First published 2024
Jeff Margolis stands in the control room as another live television spectacular prepares to launch. Armed with bar mitzvah money and natural talent, he has built a career directing and producing event television's most memorable moments. His uncle Monty Hall from Let's Make a Deal opened the door to showbiz, but Margolis carved his own trajectory through Hollywood's demanding landscape. He works as both technical coordinator and personal confidante to superstars including Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Cher, Sammy Davis Jr., Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton, Frank Sinatra, and Oprah Winfrey. The book spans fifty years of variety programming, from iconic 1970s series through Oscar ceremonies. Margolis reveals the mechanics of event television production while sharing intimate encounters with larger than life personalities. At its heart, this story captures the human side of working at television's most pressure filled peaks.
Genres: history, non-fiction, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: behind-the-scenes, found-family
Period: 1970s, 50 Years
352 pages · Paperback · Post Hill Press