A fascinating read looking at the life and career of Elaine May. Elaine May is certainly a complicated woman (well, many of us are) who had to contend with systematic constraints of the studio system. She did however also want to work as she wanted to work with very little to no compromise. In some regards, that makes her someone with a clear vision but could also make her a difficult person to collaborate with. She seemed to thrive in her stand-up comedy with Mike Nichols and when she was behind-the-scenes and by her choice, uncredited in helping overhaul scripts and editing. What is interesting is that the author could never get an interview with her so in the end, Elaine May remains an enigma. I had not known she was married to Stanley Donen for many years -- it was really interesting reading this part. This book does cover the whole span of her life and it is interesting to read about the films she directed and conflicts on set and her quirky way of working (just keep the camera rolling!) A very interesting read!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I think it’s stellar such a long in depth book was written about Elaine May. She’s fascinating and I think really unsung in comedy as I didn’t learn about her until I was older. I really appreciate the depth of research in this book. The tone is often very casual and tongue in check perhaps to match May’s sense of humor but I often found it distracting amongst the density of the book. I think some refinement of transitions between that lightheartedness and then long factual elements would make reading smoother.

The catchy title brought my attention to this book. The story dives into a complex life lead by Miss May. Knowing nothing about the subject this book inspired me to learn more.

So much of this book is in line with what I love - Hollywood biographies, complicated women, and comedy. But I felt like certain chapters got lost in the weeds, highlighting too much info about stuff I didn't care about while not focusing on the things I did.

Happy to include this title in “Engrossing Lives,” a recent round-up highlighting notable new memoirs and bios, in the Books section of Canadian national culture and lifestyle magazine Zoomer. (see column and mini-review at link)

A biography of a living person, one famously Private and Reclusive, faces an uphill battle when that person declines to participate in the project. The issues become apparent early. I felt put off by one tic the author has: Referring to her subject as "Elaine" seemingly in an attempt to give a spurious sense of her own intimacy with the steadfastly unavailable Miss May.

This is really a minor stylistic issue in most cases of biography. When Miss May simply won't show up...apparently a habit of hers, as the author rather disconcertingly learns via stalking the woman...it looms large because there is nothing of a personal connection in the biographer's tale. This is a very well-researched and capably written dissection of a classic parasocial relationship. Miss May is a public figure as an actress of stage and screen fame. The ways in which the author collects information about her subject are available to other members of the public. Miss May therefore maintains control of the master narrative available to the author, as to the rest of the world. The amount of research required to write this book is, as it must be to make any kind of a story, deep. The border between that depth and stalking is blurry in all cases. I was, however, pushed into "really? Ew!" territory when the author used her own artist connections to find out when and where her subject would be attending public events and getting herself invited to them.

My own personal line was crossed when I read that. I saw the project in a very different light afterwards.

How the heck do you tell The Truth about someone who so values her privacy that she will invent stuff for public dissemination, decline to interact with people in any unmediated fashion, and simply not show up at invitation-only public events? This is someone who doesn't want people rummaging in her drawers. I expect that, like those Victorian folks who directed that their records be burned after their deaths, we will discover that this level of erasure is Miss May's wish as well. So the public record as ably collated and presumptiously contextualized (possibly inaccurately and unfairly, I doubt we will ever be allowed to know) by the author might very well be the only formal record of the long and excellent career of an unfairly overlooked and undervalued creative force.

That will, I expect, have to do. The work she did will speak for itself in the long run; absent a change of heart or a sudden betrayal of Miss May, here is a record of the truth she wanted the audience to know. Fellow pedants please note the citation style is inconsistent and incompletely explanatory.

This reads more like an extended PR puff piece or a doctoral dissertation. It is a collection of every event in Elaine May’s life documented with almost 1500 footnotes. Did I read every chapter? Definitely not. After slogging through the first third, I skipped and skimmed to the last five chapters and feel confident I got the gist of May’s life and career. The irony of course is the title suggesting May wants to keep her personal life hidden while this super fan does everything she can to undermine her efforts.
I am old enough to have watched the Nichols and May routines for myself. I also watched the documentaries cited in the book. I acknowledge they were a refreshing new style at the time but frankly that was presented and discussed effectively in the first few chapters. Then came a iconstant stream of gushing interviews with peers which merely confirmed the original thesis. Sometimes there is overkill and this is a prime example.
Do yourself a favor and watch a few routines, read the Wikipedia entry and let it go at that. Your time is valuable too.

I am currently writing a review of this work for Bright Lights Film Journal...it should be finished up in the coming weeks.

I tried to get into this book, but I just couldn't. It was too slow at the beginning to finish. I will not review this book on other sites since I didn't finish it.

