英语书籍：Promises I Made My Mother (节选一）ZT
====Promises I Made My Mother 简介==================
PROMISES I MADE MY MOTHER
by Sam Haskell
with David Rensin
FROM THE BOOK JACKET:
What would my mother say?
How would she want me to handle this situation?
How can I make this tough decision and stay true to
myself?
Sam Haskell still asks himself these questions every day.
When Haskell was young, his devoted mother, Mary,
instilled in her son the values of character, faith, and
honor by setting an example and asking him to promise to
live his life according to her lessons. He did, and those
promises have served Haskell consistently from his
Mississippi boyhood to his long career at the venerable
William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills.
In this inspiring memoir full of touching stories and
amusing anecdotes, Haskell reveals how he kept his pledge
to his mother to live a decent life--even in the shark-
infested waters of Hollywood, where he handled the hottest
stars and packaged the highest-rated shows--by refusing to
become the cliche of an amoral agent. Here is Haskell as a
child in Amory, Mississippi (pop. 7,000), discovering the
power of hope as he waits for an unlikely visit from the
"Cheer Man" (a representative of the detergent company who
gave ten dollars to anyone using the brand), learning
humility after pursuing an eighth-grade "Good Citizenship"
award he cockily assumed he'd win, and confronting the
complications of human character when a near-fatal car
crash exposed his judgmental father's true nature.
Years later, in Hollywood, Haskell would rely on his
mother's teachings--honesty, self-reliance, and faith
--as he rose from the William Morris mailroom to
eventually become the company's Worldwide Head of
Television. His capacity for friendship and his insistence
on living his version of the Golden Rule (being "thought-
fully political") allowed him to handle various client
crises and the tense negotiations that nearly scuttled the
last years of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and the entire
existence of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."
Haskell has achieved success through self-respect, and
from his story we learn how we, too, can maintain our
dignity when faced with life's challenges. This stirring
memoir is a testament to mothers everywhere who instill in
their sons the lasting values they need to become good men
and devoted fathers.
======================================
PROMISES I MADE MY MOTHER
by Sam Haskell
with David Rensin (nonfiction)
Published by Ballantine Books,
an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group
ISBN: 9780345506559
Copyright (c) 2009 by Sam Haskell
PROMISES (Part 1 of 5)
======================================
FOREWORD
by Ray Romano
When I met Sam Haskell for the first time, I was a little wary. It
was at the beginning of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and until then I
had never really dealt in great detail with an agent before. I had
lived my whole life in Queens, New York, and, like most people, my
perception of an agent was a fast-talking, slick, wheeler and
dealer. I met Sam and it was a little different.
It was Gomer Pyle in a suit.
I really didn't know what to make of Sam at that first meeting. Here
was this soft-spoken Southern guy who seemed polite, friendly, and
genuine enough. Then I remembered my favorite "Twilight Zone"
episode in which the Martians come to Earth and they're just that--
polite and friendly--and after they help the humans with everything
they need on Earth, they persuade them to come to their planet where
everything is perfect. It's utopia. Of course as the humans board
the ship, we find out that the Martians want them because there's a
food shortage on their planet. They want to eat them!
I wasn't gonna let that happen. Sam Haskell was not going to eat me.
Okay, that sounds a little weird but I'm gonna leave it, because it
was sort of the way I felt about that whole situation I was in. I
wasn't gonna let the thrill of fame and success make me compromise
my own morals. I feel I have a strong sense of right and wrong, and
I think I owe that to my two brothers.
My brothers and I lived our whole lives in New York City, and while
my path took me to stand-up comedy and ultimately Hollywood, they
followed their hearts into two completely different careers.
My younger brother, Robert, worked at TNT in public relations,
making a pretty good salary, and then at thirty-eight he quit to
become a second-grade public school teacher in the Bronx. My older
brother, Rich, served twenty years as a sergeant on the New York
police force, ten of those in undercover narcotics. I know Robert
loves working with underprivileged kids, even though it can be a
thankless job, and I know Richard never compromised his morals, no
matter what the situation was as a police officer.
I've never said anything really nice about them to their face 'cause
we're brothers, and the sibling rivalry runs deep, but when I think
of them I have to admit, they are my heroes.
Wow, that wasn't easy.
They're gonna give me a lot of crap when they read this, but that's
okay.
It's true.
