Audiobooks narrated by Nat Segaloff

Bogart and Huston: Their Lives, Their Adventures, and the Classic Movies They Made Together

"From 1941 to 1953, director John Huston and actor Humphrey Bogart made one classic film after another, from The Maltese Falcon to The African Queen. Here is the story of their close but combative friendship that produced some of the best movies ever made. Every time they made a movie together, they made a classic—or so it seemed for star Humphrey Bogart and writer/director John Huston. Their six collaborations include many of the 'golden age' hits from Hollywood's fabled film legacy: The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo, The African Queen, and Beat the Devil. At the same time, both men led fiercely separate lives—except when they were making pictures together. Sometimes they agreed and sometimes they argued, always keeping their eyes on the results. What did each man bring to the collaboration, and how did their films together reflect their disparate personalities? Their friendship was as dramatic as any of their movies. It survived nine marriages, a world war, the blacklist, leeches, alcohol, and Jack L. Warner. Here is the story of these two legendary talents, their films, their lives, their foes, and their devotion to each other."

Nat Segaloff (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Rambo Report: Five Films, Three Books, One Legend

"From the beginning, Rambo was more than a character in a 1972 novel by David Morrell. He was the culmination of the author's personal encounters with veterans returning from the Vietnam War. The 1982 movie adaptation of First Blood reflected the novel's powerful insights into a troubled veteran's postwar experience. Then in 1985, the film's explosive sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II transformed the character into something shockingly different. With a focus on blood-and-guts action, Rambo became an invincible one-man army. A new kind of hero for a new day in America. A pop-culture icon as controversial as he was crowd-pleasing—blasting his way through the influential action film franchise in Hollywood history. The Rambo legend was born. Five feature films. Three novels. Seven video games. Countless comic books, action figures, and even an animated show for kids. The Rambo machine has been as unstoppable as Rambo himself. Now for the first time, Hollywood insider Nat Segaloff digs deep into the man, the myth, and the massive impact of the phenomenon known as 'The Rambo Effect.' Packed with behind-the-scenes anecdotes, cultural insights, and debates about violence in the media, this is an explosive no-holds-barred report from the front lines of Hollywood mythmaking. A must-listen for Rambo fans, movies buffs, and anyone interested in American culture."

Nat Segaloff (Author), David Morrell, Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Naughty Bits: What The Censors Wouldn’t Let You See in Hollywood’s Most Famous Movies

"Between 1934 and 1968, no Hollywood studio could make a movie without the permission of, and a seal of approval from, the Production Code Administration. Formed in 1930 but not enforced until 1934, the Production Code was Hollywood’s official censorship system. Screenplays, books, plays, costumes, and even story ideas and song lyrics had to be cleared by the Code before they could be filmed, and Code staffers watched at every stage of the production process to ensure compliance. The correspondence between the Code and the studios was confidential, and the memos within the Code office itself were even more so. Well, not anymore. The Naughty Bits pores through those files to show how the censors did their job and yields some surprising results. What was the world prevented from seeing in some of the greatest movies ever made as well as some of the most scurrilous? Here is the sometimes funny, sometimes outrageous, always riveting history of movie censorship revealed in letters, notes, and tantrums on both sides of the screen. The audiobook is read by author Nat Segaloff. It is edited slightly from the print edition published by Sticking Place Books. It necessarily contains dated language and ideas that some listeners may find offensive."

Nat Segaloff (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

More Fire! The Building of The Towering Inferno: A 50th Anniversary Explosion

"It wasn’t the first or last of the disaster pictures, but it was the best of them all, yet its producer had no way of knowing that his career would never again reach those heights. The Towering Inferno (1974) was the crowning achievement of über-producer Irwin Allen, the self-proclaimed “Master of disaster.” Crafted from two best-selling books and with a budget-busting cast headed by two mega-stars, it took two studios to bring it to the screen. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Towering Inferno, biographer-historian Nat Segaloff (who was a member of the film’s special publicity unit) writes about the production, its innovative marketing campaign, and the goings-on before, during, and after its box office success. He draws a compelling, compassionate portrait of Irwin Allen, the workaholic filmmaker who craved the spotlight yet studiously hid his personal life. Segaloff also charts the history of fire in movies, draws personal profiles of the cast and crew, and offers modern fire safety tips that can save your life. More Fire! The Building of The Towering Inferno will bring back the excitement, the fear, and the heat of the greatest disaster movie ever made."

Nat Segaloff (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop: The Team That Changed Children's Television

"For over forty years, ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her sassy hand puppet Lamb Chop were the most beloved team in children's television. Together with her other puppets Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy, Shari raised three generations of kids and struggled to stay relevant in an industry that was constantly changing. In this audiobook, cowritten and recorded by Shari's daughter Mallory Lewis (who now performs with Lamb Chop) and producer-biographer Nat Segaloff, you'll hear how Shari survived using sheer will and talent, how she reinvented herself to meet new challenges, and the never-before-told story of the origin of Lamb Chop. Shari's story is not only that of a versatile and talented entertainer. It's the personalized history of children's television and of a gifted woman's lifelong struggle to remain on top of a tough profession. Mallory tells her mother's story with intimacy and honesty as Nat fills in the narrative. There's even a guest appearance by Lamb Chop."

