Hail to the Chin

June 19, 2017
Best known as Ash from the Evil Dead films, Campbell (Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way) returns with another self-effacing memoir about his life on the big and small screen. Campbell provides a minirecap of his career, leading up to his second failure as a TV leading man, in the quickly cancelled series Jack of All Trades. That occurrence prompts him to move from Los Angeles to Oregon, where he distills lavender and joins the local Elks Club. But soon he is off to Bulgaria to make Sci-Fi Channel movies, wreck a Vespa, and get a nasty infection. Campbell is an amusing raconteur, sharing stories about shooting the indie film My Name Is Bruce in his backyard, working on his old friend Sam Raimi’s Spiderman movies, and spending seven seasons on Burn Notice. Whether he is describing dealing with torn hamstrings during the Burn Notice shoot or crossing playing Santa Claus and Ronald Reagan off his bucket list, Campbell is always entertaining, and his smart-ass style makes for a groovy ride. He ends his book with his thoughts on both the Evil Dead movie remake and his current Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series. Fans will eagerly await a sequel. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writer’s House.

July 1, 2017

Campbell (the "Evil Dead" trilogy; Xena: Warrior Princess; Burn Notice), one of Hollywood's most recognizable B-list actors, continues his life story first told 15 years ago in the New York Times best seller If Chins Could Kill. With his typical deadpan humor, here the actor regales his readers with further accounts of his career, such as the time he played a still-alive albeit elderly Elvis who battles monsters in the desert (2002's Bubba Ho-Tep) as well as his lesser-known personal journeys, such as when he and his wife totalled four cars within a year of moving to a home in backwoods Oregon. Campbell sheds further light on the (decidedly unglamorous) existence of a B-list actor, and fans of his work will undoubtedly be excited to read more from the enigmatic movie star. VERDICT Chock-full of amusing anecdotes about the underappreciated B-list movie industry. Hand to admirers of Campbell's previous book and fans of the talkies.--Tyler Hixson, Brooklyn P.L.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2017
The anecdotal sequel to the cult actor's bestselling memoir.Campbell (Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way, 2005, etc.) describes this book as "part two of a three-act story," and it often feels like a place holder, following the surprise success of If Chins Could Kill (2001) and anticipating whatever is to come. A perennially working actor in B-movies and cable series, the author explains the extended interval between his first book and this one: "like a slow-growing oak, it could take fifteen years for me to amass enough anecdotes for another autobiography." During this time, Campbell avoided typecasting by playing both Santa Claus and a 68-year-old Elvis Presley suffering from penis cancer. He had adventures shooting movies in Bulgaria, New Zealand, and the Navajo country of New Mexico. He and his wife moved to Oregon, where he joined the Elks Lodge, whose members thought he was making fun of them when he took the pledge. "I'm an actual actor, so I'm prone to be a bit more 'theatrical, ' " he reassured them. Then he explains to readers, "aside from being old-fashioned and a little kitschy, the organization donates a lot of money to charity and the drinks are really cheap!" Among other discoveries, Campbell learned that Oregon culture is possibly even crazier than that in LA and that driving there is definitely more dangerous. And the secret to Hollywood? "It's really just a big, tangled web of schmoes who keep running into each other over and over." Fortunately, one of Campbell's schmoes is Sam Raimi, a lifelong friend since they were kids playing with Super-8 film and later one of the highest-paid directors in the business. Through Raimi, Campbell landed bit roles in the first three Spider-Man movies. The author's work on the Burn Notice TV series and his cult movies, including Evil Dead, have brought him a variety of fruitful opportunities, including an invitation to entertain the troops in Iraq. A breezy read through a breezy life.

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