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Producer: Lessons Shared from 30 Years in Television
For the past seventeen years, Wendy Walker has been the "woman behind the man" at Larry King Live. As King's senior executive producer, she has been responsible for landing exclusive interviews with the most important newsmakers and well-known celebrities from around the globe that have been the hallmark of CNN's iconic show.
From the shocking death of Michael Jackson to the first television interview with the Watergate scandal's Deep Throat, Wendy Walker has a wealth of never-before-shared stories involving the most relevant events and people of our time.
Starting as an ABC secretary over thirty years ago, she has risen through the male-dominated world of television production. Her passion, intellect, and work ethic are undeniable, but it's her heart that has always been her guide. It's with the same zeal and loving spirituality that she shares the insights gained during her long climb to the top. With empowering advice and inspirational thoughts, Wendy Walker has not only gained a lifetime of experience, but the wisdom to know that it needs to be shared.
From the shocking death of Michael Jackson to the first television interview with the Watergate scandal's Deep Throat, Wendy Walker has a wealth of never-before-shared stories involving the most relevant events and people of our time.
Starting as an ABC secretary over thirty years ago, she has risen through the male-dominated world of television production. Her passion, intellect, and work ethic are undeniable, but it's her heart that has always been her guide. It's with the same zeal and loving spirituality that she shares the insights gained during her long climb to the top. With empowering advice and inspirational thoughts, Wendy Walker has not only gained a lifetime of experience, but the wisdom to know that it needs to be shared.
299 pages, Hardcover
First published November 16, 2009
11 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Walker
2 booksWendy Walker was the senior executive producer of television talk show "Larry King Live".
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 17, 2017
I think this book can be a useful tool for young people aspiring to become involved in the media world of television. How it is done, the discipline behind it, and the skills to succeed.
Wendy Walker, thirty years in the news business, of which fourteen years was as the executive producer for the Larry King Show shares some memories of the behind-the-scenes mayhem of putting news and interviews together. She drops a few names to make it interesting. People such as Michael Jackson, Al Gore, Marlon Brando, the Kennedys (when she worked for Ethal), OJ Simpson, Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Bill CLinton, Ted Turner, the Deep Throat (whistleblower, William Mark Felt, a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent who served as the Bureau's Associate Director, the FBI's second-highest-ranking post, who helped journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the Watergate scandal),etc.
She avoids controversial moments, plays nice with everyone, and lectures the uninformed about a life of living, breathing and sleeping news events. The main message is probably how to be ambitious and achieve your goals and being nice about it. There's some adventurous moments as well.
She is a behind-the-scenes operator who introduces herself to the world, stressing the fact that producers are the mainstay of every important program, without the glamor or the glory. With this memoir she makes sure that everyone will know who she is.
So for me this was not really ground-breaking or overly exciting. But I do think it can be a good read for younger people and serves a very good purpose.
However, if someone really wants to know the juicy bits, a novel with a producer as protagonist might be a much more exciting read. The truth with a fictional spin is a very entertaining experience, instead. Safer too. uhummmm.....and probably more daring and honest. :-))
But not too bad. Good writing style. Quick read.
Wendy Walker, thirty years in the news business, of which fourteen years was as the executive producer for the Larry King Show shares some memories of the behind-the-scenes mayhem of putting news and interviews together. She drops a few names to make it interesting. People such as Michael Jackson, Al Gore, Marlon Brando, the Kennedys (when she worked for Ethal), OJ Simpson, Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Bill CLinton, Ted Turner, the Deep Throat (whistleblower, William Mark Felt, a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent who served as the Bureau's Associate Director, the FBI's second-highest-ranking post, who helped journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the Watergate scandal),etc.
She avoids controversial moments, plays nice with everyone, and lectures the uninformed about a life of living, breathing and sleeping news events. The main message is probably how to be ambitious and achieve your goals and being nice about it. There's some adventurous moments as well.
She is a behind-the-scenes operator who introduces herself to the world, stressing the fact that producers are the mainstay of every important program, without the glamor or the glory. With this memoir she makes sure that everyone will know who she is.
So for me this was not really ground-breaking or overly exciting. But I do think it can be a good read for younger people and serves a very good purpose.
However, if someone really wants to know the juicy bits, a novel with a producer as protagonist might be a much more exciting read. The truth with a fictional spin is a very entertaining experience, instead. Safer too. uhummmm.....and probably more daring and honest. :-))
But not too bad. Good writing style. Quick read.
January 28, 2018
Written by the producer of The Larry King Live show on CNN, the author started her career with an accidental meeting with Ethel Kennedy and working for her for a summer and was fortunate enough to land the job working for Larry King for 18 years. Along the way she has met some very interesting and famous people and been present at some historical events. She has such a positive attitude so dont go looking for any dirt or gossip here. Sometimes it comes across as a 'look who I know' memoir, but she has such a likeable personality that I didn't hold it against her. At the end of each chapter is an inspirational life message, which I am sure helped her be a success...by being positive and an inspiration to others.
