Photo Coverage: Celebrity Autobiography

Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words, the acclaimed, long-running LA-based comedy sensation returned to The Zipper Factory (336 West 37th Street, between 8th & 9th Aves) on Monday, October 15, following a sold-out New York debut performance (benefiting The Actors' Fund) on September 10.

Once again, a line-up of actors interpreted the actual words and stories written by the famous and the infamous, featuring Xanadu stars Jackie Hoffman, Tony Roberts and Mary Testa; two-time Emmy Award winner Kristen Johnston (Scarcity); Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba (Curtains), Richard Kind ("Spin City"); Seth Rudetsky (The Ritz); Jack Plotnick ("Lovespring International"), Dayle Reyfel and creator Eugene Pack.

Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words, created by Emmy nominated writer and performer Eugene Pack, has been a monthly local event in Los Angeles that attracts celebrities as guest performers and audience members. In 2005, Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words premiered on Bravo-TV as a one-hour comedy special.  After nearly a decade and over 300 different bios, Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words has given actors the opportunity to celebrate other performers and audiences evenings of non-stop laughter.

Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words featured both solo pieces and ensemble "chamber" pieces.  Authors featured in this edition included Ivana Trump (interpreted by Hoffman), Vanna White (Kind), Mr. T (Testa), Star Jones (Rudetsky), Tommy Lee (Plotnick), Sylvester Stallone (Pack); as well as Burt Reynolds (Roberts) and Loni Anderson (Johnston), and the memoirs of Elizabeth Taylor (Ziemba), Eddie Fisher (Pack) and Debbie Reynolds (Reyfel), which were edited together to create a Rashomon-esque playlet in the participants' own words.

Photos by Linda Lenzi

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