So with the "Twilight Zone" episode as a cautionary tale, and my
brothers as my moral barometer, I made a promise to myself when I
left Queens that no one in Hollywood, including this agent Sam
Haskell, was going to eat me.
Still weird.
As time went on, I got to see more and more of Sam. Every new
contract I had to sign, or negotiation we had, he was there. I would
always be a little obsessive and start questioning the fairness of
every deal. Of course I wanted what was fair for me, but I would
also question what was fair for the other guy. While it was enough
to drive some agents and lawyers crazy, I never once saw Sam waver
or flinch. Maybe this guy is someone who might understand where I
was coming from.
Maybe.
After a year or so, I got more confused watching Sam. Was he for
real? Could a guy in this business get as far as he did being fair
and honest? I know my brother did it in the police force, dealing
with thieves and drug addicts, but this was different. This was
"show" business. It's far more corrupt.
About the third year of "Everybody Loves Raymond" there was somewhat
of a turning point for Sam and me. We filmed the show every Thursday
in front of a live audience. Managers and agents, family and friends
would always be milling around. I would always bring one of my four
kids. One night, I was filming a scene where we had to stop for some
technical reason for a few minutes, so I ran quickly up to my
dressing room to use the bathroom.
When I walked in, there was Sam Haskell, the worldwide head of
television at William Morris, on his knees, helping my twelve-year-
old daughter with her history homework. I looked at my wife, who was
sitting on the couch. She just shrugged her shoulders and smiled. It
was that night that I thought this guy might be different. I mean,
don't get me wrong, even with all the cutthroat and backstabbing in
this business, I know there are good people here, real people, but
c'mon, sixth-grade history!
Although I wasn't totally sure what Sam's deal was, I saw a man who
maybe, just maybe, was what he appeared to be.
The next few years on "Raymond" were very interesting. At one point,
Sam was negotiating my salary with the network, which would have
given me more money in one week than my brothers make in one year.
It was a weird place for me to be, and through all my guilt and
neurotic emotions, Sam was there with his calm, wholesome demeanor--
that Southern Opie charm that somehow made it all seem okay. Of
course, the more money I made, the more he and his agency made, and
that was always something I kept in the back of my mind, even while
I was constantly impressed at how he pulled it all off with such
grace and dignity.
====作者 Sam Haskell 简介==================
Sam Haskell moved from Mississippi to Los Angeles in 1978 to work at
the William Morris Agency. He became an agent in 1980, senior vice
president by 1990, executive vice president by 1995, and Worldwide
Head of Television by 1999. After a twenty-six-year career, he
retired in 2004 to pursue philanthropic endeavors. In 2007 he was
named one of the 25 Most Innovative and Influential People in
Television over the last quarter century by "TV Week." He lives in
Los Angeles with his wife, Mary Donnelly Haskell (his college
sweetheart and a former Miss Mississippi), and their two children,
Sam IV and Mary Lane.
David Rensin has written or co-written thirteen books, five of them
"New York Times" bestsellers. His most recent titles are "All for a
Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer
Miki Dora" and "The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up."
***********************
Ray Romano
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian, best known for his roles on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond and in the Ice Age film series. He currently stars on the TNT Comedy-Drama Men Of A Certain Age.
Romano married his wife Anna in 1987. They met while working at a bank together. Together, they have four children: one daughter Alexandra (born 1990), and three sons: twins Matthew and Gregory (born 1993) and Joseph Raymond (born February 16, 1998).
Romano's on-screen daughter for Everybody Loves Raymond was named after his real-life daughter. Also, in the series pilot, Ray and Debra's twin boys were named after Gregory and Matthew, Romano's real twin sons, but Romano felt it was too weird to have all his TV kids have the same names as his real kids, so they changed the twins' names to Geoffrey and Michael on screen.
Romano's family has made various appearances in the show. Romano's real-life daughter Alexandra "Ally" Romano made several appearances on Everybody Loves Raymond as Molly, the best friend of his on-screen daughter Ally, and the daughter of Ray Barone's arch-nemesis, Peggy the Cookie Lady. Romano's father, Albert Romano has made various appearances as "Albert", one of Frank Barone's lodge buddies in various episodes such as "Debra at the Lodge", and "Boys' Therapy". Romano's brother Richard Romano has appeared in the episode "Bachelor Party".
英语书籍：The Man Who Made Lists (节选)
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