A Studied Madness

by Heywood Hale Broun

"Brought back into print after 14 years and published in paperback for the first time, this leisurely meditation on the art of acting and on the author's life in that art demonstrates a good-natured sense of humor and an engaging style. In a series of essays, Broun gently knocks the theatrical world--the audience traveling from small town to small town only to have a production fold right outside of New York; the trauma of doing live TV; getting bit parts in commercials or horror movies after years of classical training; and so on. Oddly enough, while deglamorizing his profession, he makes a good case for it: he enjoyed his life . . . and he's written a very enjoyable book about it." --Publisher's Weekly

298 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Heywood Hale Broun was an American author, sportswriter, commentator and actor.

Reviews

[Monte Dutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not particularly interested in the theater, but I was familiar with Woodie Broun from his television work. It's a cleverly written account of Broun's mostly detailing his career most as an actor with bit roles but also touching on other passions such as horse racing and journalism.
It's one those books that led me to underline passages. It's a keeper, one that I might return to one day and one that won't go into the box to take to the used book shop.
Highly recommended.