This was a fascinating story and a marvelous behind-the-scenes view of the developing role of a key player in the world of comedy/comedic writing. I started reading the book, and then the audio book version became available and I requested that and listened to the remainder of the story. I will admit that I found the audio version more engaging for this one. I am always curious as to why some books just work better for me in a particular format. In this instance, the narrator brought the stories and anecdotes to life for me in a way the text did not seem to. Whatever the reason, I found this to be a very interesting profile of a brilliant woman.

Carrie Courogen's "Miss May Does Not Exist" is a masterfully crafted biography that delves into the enigmatic life and career of Elaine May, one of America's most influential yet elusive comedic geniuses. This riveting account not only celebrates May's extraordinary talent but also sheds light on her complex personality and the challenges she faced in a male-dominated industry.

Elaine May first rose to fame as part of the groundbreaking comedy duo Nichols and May, whose innovative sketches left an indelible mark on the world of comedy. Courogen meticulously chronicles their rise to stardom, highlighting the duo's Broadway success with "An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May." When May ventured out on her own, her journey was marked by both brilliant successes and notable setbacks.

In Hollywood, May broke new ground as a director with films like "A New Leaf," "The Heartbreak Kid," "Mikey and Nicky," and the infamous "Ishtar." Despite her directorial prowess, May often faced harsh criticism and professional challenges, partly due to her reputation for being difficult to work with. Courogen explores these controversies with sensitivity and depth, providing a nuanced understanding of the systemic biases that May had to navigate.

One of the most compelling aspects of "Miss May Does Not Exist" is Courogen's ability to uncover the private life of a woman who has long shunned the spotlight. Through extensive interviews and thorough research, Courogen paints a vivid portrait of May's personal struggles and triumphs. The biography reveals how May's reclusiveness and fierce independence often led to her being misunderstood and underappreciated, even as she revolutionized comedy and film.

Courogen's writing is both engaging and insightful, seamlessly weaving together anecdotes, critical analyses, and historical context. She captures the essence of May's genius while also addressing the broader issues of gender inequality in Hollywood. The book is not just a biography but also a commentary on the systemic challenges that have historically hindered women in the entertainment industry.

"Miss May Does Not Exist" is a remarkable love story to Elaine May's brilliance and resilience. It honors her contributions to comedy, acting, and directing, while also acknowledging the personal and professional costs of her groundbreaking career. Courogen's biography is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of comedy, the intricacies of Hollywood, or the inspiring story of a woman who dared to defy the norms and carve out her own path.

In summary, "Miss May Does Not Exist" is an outstanding biography that offers a comprehensive and intimate look at Elaine May's life. Carrie Courogen has done a brilliant job of bringing this elusive genius into the spotlight, providing a fitting tribute to a woman who has significantly shaped the landscape of American comedy and film.

Upfront, let me say that I DNF this book. I got about 50% of the way done. I think that Carrie Courogen does a solid and well researched job discussing Elaine May. This is the whole reason I did not finish, this book is so dense that I could not get through it. It details life for Elaine May from the beginning in Philadelphia, her early years in Chicago, and beyond.


There was so much care and detail put into this book from the Nichols and May years, to each subsequent movie that Elaine worked on.

My biggest takeaway from this book is what a completely unique person that Elaine May is. She is a huge trailblazer for women, not only of her era, but even today. I was dumbfounded by her bravery to pursue her passion, even going so far to have her mother raise her daughter in the 50's, while she continued to work towards her goals. She is also seen as one of the founders of improv, along with Mike Nichols.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

For all the difficult girls out there, MISS MAY DOES NOT EXIST is a must-read! I’m a lifelong Elaine May fan and this book was a treasure trove of information surrounding her life and career. A truly fitting love story to the one and only Elaine May!

good mystery and i loved the friends too. I really enjoyed the romance and how it solved . I also loved reading this author. Really enjoyed her friends. Great book.

How do you write a biography of a truly mad genius who doesn’t want the public to know anything about her?