Mallory Lewis, Nat Segaloff (Author), Lamb Chop, Mallory Lewis, Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

Just When You Thought It Was Safe: A JAWS Companion

Patrick Jankiewicz (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

William Conrad: A Life & Career

"William Conrad (1920–1994) was one of the most prolific and recognizable voices of the golden age of radio drama on such programs as The Whistler, Escape, Suspense, Favorite Story, Lux Radio Theater, and many others, but it was his performance as Marshal Matt Dillon on the radio version of Gunsmoke that made him a radio institution. In addition to his radio work he often appeared in films and made his mark, often as a heavy, in such classic film noirs as The Killers, Body and Soul, Sorry, Wrong Number, One-Way Street, Tension, and Cry Danger. Not many people know that Conrad took a sabbatical from acting during much of the 1960’s and was a producer and director at Warner Brothers creating such films as Two on a Guillotine, My Blood Runs Cold, Brainstorm, An American Dream, The Cool Ones, and Countdown. Conrad is probably best remembered today for his iconic TV roles in Cannon and Jake and the Fatman."

Charles Tranberg (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

My Adventure with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle: The Making of the Movie Sheena

"To some, she was the female Tarzan. To others, she was the sexiest pin-up of their teenage years. She was Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. The making of the 1984 movie Sheena was an adventure worthy of a behind-the-scenes book, and that’s what the film’s executive producer, Yoram Ben-Ami, has written in My Adventure with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Completed days before actress Tanya Roberts’s tragic death, My Adventure with Sheena, Queen of the Jungle is a tribute not only to its hard-working star but to the scores of technicians who made the first major studio film shot entirely in Africa. Ben-Ami was there for all of it and writes about working with Roberts, dealing with a director who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, and a rhinoceros that wouldn’t take direction. Sheena was controversial for its portrayal of a white heroine who rises to “save” African culture. The film could not be made today, but it was made, and it offers historical perspective of how far we have come and how far we have yet to go. Israeli-born American producer Yoram Ben-Ami had just scored a hit with Lone Wolf McQuade when he embarked with director John Guillermin, stars Tanya Roberts and Ted Wass, and a menagerie of trained animals to mix with the wild animals of Africa and make what everyone thought was going to be the box office smash of 1984. Ben-Ami’s behind-the-scenes tales make for exciting, informative, funny, and sometimes touching reading."

Yoram Ben-Ami (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Vanished World of Robert Youngson

"Writer-Producer Robert Youngson’s seminal compilation documentaries of silent comedy in the 1960s inspired a Renaissance in the legacies of Charley Chase, Snub Pollard, and, above all, Laurel and Hardy as well as other comedians from movies of the teens and twenties. Youngson died young, but his widow, Jeanne, tells author Manago about her late husband’s obsession with movies, laughter, and food."

Jim Manago (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

How to Succeed in Hollywood without Really Trying: P.S.—You Can’t!

"Writer-Director Melville Shavelson survived five wars: WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and Hollywood. In this often funny and always readable memoir, he recalls the heyday of the studio system and what it was like to work with such powerful forces as Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, the State of Israel, the family of President Eisenhower, and Paramount Pictures."

Melville Shavelson (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Bear Who Lived at the Plaza

"Ward Morehouse III’s love affair with grand hotels began long before he wrote his first landmark book, The Waldorf-Astoria: America’s Gilded Dream, which was followed by Inside the Plaza: An Intimate Portrait of the Ultimate Hotel. His father, the late drama critic Ward Morehouse, lovingly introduced his son to the glamorous life of luxurious hotels. This is his memoir of his experiences at New York’s Plaza Hotel, including the many actors and actresses who came and went, the glamour and glitz, and also the animals that were brought there, even a bear named Bangkok who lived for a time at the Plaza Hotel."

Ward Morehouse (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Hollywood Canteen: Where the Greatest Generation Danced with the Most Beautiful Girls in the Wor

"The Hollywood Canteen was the jewel in the crown of World War II Hollywood. From 1942 to 1945, over three million servicemen came through its doors on their way to fight in the Pacific—some never to return. There, in a converted barn in the heart of Hollywood, soldiers were fed, entertained by, and danced with some of the biggest stars in the world. The Canteen was free to all servicemen or women, regardless of race, inviting them to jive to the music of Kay Kyser and Harry James, laugh at Bob Hope’s jokes, be handed sandwiches by Rita Hayworth, or dance with Hedy Lamarr. Knowing they were so appreciated, the soldiers were armed with the kinds of hope and encouragement that would help them win a war. The Hollywood Canteen: Where the Greatest Generation Danced with the Most Beautiful Girls in the World is the only complete history of the Canteen."

Bruce Torrence, Lisa Mitchell (Author), Nat Segaloff (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Nat Segaloff