{"product_id":"it-seemed-like-a-bad-idea-at-the-time-9780914091929","title":"It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Bruce Vilanch, a storyteller without peer, has written a tell-all . . . on himself! And it's hilarious! He's finally coming clean and owning up to his part in creating some of the worst television of the twentieth century, and that's saying a lot. There's no one like him. As they've been saying since I discovered him as a cub reporter at the \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e, when you're in a pinch . . . Get Bruce!\" --BETTE MIDLER \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Bruce Vilanch is known as a go-to comedy writer for award shows, sitcoms, and top-heavy variety specials, but he has also been responsible for quite a few of the worst shows ever put on television--legendarily bad productions. \u003cbr\u003e Some of his work lives in infamy--\u003ci\u003eThe Star Wars Holiday Special\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Paul Lynde Halloween Special\u003c\/i\u003e, Rob Lowe dancing with Snow White at the Oscars, and \u003ci\u003eThe Brady Bunch Variety Hour\u003c\/i\u003e. How did these ever seem like a good idea? \u003cbr\u003e Well, everyone has screwed up a few times, or had their work screwed up by others. \u003ci\u003eIt Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time\u003c\/i\u003e is a lifetime reflection of what Vilanch has experienced, learned, forgotten, dismissed, and embraced in decades of working in show business, specifically the south forty acres known as comedy. It involves very famous people and people who were not very famous but should have been. \u003cbr\u003e And it explains to the person in the audience who says to himself, once he has gotten his jaw off the floor, \"'How did this \u003ci\u003eever\u003c\/i\u003e get made?\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDon't we all want to know?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBruce Vilanch\u003c\/b\u003e is an actor (occasionally an actress), writer (occasionally a rewriter), and comedian (occasionally for money, often for causes). He has coauthored 25 Academy Award spectacles, winning two writing Emmys in the process, and has been nominated for seven more. In addition to the Oscars, he has cowritten many Tonys, Emmys, Grammys, People's Choice, American Comedy Awards, TV Land Awards, SAG Awards, and a ton of other pageants, roasts, tributes, and various trumped-up reasons for people to strut a red carpet. He has coauthored dozens of variety television shows and actually put words in the mouth of Cher. He's also a lyricist, scoring gold and platinum records for disco songs he wrote for Eartha Kitt and the Village People. And musical theatre geeks will remember him as the coauthor of the Broadway misfire called \u003ci\u003ePlatinum\u003c\/i\u003e, which was revived off-Broadway for reasons that continue to mystify Bruce. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Chicago Review Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51186834735378,"sku":"9780914091929","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_23a5b952-666e-4d11-9edf-2c9547bf1f27.jpg?v=1744633132","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/it-seemed-like-a-bad-idea-at-the-time-9780914091929","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}