Wow! The depths that the author went to uncover information about Elaine May is admirable. While I am familiar with Ms. May, even meeting her on several occasions, I was not aware of her desire to remain out of the public eye. This book was a wonderful account of a spectacular woman. Bravo!

This is a very interesting About woman named ELA.I.N e M a y. She grew up very poor and Jewish and she had a very interesting life. Her father died when she was very young and her mother had to take care of heripper. Things were hard for her when they moved to l. A. From chicago. They also talk about a lot when she was very young. She had no friends.School was very difficult for her. She did not finish high school but hitchhike to chicago and started to hang out with different people. It was pretty amazing how she was so witty and so far I had her for time in the fifties. For first marriage do not Work out for her. Then she Is M e e t man named mike. It was very hard for her, but they seemed to break up at some point he took off to New York. He was very broke and she went to new york to get him back to chicago. They also had a comedy team together.And it was very successful, but after a while.This deteriorated as well and they went to different directions. Mike braced His new life because he was making money and he met a lot of people.. EL AI NE, do not want any part of this.So she pretended she was poor. This book was really.
Interesting how this woman fifty to sixty to seventies eighties and nineties had to overcome a lot of Abskills in this industry She's also in l a making movies . She was very difficult to work with but she knew her craft so well. She also acted as well. Mike on the other hand was a very successful director. She also directed movies as well. She did not take credit for movies because she did not want her name to be known.. She made money and she made a lot of friends and hollywood and she always backed these people up because they helped her out in the long run. This is a really interesting book.Because I learned a lot about the industry. She was a pioneer in a lot of ways because she did her own thing.. She did comedy first and then switched to movies and then did some acting as well. This takes a lot of creative ideas.And she was amazing because she was so focused and so dedicated to her craft. I think this would be a really good book to read if you were going into acting.Because it shows you how women had to fight for everything in this i Industry.

MISS MAY DOES NOT EXIST is such a wonderful biography. Courogen created a compulsively fascinating and enlightening look into a Hollywood comedian, director, actor, and writer. The author opens the door into a life that until now has been more out of the spotlight than in it.

I will say that I didn’t know much about May going into this book. Her relationship with Mike Nichols and some of the work she has been involved in interested me, so I thought I would give the book a chance. And boy am I glad I did. Elaine May’s life is filled with the ups and downs of any artist looking to push boundaries while still maintaining a level of artistic integrity. She has flaws and has stumbled. She has stood behind her work when others tried to change it. She seemed to always move forward even when there were roadblocks.

The way the author pieces together the life of this more reclusive artist is amazing. I found myself getting lost in the story, and at times, forgetting that this is in fact about a real person. I am so glad I found out more about Elaine May and her work. She is truly someone, women especially, should know about. There can never be too many strong and talented women in the arts.

Audiobook Note: Listening partly to this book was so enjoyable. Erin Bennett, the narrator, makes this biography feel like a bio-pic I would see on the screen—large or small. Her diction and pace are perfect. Not to mention how she brings Courogen’s words to life. So good!

I wish I could say I liked this book, but I didn't. Th author has written a love letter to a woman she's obsessed with and actually stalked. Yes Elaine May was a genius but she was a horrible human being. To call her lifestyle bohemian is being kind. She was a self-absorbed unorganized rude mess. She was self-centered enough to walk out on her child in order to fulfill herself & her dream. Her body of work, except Ishtar, is incredible and her success a miracle. The author never made contact nor interview Elaine so what we have is a textbook sprinkled with tidbits from acquaintances. It didn't take long for me to realize that my dislike of Elaine as a person was tarnishing my appreciation of her body of work.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#MissMayDoesNotExist #CarrieCourogen #Netgalley #St.Martin'sPress

Groundbreaking comedian, writer and filmmaker Elaine May charted her own fearlessly original path in Hollywood and the theater world over the decades. Shunning the spotlight and reluctant to talk to reporters, her name might not be as well known as her comedy partner, Mike Nichols, but Carrie Courogen’s engaging biography aims to correct that.

Courogen did not score an interview with May, who is 92 and lives in New York, but interviewed dozens of her friends and colleagues who all give valuable insight into her life and career.

Born in 1932, May had an unconventional upbringing, traveling around the country as her father, a Yiddish theater actor, performed vaudeville. She never finished high school and was devastated by the death of her father at age 12.

Whip-smart and with a fierce wit, May found herself at the University of Chicago in the 1950s and broke into the emerging comedy scene there, helping pioneer “improv,” a style of comedy based on improvisation still prevalent today. Teaming up with her comedy soul mate, Nichols, the duo of “Nichols and May” recorded hit comedy records and had a successful a Broadway show, before splitting up to pursue solo careers in 1961.

