Frascella, Lawrence

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Frascella, Lawrence

PERSONAL: Born in New York, NY.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY Agent—c/o Author Mail, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americans, New York, NY 10020. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Has worked variously as an editor for periodicals, including Aperture, Camera Arts, and Photo/Design, and as a book editor for Aperture Publishing.

WRITINGS:

The American Cowboy: Tribute to a Vanishing Breed, photographs by Michael Rutherford, foreword by Charlie Daniels, Moore & Moore Publishing (New York, NY), 1990.

(With Al Weisel) Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making "Rebel without a Cause," Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Advocate, Sunday Times Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly, and to Web sites, including CD-Now and AOL's Critics Choice. Former movie critic for Us magazine; former theater critic for Entertainment Weekly.

SIDELIGHTS: Lawrence Frascella began his career as a freelance journalist, writing primarily about pop culture and the entertainment industry. He served as the movie critic for Us and covered theater for Entertainment Weekly. He has written profiles of the likes of Martin Scorsese, Tina Turner, Brian Wilson, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kevin Kline. In addition, he has edited a number of visual arts periodicals and books. Frascella's book Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making "Rebel without a Cause," written with Al Weisel, was released to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of James Dean's death. The volume offers an insider's view of the making of the landmark film in which Dean starred, including interviews with the surviving cast members and numerous facts and anecdotes taken from previously inaccessible studio archives. A contributor for Kirkus Reviews called the book "a passionate depiction of how art can create, inspire and destroy—all at the same time." Chris Barsanti remarked in the Hollywood Reporter that "there's no end to the drama inherent in this overstuffed narrative." Library Journal critic Rosellen Brewer concluded that Franscella's effort is a "well-researched study of a groundbreaking film."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Advocate, November 8, 2005, David Ehrenstein, "Crazy for Dean," review of Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making "Rebel without a Cause," p. 64.

Booklist, September 15, 2005, Gordon Flagg, review of Live Fast, Die Young, p. 17.

Boston Globe, October 30, 2005, Chris Fujiwara, "The Rebel."

Hollywood Reporter, October 10, 2005, Chris Barsanti, "Tomorrow Is Another Day for Quartet of Literary Thrill Rides," review of Live Fast, Die Young, p. 10.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2005, review of Live Fast, Die Young, p. 954.

Library Journal, October 1, 2005, Rosellen Brewer, review of Live Fast, Die Young, p. 77.

Publishers Weekly, August 29, 2005, review of Live Fast, Die Young, p. 46.