Product Description

I really never knew the full extent of his incredibly exciting life until I read these memoirs. The story of the rise and fall of Mother Earth is fodder for a highly dramatic movie. [italics] Roger Corman

Joel Rapp was born in Beverly Hills, surrounded by show-business legends. His father, Philip Rapp, created The Bickersons and Baby Snooks, his godmother was Fanny Brice and his godfather was Eddie Cantor. Joel inherited the writing gene and went on to write or co-write 16 motion pictures and over 200 sitcom episodes, among them Gilligan's Island, The Lucy Show, McHale's Navy, My Favorite Martian, The Patty Duke Show, The Joey Bishop Show, and The Donna Reed Show. In 1969 he quit his job as Vice-President in charge of Comedy Development at Universal Pictures and went into the indoor plant business, soon becoming known as "Mr. Mother Earth, Plant Man to the Stars," a persona in which he wrote 14 best-selling books on indoor gardening and cooking, spent eleven years with Regis & Kathie Lee as their TV gardener, and for almost ten years was heard weekly dispensing gardening advice on WABC radio in New York. This memoir is filled with marvelous anecdotes from both his Show-biz and Grow-biz careers - stories of his friendships with Lucille Ball, John Huston, Ruth Buzzi, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Rickles, Ernest Borgnine, Lenny Bruce, Clark Gable, Dinah Shore, and many, many more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3335001 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 190 pages

Customer Reviews

WOW! I LOVED IT
I just finished reading radio tv mother earth and me by joel rapp and i have to say that i grew up in the los angeles of joel rapp. i knew many of the celebs he writes about in this terrific book.
i have read possibly 80% of the books about this era and by far this book is the best. joel writes from a great comedic background and first hand knowledge of the people of whom he writes..he has written for radio and tv and knows the good , the bad and the ugly and it's all portrayed in this book. i highly recommend it to anyone who loves hollywood or just loves gossip and interesting tales.

A Great Hollywood Memoir
I must say I was very suprised by Joel Rapp's memoir, Radio, TV Mother Earth & Me. I bought it because I was a huge fan of his when he used to appear on Regis Philbin's TV program as the gardening expert, "Mr. Mother Earth". Little did I know that he had previoulsy led a really glamorous and exciting life as a TV and movie writer. Of all the Hollywood memoirs and books on Old Time Radio and Hollywood Trivia, this is certainly as good as any and better than most. Rapp,whose Godmother was Fanny Brice and whose godfather was Eddie Cantor has written the book in anecdotal style,beginning with his birth to comedy legend Phillip Rapp,creator of "The Bickersons" and "Baby Snooks" and his subsequent childhood surrounded by such legends as The Marx Brothers, George Jessel, Milton Berle and many more. The book then segues into Rapp's many years as a sitcom writer - "Gilligan's Island", "McHale's Navy", the Donna Reed Show - over 200 episodes and several movies for his close friend Roger Corman. Then on to his career as Mr. Mother Earth, an inspirational story of an idea and a store that created an indoor plant industry and eneded in something of a bizzare tragedy featuring his ex-wife and a young guru. Anyone who's a fan of Tinseltown trivia dating back into the 1930s radio and really amusing stories about the behind-the-camera life writing TV sitcoms during the "Golden Age of TV" will love this book, I promise. Five stars for sure!