April 11, 2013
Behind every great man, the saying goes, is an exhausted woman. For over three decades, Wendy Walker was the off-camera magician who put together thousands of interviews for the Larry King Live show. In her autobiography, Walker talks a little about her drive for television producing, her love of Larry, her personal and professional experiences, and all the people she's met.
It's that last one that gets a little grating in Producer. I have absolutely no doubt that doing what she did, Walker has met some of the most fascinating and interesting people in the world, but constant name-dropping gets old. Whether it's working for Ethel Kennedy and meeting Jacqueline Onassis, getting Richard Nixon's autograph, working with Katie Couric or counting Tom Delonge as a friend, the revolving door of celebrities and politicians gets a bit old to read.
Also old is the writing itself. Ghostwriter Andrea Cagan infuses little life into the prose. There's no verve, no lilt to the words of Walker's story. When it tries, it feels manufactured, strained, fabricated.
But Walker's life is so extraordinary that weak language can't hold it down. Whether it was Paul McCartney playing at her birthday party, her love of designer handbags, her honesty at telling the story of her devastating divorce and the psychic who helped rebuild her life, Wendy Walker has seen it all. The 'life lessons' at the end of every chapter may come off as a bit trite, but they're administered with authority and experience, and give a peek at the life of a woman who told some of the stories that captured our imagination, without her ever stepping foot in front of a camera.
It's that last one that gets a little grating in Producer. I have absolutely no doubt that doing what she did, Walker has met some of the most fascinating and interesting people in the world, but constant name-dropping gets old. Whether it's working for Ethel Kennedy and meeting Jacqueline Onassis, getting Richard Nixon's autograph, working with Katie Couric or counting Tom Delonge as a friend, the revolving door of celebrities and politicians gets a bit old to read.
Also old is the writing itself. Ghostwriter Andrea Cagan infuses little life into the prose. There's no verve, no lilt to the words of Walker's story. When it tries, it feels manufactured, strained, fabricated.
But Walker's life is so extraordinary that weak language can't hold it down. Whether it was Paul McCartney playing at her birthday party, her love of designer handbags, her honesty at telling the story of her devastating divorce and the psychic who helped rebuild her life, Wendy Walker has seen it all. The 'life lessons' at the end of every chapter may come off as a bit trite, but they're administered with authority and experience, and give a peek at the life of a woman who told some of the stories that captured our imagination, without her ever stepping foot in front of a camera.
December 28, 2010
A friend gave me this book and I really liked it. To be honest it made me more interested in watching Larry King Live, because Larry has been on TV for so long I just took him for granted. Wendy gives you a great insight into the behind the scenes work that it takes to produce a top notch show. Also living in the Washington, DC area I could relate to people and places she was talking about from the 80s and 90s. Duke Zieberts was the place to be for a power lunch, but it is now long gone. Congratulations to Wendy on a great career in television. She is survivor and I look for her to pop up somewhere else now that her job with Larry King is over.
January 25, 2011
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway back at the end of October and it finally arrived on January 14th.
I must confess I feel a bit betrayed by the giveaway lister on this volume and I fear it has colored my opinion of the book. For the sake of clarity, I shall repost the pitch listed in the giveaway
Wendy Walker is one of those invisible forces who has shaped our perception of the world. For the past fourteen years she has been the "woman behind the man", at Larry King Live. As Larry's Senior Executive Producer she has been responsible for landing the exclusive interviews with the most important newsmakers and well-known celebrities from around the globe that have been the hallmark of CNN's #1 show. While she may have been unseen and unrecognized, Wendy's work has shaped all of our lives. She has arranged some of the most iconic interviews of our time. For example, she orchestrated the 1993 NAFTA debate between Vice President Al Gore and Ross Perot; which remains, to this day, one of the highest rated programs in cable television history.
Starting as a secretary at ABC some 30 years ago, Wendy has climbed up the male-dominated world of television production. Her passion and work ethic are undeniable, but it has always been her heart that has been her guide. And it's with the same zeal and loving spirituality that she shares her life in this remarkable memoir.
This sounds like the insightful story of a newswoman working in a time of gender bias, developing and succeeding in an environment unaccustomed to female leadership, facing unexpected challenges and overcoming these obstacles. Sadly, this book is not that memoir.
Instead we get a self-help book of facile, though harmless, lessons and retrospectives mostly focused on significant events during her time as Larry King's senior executive producer. Many of these recountings put her into a passive role. For instance, she recounts Larry King's interview with Marlon Brando because of the way Brando treated everyone, not just King, as important. While the lesson of treating everyone well is not a bad one, her role in this is entirely passive. She did not arrange the interview nor, per the book, did she make any real contributions to the broadcast.