Well, Carrie Courogen has seemingly done the impossible. The greatest achievement of this book is that it’s a biography worthy of its subject.

Honesty and chaos are central to Elaine May’s life and work, and while this book searches relentlessly for the former, it veers wildly and charmingly into the latter in the most exciting, entertaining way. Miss May Does Not Exist meticulously tracks May’s movements from Chicago, to Los Angeles, back to Chicago, to New York, and is told in a casual, playful manner that makes the reader feel like they’re hearing the latest gossip from a friend. Along the way, Courogen shows great admiration and reverence for the woman who helped to revolutionize comedy, got bored, and then terrorized Hollywood studios, without ever deifying her.

This book strives to untangle the web of truths, half-truths, and lies that she has told to the public over the years, and then to weave it all back together into a tapestry that tells a narrative that any Elaine May fan will be unable to put down.

An utterly fascinating book about a comic genius. People like May are not like us nor should they be. Both the times and the woman are interestingly portrayed in this very readable bio of a woman who changed the face of comedy and created many lasting films. Elaine May is one of a kind and nthenfully this book will give her the respect and admiration she so richly deserves.

Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius by Carrie Courogen shows Carrie's undying appreciation for the work of Miss May. I know you're asking yourself "Who in the world is Miss May?" and you wouldn't be the only one. Before reading this biography, I had never heard of her, but when I read the description, I was interested in finding out.

From Elaine's time on-stage as the Queen of Improv and her work with Mike Nichols, to her time directing, and being the go-to script doctor for Hollywood, May had a very long career...out of the spotlight. To her credit, sketch comedy and movies wouldn't be the same if Miss May hadn't made her way from stage to movies and back to the stage. Nichols and May were highly sought after in the era of Jack Parr, and their improv sketches paved the way for shows like Saturday Night Live.

She was a prolific writer during her entire career, and though directors would come to her to fix scripts, being a perfectionist she could never fix her own. You wouldn't know it, but she had a hand in some of the most popular and well-loved movies of all time. Ever heard of Labyrinth? Tootsie? Dangerous Minds? She put her stamp on those scripts to create what we know today.

During her enduring career, she worked with some of the best actors in the business. She gave Charles Grodin his start on-stage. Marlo Thomas was her best friend. She worked with Peter Falk and Dustin Hoffman; teamed up multiple times with Warren Beatty. One of the first female directors, her need for the perfect take made things go way over schedule and made for long days.

Towards the end of her career, she had a hand in The Birdcage and Primary Colors. But you probably won't find her name attached to most things she worked on because she didn't want credit for it. Due to the highs and very lows of her career, she didn't like being in the spotlight. The title of this book comes from a Nichols and May album where she wrote "Miss May Does Not Exist" for her bio. And for the most part, she doesn't.

All in all, this is a love story to the greatness that is Elaine May. She was such a fascinating woman, from being a genius ahead of her time to changing the comedy landscape, her contribution to Hollywood and the stage should be known...even if she doesn't exist.

Thank you to @StMartinsPress and @NetGalley for both a digital copy and physical copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

I thought this biography of an actor, writer, and director whose work spans seven decades but somehow largely escaped my noticed was engaging and illuminating.

Miss May Does Not Exist, by Carrie Courogen, is an unusual biography about a fascinating artist. Until I read this book, I had not heard of Eileen May, though I soon discovered that I was very familiar with her work. I hope now she will be viewed in a similar light to Nora Ephron and Joan Didion, two brilliant female trailblazers who are much better known than the equally talented May. Highly recommend!!

First, thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book. I must admit that while I'd heard of Elaine May, and see grainy black and white films of at least one of Nichols and May's routines, I really wasn't familiar with her, and only aware of him as a director. I was eager to learn more about both since they are acclaimed as actors and iconoclasts as well as some of the originators of Improv as we know it.

The book appears to be thoroughly researched with lengthy footnotes that occasionally add further information about the text, but often are citations to interviews the author used. Other reviewers have already discussed May's refusal to be interviewed or approve of the book, but I'm not certain the author would've been enlightened by her participation given her reputation for creating alternate truths about her past.

