Connie Martinson Talks Books
INTERVIEW: Connie Martinson Talks Books
with Lorraine Brodek
Connie hosts the syndicated television show which airs on PBS and has a wide following. Watch the interview on Youtube.
Erma Bombeck’s Workshop Features Lorraine as Humor Writer of the Month
Erma’s Workshop Awards Lorraine: Humor Writer of the Month
Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, 2013
University of Dayton
The incomparable Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop is the only event in the country devoted to both humor and human interest writing. I was honored that they highlighted my book. Here’s what they posted:
Lorraine Holnback Brodek lovingly dedicates her humorous memoir, A Nobody in a Somebody World: My Hollywood Life in Beverly Hills, to her dear friend, Erma Bombeck. The book jacket includes an endorsement from her son, Matt. “Her stories about growing up in Beverly Hills, encounters with celebs and a near-death experience in the Grand Canyon with our family are priceless!” he wrote.
The Workshop also reprinted the book’s “Dedication” to Erma. Here, I retell the story about our infamous trek into the Grand Canyon (picture below) where Erma, rolling her eyes with devilish intent, verbally spouted her own obit:
“I can see the headlines now…” She rolled her eyes with devilish intent. “Famous Humorist, Newspaper Columnist and TV Celebrity Dies on Trail with Little Unknown Person.”
Of course, this was the main theme of the eulogy that I sadly, yet amusingly, presented at her funeral. She made us smile all the way up to the end and always did get in the last word.
Liz Smith Reviews A Nobody in a Somebody World
"Charming and Dishy!"
From the legendary Liz Smith in her column for the New York Social Diary. Liz Smith was known as “The Grand Dame of Dish” herself and I was honored that she read my book and reviewed it in her column. Here’s what she had to say:
Liz Smith’s Review of A Nobody in a Somebody World (2013).
Lorraine Holnback Brodek was once the VP of Direct Marketing at Warner Bros. from 1985-91. Obviously, she met a lot of celebs during her tenure. But it was nothing new, because Lorraine had grown up in Hollywood, the child of well-to-do parents. They weren’t “in the biz,” but if you have money and live in the Hills of Beverly, you will invariably run into a star or twenty.
Lorraine tossed Jacks with Nora Ephron…played tennis with Ricky Nelson…went to Sunday school with the children of Eleanor Powell and Glenn Ford and Jimmy Stewart . . . she partied with Ava Astaire. And most significantly (for her), she was best friends with the late author and columnist, Erma Bombeck. Lorraine is also close with rock chick Pat Benatar. (Ms. Brodek is nothing if not eclectic in her choice of pals!)
Lorraine’s reign at WB ended on an ugly note. She was sexually harassed. But she fought back, enlisting the then not-so-well-known Gloria Allred.
But Lorraine’s memoir doesn’t go down that road much. She keeps it light and charming. Apparently, according to Pat Benatar, “this is much like the lady herself.”
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About Me
Lorraine is a former needlecraft designer who formed her own company (Fingerworks, Inc.)
during the 1970’s and 80’s. With this marketing experience, she ventured back into her chosen
field of film and television and rose up the ranks as an executive with Warner Bros. (Time-Warner). She is also a landscaping professional, author, humorist and artist. She has published four books: “The Tale of Peeky Peeper” (a fun children’s rhyming Holiday book, which she also illustrated); followed by her humorous memoir, “A Nobody in a Somebody World: My Hollywood Life in Beverly Hills.” Playfulness is the theme in whatever she does, as you’ll see in the two versions of her puzzle-like charted coloring books: “Griddles.” When she’s not creating something, you’ll find this 82 year-old grandma whacking a Pickle Ball, teaching movie
history, testing new recipes on her husband, Tom, or serving on the board of the Del Webb Performing Arts Center in Wickenburg, AZ.