That's not to say it's entirely without merit. The sections where Walker focuses on her early career in Washington, DC at the local ABC affiliate and her early years at the start-up CNN are very interesting. It would have been great to get a book all about her years working on a number of significant stories, including multiple summits
Unfortunately, more time is spent on pop-cultural phenomena like OJ, Scott Peterson, and Michael Jackson. Not that these don't have a place in her book because they were significant parts of her Larry King Live career, but so much more could and should have been said about the pre-Larry King portion of her life.
The book jacket is more honest than the giveaway blurb and I think those who pick up this expecting a self-help book will be more satisfied.
I must confess I feel a bit betrayed by the giveaway lister on this volume and I fear it has colored my opinion of the book. For the sake of clarity, I shall repost the pitch listed in the giveaway
Wendy Walker is one of those invisible forces who has shaped our perception of the world. For the past fourteen years she has been the "woman behind the man", at Larry King Live. As Larry's Senior Executive Producer she has been responsible for landing the exclusive interviews with the most important newsmakers and well-known celebrities from around the globe that have been the hallmark of CNN's #1 show. While she may have been unseen and unrecognized, Wendy's work has shaped all of our lives. She has arranged some of the most iconic interviews of our time. For example, she orchestrated the 1993 NAFTA debate between Vice President Al Gore and Ross Perot; which remains, to this day, one of the highest rated programs in cable television history.
Starting as a secretary at ABC some 30 years ago, Wendy has climbed up the male-dominated world of television production. Her passion and work ethic are undeniable, but it has always been her heart that has been her guide. And it's with the same zeal and loving spirituality that she shares her life in this remarkable memoir.
This sounds like the insightful story of a newswoman working in a time of gender bias, developing and succeeding in an environment unaccustomed to female leadership, facing unexpected challenges and overcoming these obstacles. Sadly, this book is not that memoir.
Instead we get a self-help book of facile, though harmless, lessons and retrospectives mostly focused on significant events during her time as Larry King's senior executive producer. Many of these recountings put her into a passive role. For instance, she recounts Larry King's interview with Marlon Brando because of the way Brando treated everyone, not just King, as important. While the lesson of treating everyone well is not a bad one, her role in this is entirely passive. She did not arrange the interview nor, per the book, did she make any real contributions to the broadcast.
That's not to say it's entirely without merit. The sections where Walker focuses on her early career in Washington, DC at the local ABC affiliate and her early years at the start-up CNN are very interesting. It would have been great to get a book all about her years working on a number of significant stories, including multiple summits
Unfortunately, more time is spent on pop-cultural phenomena like OJ, Scott Peterson, and Michael Jackson. Not that these don't have a place in her book because they were significant parts of her Larry King Live career, but so much more could and should have been said about the pre-Larry King portion of her life.
The book jacket is more honest than the giveaway blurb and I think those who pick up this expecting a self-help book will be more satisfied.
September 30, 2012
Producer by Wendy Walker was a good read - most of the time. The good things were her reaffirmations about life at the end of each chapter and take away points learned throughout her life and her career. Also fascinating was her "fron-row" view of breaking news like Michael Jacksons's death, Larry King's interview with Marlon Brando, Scott Peterson and, of course, the OJ trail(yawn). Her trajectory from retail salesperson at Brooks Brothers to a VP & Senior Producer at CNN is commendable. The downsides are the chapters that went on and on....her fiftieth birthday party where the band was Paul McCartney. That chapter was self-indulgent and bragadocius. She made sure we knew her husband at that time could and did write a check to Heather Mills (Paul's former wife) charity for $50k and then $1 million dollars. Yes Wendy, we know that you make good money but we didn't need to know that you can write these sums like you are writing a check for your monthly electrical bill.
March 12, 2017
This book is structured around 18 life lessons. Each lesson is the name of a chapter. Stories from her life and career are used to illustrate each idea, then the life lesson is spelled out in detail at the end of each chapter.
I like the book the stories are very interesting. It jumped around quite a bit because of the life lessons structure, I would have preferred a straight chronological narrative.
I won this book through the First-Reads program.
I finally received this book today (1/15/11).
I won this through the first reads program on Oct 31st.
Reported to goodreads support that I had not received the book on 1/3.
This is the first time I've had any problems with a giveaway, they usually arrive very quickly.
I like the book the stories are very interesting. It jumped around quite a bit because of the life lessons structure, I would have preferred a straight chronological narrative.
I won this book through the First-Reads program.
I finally received this book today (1/15/11).
I won this through the first reads program on Oct 31st.
