Billy

by Stephenson, Pamela

• ISBN13: 9781585673087
• ISBN10: 1585673080
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-09-11
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Summary

Now a favorite of American audiences, Billy Connolly is the outrageous comedian whose unsurpassed comedy genius has won him countless fans. Billy, the revelatory, poignant, and wildly entertaining biography is written by the woman who knows him best-his wife. Billy is one of the biggest sellers of all time in British publishing-number one on UK bestseller lists and, so far, selling over 800,000(!) copies. Connolly is a one-of-a-kind legend: his effortlessly wicked whimsy has entranced and enthralled audiences around the world, and his manic humor needs no introduction. But who is the real Billy Connolly? Where did he come from and where does he get his material? What is it like to live with him? With insight and objectivity, Pamela Stephenson, a psychologist and Billy's wife of ten years, takes us through the heartbreaking and hilarious life of a comic genius and what made him the man he is. The descriptions of Scottish life evoke the poignancy of the Ireland in Angela's Ashesas she tells of the troubled and desperately poor child in the docklands of Glasgow who became an accomplished banjo player and whose jokes soon took over his musical act. Billy Connolly became a household name. From live performances to appearances on television and in the movies, Billy has captivated audiences around the world with his notoriously bawdy humor and the remarkable range of performance that has made him not only a brilliant comic but a dramatic actor who played across from Dame Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown. Filled with riotous anecdotes from Billy's shows and tales from his unhappy childhood, this is, undeniably, the real Billy Connolly: the Billy Connolly that an enormous and fanatic public is waiting for-and a moving, redemptive biography.

Author Biography

Pamela Stephenson lives in Los Angeles but was born in New Zealand. Like her husband, Billy Connolly, Stephenson was originally a comedian, appearing in a variety of television shows including Saturday Night Live and had a starring role in Not the Nine O'Clock News.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
'Jesus is dead, and it's your fault!'	p. 5
'He's got candles in his loaf!'	p. 30
In Search of a Duck's Arse	p. 53
Oxyacetylene Antics	p. 66
Shaving Round the Acne	p. 84
Windswept and Interesting	p. 99
'I want to be a beatnik'	p. 119
'See you, Judas, you're getting on my tits!'	p. 136
Big Banana Feet	p. 146
Stairway to Hell	p. 163
Captain Demento and the Barracuda	p. 180
'That Nikon's going up your arse!'	p. 194
Legless in Manhattan	p. 208
There's Holes in Your Willie	p. 218
Pale Blue Scottish Person	p. 236
Nipple Rings and Fart Machines	p. 264
Epilogue: Life, Death and the Teacup Theory	p. 283
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