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My Mother Was Nuts: A Memoir Audiobook
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(3.00) - 2,096 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
My Mother Was Nuts audiobook will keep you laughing hysterically as she recounts humorous details from her personal life and the ups and downs of her career. This incredible autobiography sheds light on some of Penny's career accomplishments, taking you from her debut role on "The Odd Couple" to the years she spent directing box-office smashes such as "Big" and "A League Of Their Own".
Penny offers us a rare glimpse into many of the hilarious adventures she's found herself in over the years. You'll learn all about her marriages and other aspects of her personal life, even traveling with her and companion Art Garfunkel across Europe on the back of a motorcycle.
Penny has been privileged to work with some of the greatest actors in Hollywood during the course of her career. Big names like Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg and Robert Di Niro are only a few of the friends she's made along the way. One thing is for sure, you'll be delighted from the beginning to the very end of Penny's incredible journey. For someone whose career happened by accident, Penny has been fortunate to live a life that's full of great stories and a lot of humor.
Penny Marshall has a list of film and television credits that's a mile long. Her career has been very rich and rewarding, giving her opportunities to shine both onstage and off. The movie "Big", which was the first film Penny directed, was also the first film ever directed by a woman that grossed over $100 million at the box office. One of the first acting jobs Penny ever held was a television commercial for shampoo, where she played an unattractive girl with "stringy" hair. Penny persevered and grew her career into one that has kept America entertained for years.
The My Mother Was Nuts audiobook by Penny Marshall is an incredible look into the life of this famed actress. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll love her even more before it's all over.
"I love the entertainment industry and I loved this book. I read other reviews that said it was all about name-dropping & drugs, but I did not find this to be true. It was a very frank, open (and somewhat disjointed) memoir of a very real life. Penny just wrote about her life. Period. I loved it! It is what it is."
— Beth (4 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
Most people know Penny Marshall as the director of Big and A League of Their Own. What they don’t know is her trailblazing career was a happy accident. In this funny and intimate memoir, Penny takes us from the stage of The Jackie Gleason Show in 1955 to Hollywood’s star-studded sets, offering up some hilarious detours along the way.
My Mother Was Nuts is an intimate backstage pass to Penny’s personal life, her breakout role on The Odd Couple, her exploits with Cindy Williams and John Belushi, and her travels across Europe with Art Garfunkel on the back of a motorcycle. We see Penny get married. And divorced. And married again (the second time to Rob Reiner). We meet a young Carrie Fisher, whose close friendship with Penny spanned decades. And we see Penny at work with Tom Hanks, Mark Wahlberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, and Whitney Houston.
Throughout it all, from her childhood spent tap dancing in the Bronx, to her rise as the star of Laverne & Shirley, Penny lived by simple rules: “try hard, help your friends, don’t get too crazy, and have fun.” With humor and heart, My Mother Was Nuts reveals there was no one else quite like Penny Marshall.
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My Mother Was Nuts Listener Reviews
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" This was a quick, fun read. PM is an interesting person from a talented family and very funny. "
— Deborah, 2/20/2014 -
" Very positive. Lots of names I didn't know but many I did . I was never a Laverne and Shiley fan but I really like the films Penny has directed. What a great life. "
— Sally, 2/4/2014 -
" "Try hard, help your friends, don't get too crazy, and have fun." "
— Anna, 1/24/2014 -
" Nice quick bubble gum book that was helpful to get through a 15 hour plane ride in economy plus. "
— Vicky, 1/22/2014 -
" Penny Marshall has led a very interesting life and it was very entertaining to follow her as she took a trip down memory lane. I loved Laverne and remain a big fan. "
— Kelly-ann, 1/21/2014 -
" As fun as you'd expect Penny Marshall to be! "
— Kate, 1/20/2014 -
" I read this when it first came out and just re-read it. I loved her references, her philosophy of life, and her pragmatism. LONG LIVE PENNY! And thank you for such an honest analysis of a life lived to the fullest. "
— Susan, 1/18/2014 -
" Poorly written. Lots of name dropping and pointless stories. "
— Loraine, 12/31/2013 -
" Uneven narrative. Some good stuff. Lots of self-indulgence stuff. If you like Penny Marshall, you might enjoy this book. "
— Dave, 12/24/2013 -
" ok, kinda of interesting showbiz wise but very little insight into how she developed her creative process which I don't think was just due to family connections. A very interesting point was all the talented people who grew up on her block at the same time. "
— Pat, 12/20/2013 -
" Fun read by Penny Marshall. Insites on Laverne & Shirley and her movies. "
— Kay, 12/10/2013 -
" This book made me see so much more about Penny Marshall. She is real and very funny. "
— Lisa, 10/1/2013 -
" See also: My Happy Days in Hollywood. You know right away how the books will be different just by the titles. "
— Vanessa, 10/1/2013 -
" Just didn't care, wish her well! "
— Holly, 9/19/2013 -
" Another Bio from an actress who I watched growing up as a child. I listened to the Audiobook with Penny reads. "
— Gary, 7/19/2013 -
" had to quit reading it. "
— Jen, 7/18/2013 -
" Just what you think it will be. Hundreds of silly showbiz anecdotes (Penny slept with Art Garfunkel! She dropped acid with Carrie Fisher! Shirley dated Squiggy!) and schmaltzy laughs. She seems like a nice lady. "
— Matt, 4/30/2013 -
" Her stories are hilarious, and this book is PACKED with great stories. I loved the stories from when she was married to Rob Reiner. "
— Vanessa, 4/20/2013 -
" A nice easy read. I am sure there is much more detail to her stories. Maybe she will write another with more details of her life. "
— Helen, 3/19/2013 -
" The audio book is the way to go. To hear Penny reading her story doubled the fun. Entertaining, if a bit repetitive at times. But just when it got a bit stale some lovely nugget of her sometimes bizarre reality would get me laughing out loud again. "
— Deb, 2/15/2013 -
" A fun quick read. Lots of name dropping and no salaciousness. "
— Glenn, 10/7/2012
About Penny Marshall
Penny Marshall is an actress, producer, and director. From 1976 to 1983, she starred as Laverne DeFazio in the classic television sitcom Laverne and Shirley . She went on to direct films such as Big, the first movie directed by a woman to gross in excess of $100 million at the US box office; Awakening, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture; and A League of Their Own, which also made over $100 million in the US. She has also directed episodes of United States of Tara and guest-starred on Portlandia.