Reported to goodreads support that I had not received the book on 1/3.
This is the first time I've had any problems with a giveaway, they usually arrive very quickly.
February 16, 2011
Interesting read. She worked for the Kennedy’s. She’s pointing to all the things in her life that enabled her to do what she did in television. It’s fascinating to get a behind the scenes look at television news through Wendy’s eyes. A good read, especially the last chapter where she talks about Bill Maher coming on the show when Larry announced he was hanging up his suspenders.
Favorite quote: "There are no more excuses about why you can’t learn to do anything you choose…if you do nothing, you will be eliminating possible opportunities…the internet, magazines, and instructive tv programs are all over the place and they are filled with mentors."
Favorite quote: "There are no more excuses about why you can’t learn to do anything you choose…if you do nothing, you will be eliminating possible opportunities…the internet, magazines, and instructive tv programs are all over the place and they are filled with mentors."
March 20, 2011
With this book Wendy Walker becomes the mentor we need but few of us have, she gives us insight and advise to help us achieve success in the work place.
Wendy takes us on an extraordinary journey as she rises from salesperson, Ethel Kennedy's assistant, to Producer of the Larry King Live show. We have a front row seat to history as she takes us behind the scenes at the White House and the beginning of CNN news. Along the way we get to meet the news makers of the last 30 years, presidents, politicians, newscasters, authors, actors, musicians and of course Larry King.
I highly recommend this book.
Wendy takes us on an extraordinary journey as she rises from salesperson, Ethel Kennedy's assistant, to Producer of the Larry King Live show. We have a front row seat to history as she takes us behind the scenes at the White House and the beginning of CNN news. Along the way we get to meet the news makers of the last 30 years, presidents, politicians, newscasters, authors, actors, musicians and of course Larry King.
I highly recommend this book.
February 8, 2011
This was a spur-of-the-moment Kindle purchase after seeing it on display at an airport bookstore. Wendy Walker is a long-time TV producer, notably for Larry King Live and for CNN from the White House. Listing Katie Couric as a former roommate and referencing many other notable people, the author provides insight into the world behind the camera, shares some entertaining stories and provides tidbits of advice at the end of each chapter. It's an easy read, good for a plane trip and recommended for those who, like me, are curious about behind-the-scenes operations.
January 19, 2012
This book was part biography, part current events, part historical, part inspirational...and really interesting to read. I loved it, actually. Almost a five star. Four and a half. It's by the woman who was executive producer for the Larry King show, which, though I seldom watched, I also liked. At the end of each chapter was a little tidbit of advice, of life's lessons learned. I really enjoyed that part as well. I recommend it.
April 3, 2011
Wendy Walker would have made a great friend. Her and I have 2 things in common. We work hard and are very organized. I loved the "life lessons" at the end of each chapter. So simple, but yet so true. She was so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet the people she did. And, she got to do so on a daily basis. My dream come true!
November 29, 2011
Wendy Walker does a fantastic job weaving career advice in with her experiences (and she has A LOT of them). Her career is nothing short of enviable. What a life she's made for herself!
[Insert jealous face.]
If you're seeking a career in media/broadcasting, this would be a great read for you.
[Insert jealous face.]
If you're seeking a career in media/broadcasting, this would be a great read for you.
February 11, 2011
Thank you, GR, for this free book. Wendy Walker shared her secrets of success in business and dealing with the most famous of our generation. I recommend this book for lovers of the Larry King show and for those who enjoy reading about celebraties. I'm not much of a name-dropper, myself.
May 30, 2014
As a TV producer -- I thought I would love this read. However, it came off kind of "braggy" and sort of "how fabulous is my life" -- so it lost me. There are some good antidotes but the tone irritated me and I didn't love the "takeaways" at the end of each chapter. Those felt forced.
March 10, 2016
First Reads Win not yet received.
January 19, 2011
Wendy Walker produced Larry King for 25 years. Great stories about the guests over the years with a "lesson" at the end of each chapter. I learned lots of life lessons.
March 2, 2011
I won this book in the Goodreads giveaway and found it enjoyable,some behind the scenes stuff and celeb mentions and the life lessons were very good also.
August 9, 2012
Its good. Very good. Nothing earth shattering, just a great, light interesting read. The birthday party chapter, for obvious reasons is the best. Couple of lessons to take with you.
October 24, 2012
I thought it was going to give me a deeper look into what's it's like being a producer but I still enjoyed the "life" lessons that she shared.
July 15, 2013
I loved this book. It is full of fantastic, real life wisdom, and is one that I will reread.
January 26, 2016
A very easy read. I enjoy the humor. At the end of each chapter the author gives good insights into being successful in life.
Want to read
December 30, 2010I won this book on Goodreads but it has still not arrived.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews