With unprecedented humor and insight, this literate biography reveals what it's really like to be a professional actress. Miss Kennedy will star in Aaron Spelling's "Savannah" this fall on the Warner Brothers Network.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
While attending parochial school in upstate New York, Kennedy formed a lofty goal: to join her beloved saints in heaven by way of Broadway. As she explains in her good-humored, vivacious, combined growing-up-Catholic/showbiz memoir, she embraced the theater because it was spiritually safe, a place where she could act out earthly temptations without endangering her soul ("Oh life! How to love you, and get away clean?!"). After graduating from Smith College and moving to New York City, however, Kennedy found her career ambition upstaging her Catholic morals. She writes honestly and amusingly about the special hells of acting: casting couches, to which she admits sinking in search of an agent; brutal competitiveness among actors ("Hi, you're cute, you're never going on" was how Lucie Arnaz greeted Kennedy, her understudy, at rehearsal). She also details her interactions with celebrities including Andy Warhol, Sid Caesar and Stella Adler, and her sudden reversals of fortune?after being toasted in Hollywood as the star of the hit TV pilot Three Girls Three, she learned of the series' cancellation months after the fact. No martyr, Kennedy has learned life's lessons as she once did her catechism. After the births of her children, she accepted her more limited roles in the spotlight with grace and joy?qualities in abundance in this spirited reminiscence. Photos. Author tour. (Aug.) FYI: This fall, Kennedy will appear regularly on Aaron Spelling's series Savannah.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Actress Kennedy's face may be more familiar than her name, but she has racked up over 20 years of show business credits, including a stint in the original production of Grease and lead roles in several TV shows. Kennedy knew early on she wanted to be an actress?it didn't hurt that her cousin by marriage was actress Ruth Warwick (Phoebe on the soap All My Children)?and followed the usual rocky road to New York. This isn't just a gossipy film memoir, though there are plenty of humorous anecdotes involving "names." It is the candid, self-effacing story of an American girl of the Baby Boom generation who just happened to want to be an actress, and there is much here beyond the theater that anyone of that generation can appreciate. This is an especially well-written, funny, and insightful work, especially regarding the machinations of breaking into the theater. Recommended for large collections. [Kennedy has just been signed for a major role on Savannah.?Ed.]?Rosellen Brewer, MOBAC Lib. System, Monterey, Cal.
-?Rosellen Brewer, MOBAC Lib. System, Monterey, Cal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-?Rosellen Brewer, MOBAC Lib. System, Monterey, Cal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
VERY TAKEN BY "TAKEN BY THE STAGE",
By a wertheim (Oberlin, Ohio) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Taken to the Stage: The Education of an Actress (Hardcover)
I found this a great, giving book. It's neither your standard-issue Show Biz Memoir nor an interior dialogue of an artist's spiritual search. It's an endearing record of a working actor's life; a life intent on performing from an early age (You really feel Kennedy is one of those people who couldn't do anything but act - despite the fact this book (with no ghostwriter's assistance) is evidence of a smooth, assured writer.). The book has 2 tracks interwoven well. One follows her personal history: growing up in a cultured Catholic family, her hilarious coming-of-age in The 60s and The Industry, and her eventual marriage & motherhood (She met her husband through a computer dating service.). The second track follows her tremendously wayward career path. You can't really call this a theatrical memoir, because her work has such a multi-media span: from Broadway to Disney flicks, from stand-up to sitcoms (though there's no mention of Dharma & Greg so this must have been written prior to her success there). Her story is also refreshing as it's no rags-to-riches tale. She candidly details all the rejections and cancellations (including being pulled from the original Saturday Night Live company by the most maddening technicality) - and the book is a hard-nosed reality check for anyone who thinks any stage of an actor's life is spent coasting. Generous helpings of humor, an affectionate and honest rapport with the reader - and a scrappy, mature take on life characterize every chapter. A surprising and cherished autobiography.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must reading for ANYONE interested in SHOWBIZ,
By A Customer
This review is from: Taken to the Stage: The Education of an Actress (Hardcover)
Mimi Kennedy spins a great yarn about the ups and downs of this marvelous actress' winding path through the perils of show biz...and this yarn is TRUE! Mimi writes with heart, style, and guts, and I can't imagine anyone wanting to be an actor or actress who wouldn't be held spellbound by her story. When you see Mimi today as "Abbie", the hippy-Mom on "Dharma & Greg," you are seeing a brilliant thespian at work--and this book is all about the courage and chutzpah it takes to make it happen. Bravo, Mimi!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the author's blood relatives says it's worth a read.,
By Jim Kennedy (cavb@chattanooga.net) (Chattanooga, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Taken to the Stage: The Education of an Actress (Hardcover)
Mimi Kennedy's memoir, "Taken to the Stage," is worth reading if only as a primer for young people interested in pursuing theatrical careers. It is also worth the read, however, if you want insight into growing up Catholic; Ms. Kennedy's reflections on the Church and its effect on her subconscious and conscious are at once funny and sobering. But it's also worth picking up if your hunting a delightful retrospective on the developmental years. Ms. Kennedy has a remarkable recollection of her childhood and the friends and family members who encouraged and cajoled (and occasionally discouraged and impeded) her journey from star-struck toddler named for a Broadway hot-box girl to an accomplished young actress. Your reviewer can vouch for her recollections because, as her younger brother, I shared many of those family experiences with her. Blood ties aside, I recommend "Taken to the Stage" to any reader looking for a good laugh, a good bio, a good book.
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