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Jon
Cryer, Candice Bergen and Al Michaels wrap-up 20th Annual
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
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BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
Actor
Jon Cryer reading the prologue from his book
"So That Happened: A Memoir."
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LOS
ANGELES -- More than 150,000 book lovers descended
on the University of Southern California campus for the
20th Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It featured
more than 540 authors, 34 poets, 16 musical performances,
13 food trucks, 11 artists, nine stages and three movie
screenings.
Actor
Jon Cryer made a bet with his publisher that he couldn’t
get a book deal. Low and behold, he lost the challenge
and had to start writing. His book, “So That Happened:
A Memoir” includes a section on working with Charlie
Sheen on the hit CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men.”
“It
is about surviving a truly strange business for 30-plus
years,” Cryer said. “It started out as a wild
ride and only got wilder as my career went on. I have
not gotten any flack, but oh, I’m waiting. Yeah,
the book is pretty honest. You do worry that you portray
people wrongly. Interestingly, I haven’t heard from
Charlie. I can’t imagine he hasn’t read something.
I don’t know what’s next for me and I can’t
wait to find out. As an actor, it’s wide open.”
Actress
Candice Bergen from “Murphy Brown” discussed
her new book “A Fine Romance.” It’s
about her marriage to a famous French director, the birth
of her daughter, her time on the hit CBS sitcom, widowhood,
falling in love again, and watching her daughter blossom.
Bergen recently made a cameo on the CBS comedy-drama “Battle
Creek.”
“The
show’s about two cops in Detroit and I play the
mother to one of the cops who is a con woman,” Bergen
said. “She’s a compulsive con woman so she
can’t stop. She cons everyone. It was fun.”
The
actress said it took her four years to write the memoir
that was supposed to be finished in just one year.
“I
passed four deadlines,” she admitted. “Finally,
my editor said she just wanted it to be over. So I finished
it in a couple of months. I was just spitting off paragraphs
and pages. I kept sporatic journals, I didn’t have
time to keep daily journals. I kept letters. My late husband
wrote beautiful letters. I kept letters from friends that
meant something to me. It’s very healthy to go back
over the past and the choices you’ve made and just
acknowledge the fact that you did the best that you could
at the time.”
Sportscaster
Al Michaels discussed his new book “You Can't Make
This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage
of Sports and Television” and was asked about NFL’s
possible return to Los Angeles.
“I
think there is a 50/50 possibility,” he answered.
“Don’t go to the bank on this. I would not
be surprised if you saw
a team play across the street from here or at the Rose
Bowl next year. I believe a stadium is going to get built.
L.A.’s been the bargaining chip for the league.”
Festival
goer Phil Dugandzic from Agoura Hills, Calif. attended
the very first Festival of Books in 1996, skipped a few
years and returned on Sunday.
“I
enjoy listening to some of the speakers,” he said.
“The celebrities they picked seem very humble. Some
celebs can come off arrogant. I’m waiting to go
see Al Michaels. There’s a lot of different themes
here. It’s interesting to see a lot of diversity.
It’s inspiring to pick up a book and read.”
Chino
Hills residents Tom Burke and his mother, Marianne, spent
about $300 on books for all of the celebrity authors on
the Los Angeles Times stage. Tom listened to the discussions
while she waited in line to get them autographed one-by-one.
“I
think it’s great meeting all of the stars,”
Marianne Burke said. “I enjoyed seeing Billy Idol
on Saturday. After the talk, he sang ‘Rebel Yell.’
We’ve been coming for about five years. We make
a weekend of it.”
The
Burkes made a $100 donation to Alex’s Lemonade Stand
and received a large poster of the book cover for “Donna
Bell's Bake Shop: Recipes and Stories of Family, Friends,
and Food.” They later got it autographed by authors
Pauley Perrette, Darren Greenblatt and Matthew Sandusky.
This
year’s Festival of Books was such a huge success
that dates for next year have already been announced.
Join us on the USC campus for the 21st Annual event on
April 9 and 10, 2016.
For
tickets and more information about the Los Angeles Times
Festival of Books, visit events.latimes.com.
Related
Stories: 20th
Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to Bring 150,000
Southern Californians Together in Conversation;
20th
Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to Bring 150,000
Southern Californians Together in Conversation;
17th
Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University
of Southern California in L.A.
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PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
Actress Candice Bergen discussed her book "A
Fine Romance."
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PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
Fans
lined up to hear from their favorite celebrities.
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PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
Actress
Pauley Perrett showing a page from her cook book "Donna
Bell's Bake Shop."
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PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
Sportscaster
Al Michaels said football could return to Los Angeles
next year.
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PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
Actor
Gavin MacLeod from "The Love Boat"
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