Sitting Pretty

The Life and Times of Clifton Webb

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Film, Biography & Memoir, Entertainment & Performing Arts
Cover of the book Sitting Pretty by Clifton Webb, University Press of Mississippi
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Clifton Webb ISBN: 9781496800640
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi Publication: May 17, 2011
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Language: English
Author: Clifton Webb
ISBN: 9781496800640
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication: May 17, 2011
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Language: English

More than any other male movie star, the refined Clifton Webb (1889-1966) caused the movie-going public to change its image of a leading man. In a day when leading men were supposed to be strong, virile, and brave, Clifton Webb projected an image of flip, acerbic arrogance. He was able to play everything from a decadent columnist (Laura) to a fertile father (Cheaper by the Dozen and The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker), delivering lines in an urbanely clipped, acidly dry manner with impeccable timing. Sitting Pretty is his remarkable story.

Long before his film career began, Webb was a child actor and later a suavely effete song-and-dance man in numerous Broadway musicals and revues. The turning point in his career came in 1941 when his good friend Noël Coward cast him in Blithe Spirit. Director Otto Preminger saw Webb's performance and cast him in Laura in 1944.

Webb began to write his autobiography, but he said that he eventually had gotten "bogged down" in the process. However, he did complete six chapters and left a hefty collection of notes that he intended to use in the proposed book. His writing is as witty and sophisticated as his onscreen persona. Those six chapters, information and voluminous notes, and personal research by the coauthor provide an intimate view of an amazingly talented man's life and times.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

More than any other male movie star, the refined Clifton Webb (1889-1966) caused the movie-going public to change its image of a leading man. In a day when leading men were supposed to be strong, virile, and brave, Clifton Webb projected an image of flip, acerbic arrogance. He was able to play everything from a decadent columnist (Laura) to a fertile father (Cheaper by the Dozen and The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker), delivering lines in an urbanely clipped, acidly dry manner with impeccable timing. Sitting Pretty is his remarkable story.

Long before his film career began, Webb was a child actor and later a suavely effete song-and-dance man in numerous Broadway musicals and revues. The turning point in his career came in 1941 when his good friend Noël Coward cast him in Blithe Spirit. Director Otto Preminger saw Webb's performance and cast him in Laura in 1944.

Webb began to write his autobiography, but he said that he eventually had gotten "bogged down" in the process. However, he did complete six chapters and left a hefty collection of notes that he intended to use in the proposed book. His writing is as witty and sophisticated as his onscreen persona. Those six chapters, information and voluminous notes, and personal research by the coauthor provide an intimate view of an amazingly talented man's life and times.

More books from University Press of Mississippi

Cover of the book Black Diva of the Thirties by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book The Role of Ideas in the Civil Rights South by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book The Jim Dilemma by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Poe by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Hurricane Katrina by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Let's Make Some Noise by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Jazz Diplomacy by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book At Home Inside by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book George Ohr by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Samuel M. Gore by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Brother-Souls by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Prefiguring Postblackness by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Conversations with Percival Everett by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book The Jumbies' Playing Ground by Clifton Webb
Cover of the book Queen of the Virgins by Clifton Webb
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy