Beloved Actress Swoosie Kurtz Looks Back at Her Amazing Career and Unique Relationship with Her Parents
PART SWAN, PART GOOSE
An
Uncommon Memoir of Womanhood, Work and Family
with Joni Rodgers
“A brave and riveting book about family, fame, theater and life.
It is witty, wise, and irresistible. I loved it.”
—Tom Brokaw
“I laughed and cried (sometimes at the same time) reading this extraordinary story about
Swoosie and her parents and her work and her loves.
Swoosie has the beautiful gift of a seasoned storyteller.”
—Carol Burnett
“I’m often asked
What’s Swoosie Kurtz really like? I say, warm, incredibly funny,
grounded but spontaneous, irreverent but always kind, independent yet
deeply rooted to her family.
Swoosie has put her heart and her humor into these pages.
Now, when people ask, I can say,
Here, read this!”
—Melissa McCarthy
With a name like Swoosie, she was destined to lead an interesting life. In
PART SWAN, PART GOOSE: An Uncommon Memoir of Womanhood, Work, and Family
(Perigee Hardcover; April 29, 2014; $25), award-winning actress Swoosie
Kurtz gives a guided tour of her journey from Nebraska to the theater
stages of Broadway and the television
and movie screens of Hollywood.
From her first appearance on The Donna Reed Show
(a part that was whittled down until only the back of Swoosie’s head
was shown on-screen) to her Tony Award-winning roles in Lanford Wilson’s
Fifth of July and John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves to her much-heralded turns on television series
Sisters, Pushing Daisies and Mike & Molly, Swoosie has been embraced by critics and fans alike for her quirky, heartfelt, and always attention-getting performances.
But her life off-screen has been just as extraordinary.
The
only child of Frank and Margo Kurtz, Swoosie shares an incredible bond
with her parents—both accomplished, opinionated, and filled-to-bursting
with personality. Swoosie’s father was an Olympic diving medalist
and later became one of the most decorated aviators in American
history. During World War II, Frank flew a record number of missions in
a cobbled-together B-17D Flying Fortress called
The Swoose (part swan, part goose). Swoosie’s mother chronicled the early years with Frank in
My Rival, the Sky, a homefront memoir published by Putnam in
1945. Margo’s book ends with the couple happily anticipating the birth
of a baby who will be named after the indomitable
Swoose.
Swoosie’s
life and career have been hugely influenced by her close ties to Frank
and Margo. Swoosie stayed with her parents during the entire five-year
run of
Sisters, and after Frank’s death in 1996, Margo moved in to her
daughter’s home. Drifting between lucidity and confusion, Swoosie’s
98-year-old mother still lives with her. Margo requires 24-hour care and
companionship, but she remains the sweet-natured,
loving woman who can delight Swoosie with a witty and well-placed quip
or surprise her with an in-the-moment memory of a 1943 bond tour.
Swoosie struggles to stay ahead of her mother’s increasing needs while
navigating the demands of the entertainment industry.
PART SWAN, PART GOOSE weaves Swoosie’s story with passages from
My Rival, the Sky to create a vivid portrait of the
mother-daughter relationship and of the very different paths taken by
two women of different generations.
Here
is that rare Hollywood memoir that takes readers behind the curtain,
but doesn’t live there. It is endlessly entertaining, but doesn’t
pretend to tell all—what it does tell will resonate with millions of
Americans
caring for aging parents. PART SWAN, PART GOOSE is as endearing, real, and compelling as Swoosie Kurtz herself.
About the Author:
A multiple Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Award winner,
Swoosie Kurtz is a Broadway icon whose work also includes movies like Liar, Liar,
Dangerous Liaisons, Citizen Ruth, and the television hits Sisters,
Pushing Daisies and Mike & Molly.
New York Times bestselling author Joni Rodgers has collaborated on several celebrated memoirs, including
A Little Bit Wicked by Kristin Chenoweth and My First Five Husbands…and The Ones Who Got Away by Rue McClanahan.
