An Improvised Life
A Memoir
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Narrated by:
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Alan Arkin
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By:
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Alan Arkin
About this listen
In this insightful memoir, Oscar-winning actor Alan Arkin reflects back on finding his place as an actor and what theater—specifically the improvisational sort—has taught him about the craft and life.
Alan Arkin knew he was going to be an actor from the age of five. From this early age, he recognized that “every film I saw, every play, every piece of music fed an unquenchable need to turn myself into something other than what I was.”
An Improvised Life is Arkin’s wise and unpretentious recollection of the process, artistic and personal, of becoming an actor and a revealing look into the creative mind of one of the best practitioners on the stage and screen. Arkin, in a manner that is direct, down-to-earth, accessible, and articulate, reveals not just insights about himself but truths for the rest of us about our sense of self, our work, and our relationships with others.
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Story
Robert J. Wagner has starred in more than 100 films and television series over the past 50 years. In this deeply personal story, he recalls his rise to stardom. He talks candidly about his relationships with some of the greatest stars of the 20th century, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, and, for the first time, he shares the details of his two marriages to Natalie Wood. Wagner also offers a fascinating look at Hollywood during the last half of the 20th century.
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Wagner's life, told in a gracious manner
- By Chris on 12-18-08
By: Robert J. Wagner
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I'll Never Change My Name
- An Immigrant's American Dream from Ukraine to the USA to Dancing with the Stars
- By: Valentin Chmerkovskiy
- Narrated by: Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Maks Chmerkovskiy
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Valentin Chmerkovskiy, the world championship-winning and beloved Dancing with the Stars ballroom dancer invites fans into his life as never before, sharing the experiences, including the failures and successes, that have shaped him, from his early childhood in Ukraine to growing up as an immigrant in the US to his rise to international fame.
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A Must for Dancing with the Stars fans
- By Rana I O on 03-10-18
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Finding Your Own North Star
- Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live
- By: Martha Beck
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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As the creator of Life Designs, Inc., Martha Beck has helped hundreds of clients find their own North Stars and figure out how to fulfill their potential and create joyful lives through her lectures, seminars, and one-on-one counseling. In this book she shares her step-by-step program that will guide you to fulfill your own potential.
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Narration not for me
- By MARYANN ORDONEZ on 10-02-17
By: Martha Beck
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Pictures at a Revolution
- Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
- By: Mark Harris
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde - and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood and America forever.
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Would It Be Too Much To Ask?
- By Casey Keller on 12-31-08
By: Mark Harris
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By Myself and Then Some
- By: Lauren Bacall
- Narrated by: Lauren Bacall
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Abridged
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The epitome of grace, independence, and wit, Lauren Bacall continues to astound generations with her audacious spirit and on-screen excellence. Together with Humphrey Bogart, she produced some of the most electric scenes in movie history, and their romance on and off screen made them Hollywood's most celebrated couple.
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Wish it had been unabridged
- By Grace on 04-28-14
By: Lauren Bacall
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Take Me Home
- An Autobiography
- By: John Denver
- Narrated by: John Denver
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
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In a career that spanned decades, John Denver earned international acclaim as a singer, songwriter, actor, and environmental activist. Songs like "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Rocky Mountain High", and "Annie's Song" have entered the canon of universal anthems, but at his start John Denver was a young man with little more than a fine voice, a guitar, and a dream. Growing up in a conservative military family, he was not expected to drop out of college and head to Los Angeles, where the music scene was flourishing. Nor was he expected to succeed.
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Loved hearing John Denver telling his story
- By Brenda M. on 02-03-17
By: John Denver
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My Friend Michael
- An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man
- By: Frank Cascio
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone knows Michael Jackson - the myth. This is the revealing true story of Michael Jackson - the man. To Frank Cascio, Michael Jackson was many things - second father, big brother, boss, mentor, and teacher, but most of all he was a friend. Though Cascio was just a few years old when he first met Jackson in 1984, at the peak of the pop star’s career, Jackson was at the center of his life for the next twenty-five years.
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A Love Story
- By Kathleen on 02-14-18
By: Frank Cascio
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Crossing Over
- By: John Edward
- Narrated by: John Edward
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged
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In Crossing Over, John brings his listeners with him on the extraordinary journey that has been his life since his New York Times best seller One Last Time was published in 1998. In the style of his TV show and personal appearances (poignant, funny, and remarkably candid) John deals head-on with the controversial issues he has confronted on his voyage as a psychic medium. Listeners might be surprised to learn that it hasn't always been smooth sailing.
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Intriguing and entertaining
- By Betty on 05-10-09
By: John Edward
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I'm Walking as Straight as I Can
- Transcending Disability in Hollywood and Beyond
- By: Ted Nichelson, Geri Jewell
- Narrated by: Geri Jewell
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Born with cerebral palsy, Geri Jewell inspired a generation of young people when she became the first person with a disability to appear in a recurring role on prime-time television, with her groundbreaking character, Cousin Geri, on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life. The book's title - I’m Walking As Straight As I Can - has a double meaning, referring to both Jewell's sexuality and her extraordinary struggle growing up with cerebral palsy.
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Excellent! I recommend!