Rail thin, endlessly smoking cigars and cigarettes and known for an unkempt appearance, May brought exacting perfectionism to every project, for better or worse, from acting, to directing, to writing plays. She worked on the screenplay for 1978's “Heaven Can Wait” and the 1996 Nichols film “The Birdcage.” She was a highly sought-after script doctor, brought in to punch up screenplays for films including 1981’s “Reds” and 1982’s “Tootsie,” though she usually refused to be credited.

But while her successes may have gone under the radar, her failures were legendary. Commitment to finding the “truth” in every scene, often through improvisation, led to arduous film shoots. Directing the 1976 crime caper “Mikey and Nicky,” she shot 1.4 million feet of film — 259 hours of raw footage — and then edited it for over a year. Paramount eventually sued her to turn over the film.

Her next directing debacle was 1987’s high-profile flop “Ishtar,” a buddy comedy filmed in Morocco. Deserved or not, Courogen writes, “Ishtar” became a punchline and shorthand for box office disaster.

“If all the people who hate ‘Ishtar’ had seen it, I would be a rich woman today,” May quipped 20 years after the release.

May never directed a feature film again, though she kept busy with other projects, including winning a Tony in 2019 for “The Waverly Gallery.” In recent years, May has been recognized by newer generations as the maverick she is, a director of movies that stayed true to her vision even if it meant being labeled a “difficult” woman director. She paved the way for women writer-directors like Greta Gerwig, Lena Dunham, Natasha Lyonne and others who sing her praises, and has been racking up lifetime achievement awards. Courogen’s biography adds to the growing chorus restoring May to her rightful place as a — however reluctant — Hollywood icon.

___

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

Elain May does not want the public to know anything about her including author, Carrie Courogen. However, Courogen's research is top notch and well executed. Miss May Does Not Exist is dense and arduous to read especially if the reader, like me, does not care about Elaine May. The biography is well thought out and thorough, if not repetitive in some instances


Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book.

Rounding up from 3.5⭐.
Well researched biography of Elaine May, but she never comes to life. From the little I knew about her, I expected her brilliance, wit and unorthodoxy to weave a fascinating tale. But frankly, I kept having to force myself to keep reading.

OOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius, by Carrie Courogen, from St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

I thought I would gain an appreciation for Elaine May by reading this book, even though I have weirdly vivid memories of loathing Heaven Can Wait, Tootsie, The Birdcage, and, of course, Ishtar back in the day.

Alas, this did not come to pass. Instead, about 37 ebook pages in, I realized that nothing I was reading—or was about to read—would make me appreciate her. That’s OK, she doesn’t need that from me. And me? Well, I don’t need to spend time reading a very dry book about someone I just don’t like.

So, Dear Readers, I closed it out there and went on with my life.

DESCRIPTION
Miss May Does Not Exist, by Carrie Courogen is the riveting biography of comedian, director, actor and writer Elaine May, one of America’s greatest comic geniuses. May began her career as one-half of the legendary comedy team known as Nichols and May, the duo that revolutionized the comedy sketch.

After performing their Broadway smash An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Elaine set out on her own. She toiled unsuccessfully on Broadway for a while, but then headed to Hollywood where she became the director of A New Leaf, The Heartbreak Kid, Mikey and Nicky, and the legendary Ishtar. She was hired as a script doctor on countless films like Heaven Can Wait, Reds, Tootsie, and The Birdcage. In 2019, she returned to Broadway where she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in The Waverly Gallery. Besides her considerable talent, May is well known for her reclusiveness. On one of the albums she made with Mike Nichols, her bio is this: “Miss May does not exist.” Until now.

Carrie Courogen has uncovered the Elaine May who does exist. Conducting countless interviews, she has filled in the blanks May has forcibly kept blank for years, creating a fascinating portrait of the way women were mistreated and held back in Hollywood. Miss May Does Not Exist is a remarkable love story about a prickly genius who was never easy to work with, not always easy to love and frequently often punished for those things, despite revolutionizing the way we think about comedy, acting, and what a film or play can be.

I wish May had cooperated but the book was still very interesting and a fleshed out portrait of a woman who I have largely read about in conjunction with her work with men and books written by or about them. She was a real revolutionary and it was nice to get a better look at her story. I felt like it was very readable and well-paced and didn't get too bogged down with details like some biographies do nor did it read like fan fiction (a disturbing trend I've noticed in the last five or so years). Well worth a read if you are a comedy or movie fan or even just like reading about women.

Extremely talented Mike Nichols partner a comedian writer director.A woman of so many accomplishments.At the same time she cherished her privacy could be very difficult to deal with.Carrie Courogen has interviewed those who really knew her & reveals the real Elaine May.#netgalley #st.martin

Except for her movies, I have had no experience of Elaine May. This book was fascinating to me. I really had no idea how central she was to so much in movies and theater. Now I wish I had access to much more of her work. I really liked this book and hope that Miss May feels that it does her justice. Highly recommend.