Stephen King: Fear, Fame and Fortune

In 1999, The Green Mile became the 48th film adaptation based on a work written by horrormeister Stephen King, who, not incidentally, was the most successful writer of the 20th century and, with his latest foray--the e-book Riding the Bullet (not covered in this program) is off to a good start in the 21st. Combining interviews with family, friends, and King himself, this episode of A&E's engaging Biography series traces the author's life and career from his birth in Portland, ME on Sept. 21, 1947 to his recovery from a near-fatal accident when he was struck by a van on June 19,1999. Abandoned by his father, King and his brother David grew up on a steady diet of Tales of the Crypt comics and scary movies, while their mother Ruth struggled to make financial ends meet. Later, after college, King would pump gas and work in a laundry, while his wife Tabitha earned extra money at Dunkin' Donuts. The big break came in 1974, when King sold his first novel to Doubleday (Tabitha initially retrieved the opening pages of the novel from the trash and urged her husband to continue it). News of the $2,500 advance on Carrie literally had the stunned 26-year-old writer sliding down the wall with the phone cradled in his hand. Since then, the prolific author has turned out a string of bestsellers, including The Shining, The Stand, The Dead Zone, Misery, The Dark Half, Insomnia, Bag of Bones, and Riding the Bullet. Whether reminiscing about childhood antics, the double edged sword of fame, or particular books, the easygoing King--whose literary star has steadily risen over the past decade--is interesting company, and his legion of fans will fetch this off the shelves like rabid Cujo's. Definitely recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)