I enjoyed reading about her beginning and coming up through the various groups, their rapid rise to fame and projects. I did feel the book got bogged down in detailing her demands for perfection in her film-making. The point was made multiple times. May does not come off as very likeable, but part of the message is that being a woman meant she was not given the grace or the breaks a man might receive given the same behavior. If I'm to believe everything in the book about her behavior, I have to say that she took things too far and would have benefited from a little humility.

It was an interesting read, but it does not make me a fan of the subject. I do admire her in many ways, and I'm sure she broke ground for women, but there's little shown here to make her a likeable human being,

Only superficially familiar with the works of Nichols and May, I came to this book with few expectations. Written in a deceptively conversational style, this biography is full of detailed research (almost 1500 endnotes!) and is the fascinating and appropriately cinematic story of a genius. Elaine May lived a postmodern life, not caring what others thought about her, and appearing like an absentminded professor with mismatched socks, trailing cigar ash everywhere, and not seeming to care about money or recognition. Intimidatingly intelligent, she put many people off and attracted others like a powerful magnet. With Mike Nichols she invented a new kind of improv that was a comedy equivalent of walking a tightrope without a net. She acted, wrote screenplays and stage plays, directed movies, and punched up quite a few movie scripts, notably Tootsie. Like many brilliant people, she failed at least as often as she succeeded, but this didn't seem to faze her, and she was never afraid to try something new. Fabulous book - even the footnotes are worth reading! (Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.)

This is a highly detailed, thoroughly researched biography of comic genius Elaine May. It delves into her creative process and professional achievements as well as her personal relationships. The author depicts a brilliant, fascinating yet difficult artist. Readers will be compelled to search Youtube for video of Elaine May and her work. This book is a treat for comedy professionals, filmmakers and humor afficionados.

Prior to reading this book, the only thing I knew about Elaine May was that she and Mike Nichols were comedy
partners. She worked as a script doctor without receiving credit. Her work in the entertainment industry were on her own terms and she remains a mystery to many.
#MissMayDoesNotAExist #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

I want to thank Net Galley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. Elaine May has had a long, storied career in theater, in comedy and in movies. She is known for being half of Nichols and May, one of the funniest , smartest comedy teams of all time. Go to you tube and watch their Telephone Operator routine, if you don't believe me.She worked on some of the best movies ( Tootsie) and some of the worst( Ishtar).Four years ago, she won a Tony for acting. She is witty, sarcastic and somewhat reclusive. This book gives an insight into her life and character. It is well written and well researched.Sadly, Miss May would not be interviewed for the book, which , in my opinion, makes it lacking a bit. There is a lot of quotes from previous works, and from friends and co workers, but it just left me wishing that the author had been able to get to meet her just once. Other than that, ( which can't be helped), it is a thorough , well thought out book. I am very glad that I read it.

I received this as a eGalley from NetGalley.

After reading Mark Harris' biography of Mike Nichols I was eager to know more about Elaine May. She is a rascal of a subject for a biography but Courogen does an admirable effort of it.

I absolutely adore Elaine May but this didn't do her justice in my opinion. It appeared almost clijnical and dry. Had to put it down.

I'm really torn about this book. As a big Elaine May fan, I believe she deserves to be better known and her place in Hollywood and comedy history celebrated. It's for this reason also that I only grew more ambivalent while reading MISS MAY DOES NOT EXIST. This is very well-researched (though I found some of the citations inconsistent in style), but the access issues permeate the text like it's being haunted. It's not exactly a fair comparison, but I couldn't help comparing this to the recent, very well-written (and oft-cited here) biography of Mike Nichols by Mark Harris. Harris had advantages with his subject that Courogen does not: Nichols is deceased, met the author several times before said passing, led a very public life with a lot of documentation to prove it. May, by contrast, is still alive, deeply private, and opted not to participate in this project multiple times. The resulting project is a book-long write-around profile that successfully puts together a complete CV of May's career in comedy, film, and theater. It's when Courogen dips into psychobiography to form a Grand Unifying Theory of Elaine that she loses me. The frequent shifts into second person - "You can hear the words too" "You could tell them instead" - are deployed to get the reader to fill in the gaps left by May with the reader's own feelings. Second person, to me, is a crutch that writers lean on when they want the reader to feel something but cannot actually provide evidence of that feeling in other, direct ways. The writing generally is a little too conversational and casual for my taste, especially a project drawing on this much research.

