad, a shy computer genius (Dana Carvey, actor and comedian)
- "What I am is a humanist before anything--before I'm a Jew, before I'm black, before I'm a woman. And my beliefs are for the human race--they don't exclude anyone." (Whoopi Goldberg, comedian, actress, and social activist)
- At the age of 75 Astaire became so intrigued by skateboards that he attempted to ride one and ended up breaking his wrist (Fred Astaire, dancer and actor)
Here are just a few of the performing artists featured:
- Paula Abdul
- Alicia Alonso
- Joan Baez
- Mikhail Baryshnikov
- Candice Bergen
- Garth Brooks
- Mariah Carey
- Bill Cosby
- Johnny Depp
- Jodie Foster
- Andy Garcia
- Graham Greene
- Katharine Hepburn
- Whitney Houston
- Robert Joffrey
- Raul Julia
- k.d. lang
- Spike Lee
- David Letterman
- Los Lobos
- Yo-Yo-Ma
- Midori
- Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
- Mike Myers
- Nirvana
- N.W.A.
- Sinead O'Connor
- Luciano Pavarotti
- Pearl Jam
- Michelle Pfeiffer
- Leontyne Price
- Axl Rose
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Jerry Seinfeld
- Will Smith
- Maria Tallchief
- Denzel Washington
- Robin Williams
- And many others
- Up-front statistics identify personalities at-a-glance (points to "guitarist, singer, and songwriter" and "born March 30...)
- Biographies cover 120 of the most popular singers, actors, dancers, comedians, musicians and television personalities of today and yesterday (points to Eric Clapton's name)
- Detailed entries focus on childhood, career, life-changing events (points to text body)
- Quotes, facts and photos add interest (points to quote and photo on first page of entry and box on second)
- Three volumes of less than 250 pages each make the set comprehensive yet manageable
