Late Show Fun Facts

Drawn from the popular weekly segment, Late Show Fun Facts is a collection of unusual, little-known--and sometimes even true--bits of trivia assembled by the Federal Bureau of Miscellaneous Information.

Friends Exposed: 1500 Fun Facts About the Show is written by an authoritative expert who penned the most comprehensive reference book ever written on the series—Friends Behind the Scenes: Backstage Pass to the Series, A Comprehensive History. The follow-up effort, Friends Exposed, is the best source for insider facts and never-before-revealed tidbits about the sitcom that industry experts have voted the Greatest TV Series of All Time. This type of thoroughness cannot be found anywhere else in the entire Friends Universe. The first section provides insider information about the creators, cast regulars, supporting actors, and guest actors as well as cast stand-ins, crew members, scene extras, and even famous actors who auditioned for roles in the immensely popular show. The second section discusses little-known facts about the series, including behind-the-scenes activities, casting decisions, notable directors, secrets behind writing episodes, and so much more. The final section recounts numerous secrets behind the making of Friends. Every episode has a history and many contain a few skeletons in the closet. The little-known facts encompass the inspirations for episode plots, how personal experiences influenced storylines, when actors ad-libbed lines, how scenes developed and evolved, the way actors and guest stars impacted the creative process, and even the “lost” episode that was written but never filmed. There are over 3000 fun facts about the show that are sure to amaze and mystify the most die-hard and inquisitive Friends fan. Friends Exposed is an essential book for every fan of the show. It is a great conversation starter and readers are guaranteed to impress friends and family with nuggets of insider information that most Friends fans do not know. Photos included.

This 34th annual edition of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader offers an all-new collection of fascinating trivia, strange-but-true oddities, and the ever-popular stories of dumb crooks! Uncle John’s Hindsight Is 2020 Bathroom Reader is packed with tons of new articles from the worlds of pop culture, history, and science to help you get everything out of your system the next time you visit the throne room! Articles range in length from a single page to extended page-turners, each as entertaining as the last. From iconic television roles that almost weren’t to the origins of comic books, this 34th edition of fascinating trivia, hilarious lists, and notable quotes compiled by Uncle John and his team at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute will set your mind free to roam the world—and you won’t even need to leave the house!

Friends Exposed: 1500 Fun Facts About the Show is written by an authoritative expert who penned the most comprehensive reference book ever written on the series-Friends Behind the Scenes: Backstage Pass to the Series, A Comprehensive History. The follow-up effort, Friends Exposed, is the best source for insider facts and never-before-revealed tidbits about the sitcom that industry experts have voted the Greatest TV Series of All Time. This type of thoroughness cannot be found anywhere else in the entire Friends Universe. The first section provides insider information about the creators, cast regulars, supporting actors, and guest actors as well as cast stand-ins, crew members, scene extras, and even famous actors who auditioned for roles in the immensely popular show. The second section discusses little-known facts about the series, including behind-the-scenes activities, casting decisions, notable directors, secrets behind writing episodes, and so much more. The final section recounts numerous secrets behind the making of Friends. Every episode has a history and many contain a few skeletons in the closet. The amazing tidbits encompass the inspirations for episode plots, how personal experiences influenced storylines, when actors ad-libbed lines, how scenes developed and evolved, the way actors and guest stars impacted the creative process, and even the "lost" episode that was written but never filmed. There are over 1500 fun facts about the show that are sure to amaze and mystify the most die-hard and inquisitive Friends fan. Friends Exposed is an essential book for every fan of the show. It is a great conversation starter and readers are guaranteed to impress friends and family with nuggets of insider information that most Friends fans do not know. Photos included.

Documents the life of the athlete famous for becoming a professional basketball player at age nineteen.

From the New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . . now a #1 Netflix series! In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all---beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer's end they've become TullyandKate. Inseparable. So begins Kristin Hannah's magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives. From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness. Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn't know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she'll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she'll envy her famous best friend. . . . For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship---jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they've survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test. Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone's Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it's the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It's about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you---and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you'll never forget . . . one you'll want to pass on to your best friend.

New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman delivers the definitive story of the life and artistic legacy of David Letterman, the greatest television talk show host of all time and the signature comedic voice of a generation. In a career spanning more than thirty years, David Letterman redefined the modern talk show with an ironic comic style that transcended traditional television. While he remains one of the most famous stars in America, he is a remote, even reclusive, figure whose career is widely misunderstood. In Letterman, Jason Zinoman, the first comedy critic in the history of the New York Times, mixes groundbreaking reporting with unprecedented access and probing critical analysis to explain the unique entertainer’s titanic legacy. Moving from his early days in Indiana to his retirement, Zinoman goes behind the scenes of Letterman’s television career to illuminate the origins of his revolutionary comedy, its overlooked influences, and how his work intersects with and reveals his famously eccentric personality. Zinoman argues that Letterman had three great artistic periods, each distinct and part of his evolution. As he examines key broadcasting moments—"Stupid Pet Tricks" and other captivating segments that defined Late Night with David Letterman—he illuminates Letterman’s relationship to his writers, and in particular, the show’s co-creator, Merrill Markoe, with whom Letterman shared a long professional and personal connection. To understand popular culture today, it’s necessary to understand David Letterman. With this revealing biography, Zinoman offers a perceptive analysis of the man and the artist whose ironic voice and caustic meta-humor was critical to an entire generation of comedians and viewers—and whose singular style ushered in new tropes that have become clichés in comedy today.