Vicki!: The True-Life Adventures of Miss Fireball [Hardcover]

Vicki Lawrence (Author), Marc Eliot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1995

Vicki Lawrence, the comic co-star of The Carol Burnett Show, describes the high school fan letter that led to her meeting Carol Burnett, her achievements on Mama's Family, and her syndicated talk show. 50,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Discovered" by Carol Burnett while still in high school, Lawrence became a cast member of Burnett's TV variety show, then starred as the title character in the spin-off sitcom Mama's Family-a career trajectory that eventually landed her a spot as the host of Vicki!, one of TV's most popular talk shows. With Eliot (My Life-In Spite of Myself), Lawrence here scripts her life story in a charmingly rambling fashion, providing an alternately lighthearted, serious and sometimes catty look at a show-biz lifestyle. Accounts of various battles with producers, directors and production companies-such as the one that led to the cancellation of Vicki!, despite its commercial success, in 1994-are counterbalanced by affectionate tributes to Burnett and other celebs Lawrence has worked with, and by loving portraits of her husband, Al Schultz, and their children. Fans of daytime TV will find the book of particular interest for its behind-the-scenes look at the operations of a talk show. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

What a wonderful country where someone like Vicki Lawrence can publish an autobiography! If the name doesn't immediately ring a bell, Lawrence began her career as Carol Burnett's younger sister on the comedienne's variety hour and went on to host a now-defunct game show and a now-defunct talk show and to star in a syndicated sitcom, Mama's Family. Despite an upbeat tone, her book has a mean-spirited streak, especially when Lawrence is talking about her sister and other business acquaintances, though she is kinder to Burnett, who discovered her. The question, of course, is whether there is anyone out there who wants to read a whole book, mean spirited or otherwise, about a very minor TV star. The answer, believe it or not, is probably yes. Buy one copy if the celebrity-craving tabloid crowd uses your library. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Hardcover: 238 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684802864
• ISBN-13: 978-0684802862
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,323,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable book., August 23, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vicki!: The True-Life Adventures of Miss Fireball (Hardcover)

I've always been a fan of Vicki Lawrence and purchased her autobiography knowing I would enjoy it. And I did. It's great to read about how Vicki broke into show business, being discovered at the age of seventeen by superstar Carol Burnett. As a result, Vicki was thrusted into the limelight when she became a regular on Burnett's new variety series in 1967. Vicki writes about her struggles to complete college while being on a hit show and being torn over wanting to quit over her parent's objections. Miss Lawrence also writes about her strained relationship with her mother, who often faked suicide to meet her demands. Vicki also takes us through her successes as a Number One pop artist and gives us behind-the-scene tales of portraying "Mama" on the long-running "Mama's Family" television series. I've read the book twice now and am going for a third. I really enjoyed it.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but find a real editor.., May 31, 2010

By 

Alan S. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vicki!: The True-Life Adventures of Miss Fireball (Hardcover)

Autobiographies of famous people are almost always fascinating, for a look behind the scenes and the story of how they got to where they are. Somewhat by accident, I started reading autobiographies of 70's pop culture icons I grew up with, one of which was Carol Burnett. Her story is just amazing, how she grew up with her grandmother in a little one-room welfare apartment while her parents were basically incapacitated alcoholics, and how she made it to UCLA, and then to NYC. Anyway that led to the Vicki book which was also interesting to read for a glimpse inside the world of showbiz. But between Vicki, her Columbia-grad co-writer and Simon & Schuster, they turned out some really bad writing in this book, which I can't understand. I thought the reason to have a co-writer was to edit and professionalize the copy. I didn't think I was going to make it through the whole book because of it but I managed. Anyway, I appreciated reading about her visits to the servicemen in Vietnam and felt bad about her mother's poor mental health. And I'm glad we have some good comedy TV...I'm sure we don't even realize how much good the levity and laughter do for us. I hope to read about Tim Conway & Harvey Korman as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars "Vicki!" is irresistible!, December 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vicki!: The True-Life Adventures of Miss Fireball (Hardcover)

I just received an autographed copy of "Vicki!" for Christmas, and I read it in 7 hours. I couldn't put it down! Lawrence has incredible wit and humor in her writing, and frequently makes the reader laugh unexpectedly. It's amazing what a truly adventurous life she has lead! The only negative thing is seeing how horribly she was treated by her cruel sister, mother, first husband, and certain business affiliates. Lawrence not once appeared to be "mean-spirited" to anyone. Instead, she rightfully justified wrongs that were done to her. Otherwise, "Vicki!" is a joy to read, and has more pictures than any other autobiography I have read. From "The Carol Burnett Show" to "Mama's Family" to "Win, Lose, or Draw" to "Vicki!", this book is sure to entertain you for hours on end. I already can't wait for my next reading . . . and take it from me, it *does* make a great gift!