Knock Wood by Candice Bergen (1984, Hardcover, Good Condition)

Description: Knock Woodby Candice Bergen She was born into the heady Hollywood of the 1950s, where "celebrity offspring" were celebrities unto themselves, graced with all the attention, allowed all the fantasies, that any child could ask. Christmas was a visit from David Niven in the role of Santa, and a preset from "Uncle Walt" Disney; "the neighborhood" was the Barrymore estate that bordered her yard; an intimate family occasion was one to which on the Saturday Evening Post was invited. And because she was the daughter of Edgar Bergen, vaudeville and radio's greatest dignitary/comedian, her "sibling" was Charlie McCarthy, the impudent dummy beloved of millions, vaguely resented by one little girl whose father was the center of her universe. Bergen - much as he loved his daughter - was a man who "kept his emotions pressed and neatly hung," and was more comfortable speaking to (and through) his brainchild. Charlie always had an answer. Charlie couldn't let anyone down. Above all, Charlie never had to grow up and leave the paradise that was childhood. Knock Wood is a book all about growing up - about the comedy of expectations that ruled Candice Bergen's early life, anout the ironies that attended her exotic rites of passage. She stepped out into a world that offered her a wealth of options: adolescence in Swiss boarding schools; at nineteen, a plum role in Sidney Lumet's The Group (an offer irresistible even to a young woman determined not to be an actress); quick entry into the profession of photojournalism, no dues required; automatic acceptance among the fine, fast company of the moment - be it the international jet set, the playground that was Bel Air in the 60s, or the hardly less glamorous world that was radical politics in the 70s. But always she carried the conviction that her gifts were untested, her luck unearned. Swept up in the movie career she had never particularly courted - in which "people took me as seriously as I took myself" - she acted at acting, protecting herself with an unconscious resolve not to try. Seeking identity through the expectations of others, she armored herself with the implacable poise that was the legacy of being born famous - especially when the one man who might validate his daughter's worth seemed to withhold the parental seal of approval, always just beyond her reach. A girl weaned on Walt Disney, she premised her relationships with men on the legend of Snow White, waiting anxiously for her Prince to come. Movies, assignments, money, freedom - all were permission to prolong the fairy tale, license to run away, until, after thirty, she finally ran into herself. Told with wit, self-deprecation, and a rare degree of courage, Knock Wood is the extraordinary record of Candice Bergen's coming of age. It is at once the moving fable of the love between a father and a daughter, of a woman's triumph over self-doubt, and a dazzling journal of America's life and times - the frivolous, and the enduringly fine - over the past three decades. Bergen was classified a "Star" at birth; in rejecting that easy victory, she has iven us an absolutely stellar book. Item Condition Pictures provided are of the actual item you will be purchasing. Please see the Condition Description for details of any flaws that may be present. Shipping Information We will happily combine shipping on multiple items to save you money, we only charge the actual cost of shipping with no markup or handling fee. Free shipping (where offered) is for the 48 contiguous states only. We do not ship to any countries outside of the United States except through eBay’s Global Shipping Program. Want more books? We have plenty for you to browse in our eBay store.

Price: 6.49 USD

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

End Time: 2024-12-17T15:13:52.000Z

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