Hirschfeld's British Aisles
A legend in the New York theatrical world, Hirschfeld drew showbiz caricatures from the 1920s until 2003, when he died at 99. Such a lengthy career leaves behind enough to fill many posthumous collections. This one focuses on London West End luminaries ranging from Noel Coward and Laurence Olivier to Jonathan Pryce and Andrew Lloyd Webber but also encompasses cinematic figures such as Alfred Hitchcock, Charles Laughton, and Vivien Leigh, and England's most famous entertainers, the Beatles. The 500 drawings span from Scottish music hall star Sir Harry Lauder in the late 1920s to recent glimpses of Tracy Ullman and Dame Edna Everage. Each is a gem of concise expressiveness. Accompanying commentary is by a stellar lineup including Lynn Redgrave, Cameron Mackintosh, and Julie Andrews, who lays claim to being the most frequent subject (34 caricatures). Accompanying the book in publication are first-time-in-paperback editions of Hirschfeld'sHarlem(2004) andThe Speakeasies of 1932(1933), documenting three-dozen long-vanished Prohibition-era watering holes.Gordon FlaggCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved