Ocean State Libraries

Betsy is an orphan adopted by a kind hotel manager who rents rooms out to down-on-their-luck entertainers. The owner of the hotel complains about the noise her showbiz tenants make and threatens to close the hotel and send Betsy back to the orphanage.

Presents a selection of interviews with some of the entertainment world's most important directors, creators, writers, actors, and musicians who discuss their unique careers.

Sammy Davis Jr. lived a storied life. Adored by millions over a six-decade-long career, he was considered an entertainment icon and a national treasure. But depite lifetime earnings that topped $50 million, Sammy died in 1990 near bankruptcy, His estate was declared insolvent, and there was no possibility of ever using Sammy's name or likeness again. It was as if Sammy had never existed. Years later his wife Altovise was living in poverty when she...

"A portrait of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Meticulously researched by both author and artist, Josephine's powerful story of struggle and triumph is an inspiration and a spectacle, just like the legend herself." --

Caryl Phillips has received international acclaim for his works, including the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim fellowship, and membership in the Royal Society of Literature. Dancing in the Dark brilliantly re-creates the life of Bert Williams, the first black entertainer to achieve stardom in America. In 1896, when Bert decides to perform his stage routine in blackface, he is accused of reviling his race even as he becomes a star in...

Debbie: My Life is a heartfelt, feel-good autobiography that chronicles the rags-to-riches-to-rags story of the indomitable Debbie Reynolds. The much-beloved actress first grabbed America's heart when, as a poor 16-year-old, she entered and won the Miss Burbank contest. Ms. Reynolds went on to embody fresh-faced American grace and gumption in such classic films as Singing' in the Rain, How the West Was Won, and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Debbie shares...

"Feisty orphan Pippa de Lacey lives by wit and skill as a London street performer. But when her sharp tongue gets her into serious trouble, she throws herself upon the mercy of Irish chieftan Aidan O'Donoghue. Pippa provides a welcome diversion for Aidan as he awaits an audience with the queen, who holds his people's fate in her hands. Amused at first, he becomes obsessed with the audacious waif who claims his patronage. Rash and impetuous, their...