A good biography does absolutely not require the participation of its subject (and many great biographies are all the better for lacking it), but MISS MAY DOES NOT EXIST is home to one of the strangest relationships between author and subject that I've read in years. The introduction sets a worrying tone, where the author describes several borderline and textbook instances of stalking her subject over the course of three years. It opens on the author wearing a wig on a park bench across from May's apartment building, hoping for a glimpse of her subject. Later, she evidences: "I spent $200 printing and mailing her 341 pages of museum scans of old family documents she hadn't known existed, [...] walked by her building hoping I'd happen to see her coming out of it, attended events she RSVP'd to, then ghosted at the last possible moment." But a blessing ultimately doesn't matter to Courogen, because she asserts that May can't be trusted to be truthful:

"With Elaine's penchant for elusive privacy, the facts she personally presents as true must always be taken with a grain of salt. We are all, to varying degrees, unreliable narrators of our own lives [...] Elaine, though, wants you to know that you're being set up, wants you to question what is a fact and what is a good story. It's the mark of someone both acutely aware of the mind's ability to present alternate versions of reality--and of someone so distrustful of others that she expects the feeling to be mutual."


Well, here it is mutual. The rest of the book is centered around a thesis of circular logic: May's truth has never been told, and I, her biographer, am the only one you can trust to tell it because May herself will tell you lies. The reader comes away with the impression that Courogen has cast herself as the Charles Kinbote to May's John Shade, the lone scholar-poet working to enlighten the most minor details of another life while also bending every piece of the text to fit her own, twisted theory. This reader, who was not at all uninformed about May's career going into this, came away wondering if I could trust the author any more than I could trust May herself.

Review copy provided by NetGalley.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this biography on one of the most creative people to ever work in the arts or entertainment, and yet is little known for her achievements, which is exactly the way she wants it.

Elaine May should be famous, and not just known to people in the know. Many of the things we use to distract ourselves from the world, plays, television, comedy, and especially movies have either been influenced, or even created by Ms. May. Working early with Mike Nichols she brought improv comedy, and the idea of women in comedy to the masses. May was a writer of films, credited and script doctor of many, uncredited. May wrote plays, skits, worked with famed directors to bring their vision to life, directed three movies, two classics and one infamous. Yet May has tried to avoid the spotlight, the fame and everything that goes with it. And even today May is still hard at work, and finally getting some recognition for all her achievements. Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius by Carrie Courogen is a look at the person, what she created, and how the world was changed by her creations, all without losing what made her, for better or worse.

Elaine Berlin was born in Philadelphia but with a family in entertainment, moved all over the country, attending different schools, which didn't give Elaine much interest in school, but a love of reading gave her an education. Elaine's father died before she was a teen, and her mother moved them to California, where Elaine gave up on school for good, taking a job and getting married and having a daughter. The marriage did not last and Elaine now May decided to go to Chicago, for colleges there would let her attend even without a high school diploma. May never enrolled, attending classes that interested her, and finding like minded people in the drama department, which led her to joining an acting troupe where she met Mike Nichols. The two were made for each other, creative muses who shared a soul, and a talent to entertain. Within a short period they worked as a duo, cut albums, made money, and broke up. That's when May really started to shine, well shine from the shadows where she was comfortable. Slowly she wrote, directed a movie, that was rough, began to script doctor in Hollywood for no credit, directed a second movie that had over 260 hours of film. Worked with Warren Beatty on Heaven Can Wait, and Reds. And also Ishtar, which sidelined May for a time. But, never stopped her.