- By Sharlotte on 06-06-16
By: Ted Nichelson, and others
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A Fractured Mind
- My Life with Multiple Personality Disorder
- By: Robert B. Oxnam
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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At the peak of his professional career, after having led the Asia Society for nearly a decade, Oxnam was haunted by periodic blackouts and episodic rages. After his family and friends intervened, Oxnam received help from a psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffery Smith, and entered a rehab center. It wasn't until 1990, during a session with Dr. Smith, that the first of Oxnam's 11 alternate personalities, an angry young boy named Tommy, suddenly emerged.
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A solid look at a rare disorder
- By O. Canosa on 11-23-07
By: Robert B. Oxnam
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Street Gang
- The Complete History of Sesame Street
- By: Michael Davis
- Narrated by: Caroll Spinney
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
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When the first episode aired on Nov. 10, 1969, Sesame Street revolutionized the way education was presented to children on television. It has since become the longest-running children's show in history, and today reaches 8 million pre-schoolers on 350 PBS stations and airs in 120 countries. Street Gang is the compelling and often comical story of the creation and history of this media masterpiece and pop culture landmark.
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An important subject, but hardly gripping
- By Scott T. Hards on 09-24-10
By: Michael Davis
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The Secret Life of the American Musical
- How Broadway Shows Are Built
- By: Jack Viertel
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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For almost a century, Americans have been losing their hearts and losing their minds in an insatiable love affair with the American musical. It often begins in actors and reaches its passionate zenith when it comes time for love, marriage, and children, who will start the cycle all over again. Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical?
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Great review lacked music
- By joseph f mcgovern on 10-14-18
By: Jack Viertel
What listeners say about An Improvised Life
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Thomas H. Jackson Jr
- 12-31-19
Serpintine! Listen to this book .
i truly enjoyed this audiobook because I am huge Alan Arkin fan and it was just nice to hear about his background and begining to his tips on improvising. great book and I can't recommend it enough .
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- BC
- 08-28-21
Interesting
Never really considered myself an Alan Arkin fan, but he does have some appeal as an actor. The book is more than just an autobiography, and while it’s not a guide to acting, it does provide some insight in how to become better, at acting and life.
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- Marcos
- 12-17-18
the other is better
it is very good, enjoyable, I listened it through in a few days. the stories he tells are very straightforward, easy to follow. I'm 36, a younger me would find it boring, probably.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Claudia
- 01-20-24
I gained insight & Understanding into Alan Arkin! I loved this!
I gained insight & Understanding into Alan Arkin! I loved this!
I really appreciated learning, and discovering what drove Alan throughout his life’s journey. I enjoyed the whole book. The trainings that he had his wife gave were amazing! I wish I had been able to attend one. They were so meaningful for everyone attended them.
I’m sure the struggles of a career in acting, well remain and trying to support his children.
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- Wendy Kydd
- 10-18-20
Puts it like it is.
An excellent prospective, I think I would feel the same way about many of his views.
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- Pamela
- 08-20-23
Wasn’t for me
After Mr. Arkin’s passing I chose this title. Thought there might be little nuggets on living life. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the target audience.
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- Lady Deborah
- 06-03-24
Very insightful!
A very entertaining memoir, some bits made me laugh loud enough to startle my dog. I hate he’s gone, but love all the work he left for us
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- Craig Adamson
- 08-26-21
Actor shares his experiences of self-discovery
I like Alan Arkin. Of the movies and other performances I’ve seen him in I enjoy his dry delivery and sense of humor. However several hours of just him speaking even in small intervals it’s not something I really enjoyed that much.
His story is interesting and I appreciate him delving into his background as well as his journey of self discovery. I think it was very intriguing to learn more about his acting career and how it influenced his search for meaning and understanding. Many people who are successful have no interest in going down this path. However he was and was willing to share it. So that was my most enjoyable part of listening to this audible recording.
However, his delivery is monotone. You know that going into listening to it, and yet it did get in the way of him telling his story. This is particularly true when he delivers so many run-on sentences and his inflections don’t match what he’s actually reading or speaking about. I’m somewhat surprised that he didn’t self critique, or have his wife or somebody listen to the recording before it was approved. I would’ve given the performance higher marks understanding who was speaking. I know his delivery style, but this is frankly very distracting and somewhat ironic considering various points of the book he is very critical of various people and things that seem to be either somewhat inconsequential. Here’s something that’s consequential. It’s him, it has his name on it, it’s his story, and yet this was his way of delivering on that. It’s underwhelming and and somewhat disappointing to hear his final work product.
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- jeanne
- 07-14-23
A deeply honest actor and human being
I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Alan Arjun’s acting. He delves into that in a very compelling way. What a delight though, to find out what a brilliant and compassionate man he was.
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- Mike
- 07-11-23
Excellent listen
As in all stories of a person's journey, this book reminds us that being present in all life circumstances is our antidote. Too often, we fall victim to our finely curated ideal of self without allowing for the growth of the moment to substantiate a real place. I usually think of a pithy charming retort instead of listening and allowing my true feelings to dictate my truth.
Thank you, Mr. Arkin, for your work on screen and the work in you as a man.
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