Hello, Gorgeous
Becoming Barbra Streisand
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Hello, Gorgeous
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Narrated by:
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Elizabeth Morton
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By:
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William J. Mann
About this listen
The best-selling biographer of Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor tells the electrifying story of how Barbra Streisand transformed herself into the greatest star of her era, etching "an indelible portrait of the artist as a young woman" (Publishers Weekly).
In 1960, she was a 17-year-old Brooklyn kid with plenty of talent but no connections and certainly no money; her mother brought her soup to make sure she stayed fed as she took acting classes and scraped out a living. Just four years later, Barbra Streisand was the top-selling female recording artist in America and the star of one of Broadway’s biggest hits. Now the acclaimed Hollywood biographer William Mann chronicles that dizzying ascent, telling the riveting behind-the-scenes story of how Streisand and her team transformed her from an unknown dreamer into a worldwide superstar.
Drawing on the private papers of Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse, and interviewing scores of the friends and lovers who knew Barbara before she became Barbra, Mann recreates the vanished world of 1960s New York City and uncovers the truth behind the myths of her formative years. He shows us how Funny Girl was slowly altered, by Fosse and Robbins among others, from a Fanny Brice bio into a star-making vehicle for Streisand; takes us into the clubs and onto the set for her early nightclub and television appearances, including her torch-handing turn with Judy Garland; and introduces the canny marketing team whose strategies made her stardom seem inevitable. The Streisand who emerges is a revelation: a young woman who, for all her tough-skinned ambition, was surprisingly vulnerable in love.
Everyone who has felt outside the gate, as she once did, remembers a time when the newness and difference of Barbra Streisand changed everything and rewrote all the rules. In Hello, Gorgeous, Mann incisively illuminates the woman before she became the icon and pays tribute to one of the world’s most beloved performers.
©2012 William J. Mann (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
Editor reviews
Acclaimed show biz biographer William J. Mann turns his perceptive and thorough eye on an icon whose rise to fame was fueled by brilliant talent and "a wave of master salesmanship", the legendary Barbra Streisand. Performed in an engaging, studious, and occasionally skeptical tone by New York actor Elizabeth Morton, Hello Gorgeous is a study of Streisand’s early years, when she transformed herself from a working-class Brooklyn kid at Erasmus High School into "a superstar the world either loved…or loathed".
Streisand’s talent and marketing acumen are effectively dissected, and the meticulously detailed backdrop of 1960’s New York - rehearsal halls, penthouse suites, and ubiquitous power brokers - are sure to be of interest to any aficionado of Mad Men, Broadway, and, of course, Babs herself.
What listeners say about Hello, Gorgeous
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Linda T
- 22-12-24
Barbara
Tried to listen to this a few times but hated the narrator. Double the speed and it was a good listen all about how she began
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- stufilm
- 14-06-22
Very interesting
An early insight into the rise to fame of Barbra Streisand, I found the story telling rewarding and engrossing and although many have criticised the narrators voice, I felt it was pleasant enough to portray the story - the disappointment I felt was the period covered, but then again it is supposed to detail Streisand’s rise, not her later life of which we are all fully aware- so it would be unfair to hold that against the author.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- mpd
- 15-09-22
Interesting read. A detailed biography of a star’s path to fame
Perhaps too detailed in content, relating a star’s path to fame. However, an interesting account of the tough world of entertainment and the dependency of a star on the support of ‘big players in the business of entertainment.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jibble
- 11-10-22
Really informative on Barbra’s early life.
Not sure what to expect but pleasantly surprised - a warts and all look at Barbra’s early life and rise to fame. Enjoyed it very much and each mention of music I jumped into Amazon music and listened to the CD before continuing with a better understanding of her songs and performances. Really enjoyed learning about her relationships, especially Elliot Gould who I have liked to see in films before listening to this book. Funny girl has fast become one of my favourite musicals!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sarah Lloyd
- 15-01-22
Barbara
What a great book, I found out more about Barbara than I ever knew. She’s had an amazing life. Met some great people, and is may I say kind of selfish . I loved the book. I hope you do too
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Julie Wood
- 19-05-24
The Narration was excellent, not sycophantic!
The story is truthful & shows us all what it took to become Barbara Streisand, x
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Flower
- 29-05-15
Barbara The Beautiful
From a very small girl when I first saw Barbra in Funny Girl sing 'Don't Rain On My Parade" I was hooked ! Hearing her sing "People" and many other favourite songs. Watching Hello Dolly I just loved her and so wanted to meet her. Because like her I have a large nose but because of Barbra I chose not to change it !! My dream eventually came true when I attended the Chaplin Award at the Lincoln Centre NY in 2013 to honour Barbra. Even though I was a long way back, I was in her company it was Fantastic. Thank you Barbra from your British sister who loves you so very much. This book gave me an even greater in site, it is a must read. very good.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jane V
- 05-09-22
Good story spoilt
the reader was so slow and deliberate I couldn't listen to this all the way through.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Skyerose
- 25-06-22
Hello, Gorgeous
What a wonderful book and life story of a wonderful person, so much I didn’t know about Barbara and her life. Such a strong woman, I really enjoyed this book.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- TALLULAH
- 25-04-22
Terrible performance, interesting biography
One of the worst narrations I've ever heard, fortunately the content is really good, can't imagine why they chose this very poor narrator
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