An fascinating biography about a woman who knew everyone, scared many, was used as muse, collaborator, friend, and yet still was haunted by a childhood that one could only describe as very rough. What Courogen does best is show how good May is. The little things, about looking at a scene and knowing things are too short. A sound editor saying May's ears were the best he ever worked with. The list of movies that May helped create, or helped make better, some expected, some completely unexpected. Ghostbusters, Labyrinth, movies that still are being made, remade, in many cases badly, all had a bit of May in them. Courogen is a very good writer, getting people to tell their tales of May, even if May didn't want to. To think of all that May did, with the handicap of being a woman in comedy, in Hollywood is just amazing. And for May to do it on her terms, stealing film reels, ignoring players, making sure to credit other writers, is astonishing. May deserves every accolade, as does Courogen for writing a interesting biography that really gets to the soul of the person.

Recommended for people who enjoy reading about Hollywood, the arts, and woman who don't let anything get in the way of their art. A great Mother's Day gift, heck a great gift in general. Also a great book to give to a young artist and show them the work is important, don't let them bring you down. One might fail, one might succeed, one might do both. But one won't know unless you do it. Just like Elaine May does.

If I've learned one thing about comedy legend Elaine May from reading Carrie Courogen's "Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius," it's that the hidden icon doesn't want to talk to me.

Or you.

Or, for that matter, Carrie Courogen.

An icon who has never really acted like one, Elaine May was a successful female in Hollywood before Hollywood was ready to accept the idea of a successful female. May wasn't just talented. Hollywood could deal with it. May was someone who demanded control of her craft and her creativity, a control not given easily by Hollywood and given even less easily to a female who would prove wondrously talented at acting, directing, writing, and pretty much everything else she tried.

In the first few pages of "Miss May Does Not Exist," we're rather humorously informed that Miss May wasn't so much opposed to this biography as she just plain didn't cooperate with it. Courogen would have stops and starts, scheduled interviews and no shows along the way to creating what is undeniably the most comprehensive account of May's life.

May began her career as one-half of the legendary comedy team Nichols and May. Nichols, esteemed director Mike Nichols, and May would revolutionize comedy before initially parting ways after their Broadway smash 'An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May." It was grand, of course, and May would remain loyal to Nichols throughout her career.

After toiling around Broadway for a bit, May would have a breakthrough in Hollywood directing such films as "A New Leaf," "The Heartbreak Kid," and the criminally underappreciated "Mikey and Nicky." It might be fair to say that "Ishtar" is her most remembered film for reasons not quite as pleasant. It was a largely unsupported film by the studio that was misunderstood by audiences and critics. Years later, the critical and box-office bomb has gained new fans, myself included, and is starting to get the respect it long deserved.

On one of the albums she made with Nichols, her bio reads "Miss May does not exist." Indeed, this seems to be largely how she's lived even her professional life. She's been hired as a script doctor on such films as "Heaven Can Wait," "Reds," "Tootsie," and "The Birdcage." Yet, she often shuns credit for her writing. Well respected as a script doctor in Hollywood, it's likely safe to say that a good majority of America has no clue just how present May's writing is in some of our best films in recent decades.

Now 91-years-old, May won a Tony Award as recently as 2019 for Best Leading Actress in The Waverly Gallery. She's also won a BAFTA, a Grammy, an honorary Oscar, and numerous other awards.

It's unlikely that May will ever tell us whether or not Courogen has accurately captured her life, though it's most certainly clear that Courogen has researched relentlessly. At right around 400 pages, a good 1/3 of "Miss May Does Not Exist" consists of Courogen's source material and over 1,500 footnotes.

Yikes.

While May herself may have never cooperated with "Miss May Does Not Exist," I chuckle at the idea that somewhere in the weeks to come she'll be hovering over the book wishing she could have edited it.

An absolute must-read for fans of Elaine May and those who want to gain insights into the ways that women were mistreated and held back in Hollywood, "Miss May Does Not Exist" is an engaging, extensively researched, and revealing biography that proves once and for all that Elaine May does exist and she's made all of our lives so much better.