If you’ve seen the 1977 film “The Goodbye Girl,” you might recall Quinn Cummings. She was the precocious kid who cracked wise with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, a performance that earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Alas, like many child stars, her acting career faltered as she grew up. She’d be nothing more than an entertainment footnote if not for two things: her invention of the HipHugger baby sling, and her newfound popularity as a blogger, which has resulted in the publication of her first book, “Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life.”
I know, I know: “Notes from the Underwire” sounds like a bad Erma Bombeck book. But stick with me here. If you can get past the lame house frau title, you’ll find a very funny and occasionally poignant collection of personal essays.
Cummings is not a woman who takes herself too seriously. In fact, the first piece in the book, “My Original Nose,” details a bad encounter with a plate-glass window and delves into her chronic clumsiness — troublesome for her, but hilarious for those around her.
While still trying to make a living as an actress, she begins to view herself as “professionally unattractive” when it comes to getting roles: “Now I was finding out I had set up my camp in the no-man’s land between Cute Girl, Ugly Friend, and the Thing that Demands Payment in Order to Walk over Its Bridge.”
An attempt to launch a career as a sitcom writer earns her this praise from a television executive: “You’re good. You’re not just good. You’re ‘Saved by the Bell’ good.” Somehow, she didn’t think this compliment was an indication that she’d set the sitcom-writing world on fire.
Cummings has a snarky sense of humor that serves her well, especially when dealing with the annoyances of everyday life. She spends sleepless nights contending with a catnip-crazed feline.
As a first-time homeowner, she encounters everything from an animal skeleton to giant holes in the wall, courtesy of a termite infestation. She flips out when her family uses her cherished soap, shrieking, “Who fondled my good soap?”
Think your prom night was bad? Wait until you hear Cummings’story.
Surprisingly, she can rein in her prickliness quite effectively. A few of the essays take heartbreaking turns. In “Like a Tattoo on Your Butt,” she relates her mother’s battle with cancer. After a brutal afternoon of wig shopping, her mother finally loses it.
“I watched her face crumple, her head lean against the steering wheel. She sobbed in sheer terror while I am there, sweating, breathing hard, and shredding the list of American Cancer Society-approved wig shops between my trembling fingers.”
When AIDS begins to ravage Los Angeles in the ’80s, Cummings, who grew up in a neighborhood that “competes with the Castro District in San Francisco, New York’s Fire Island and a reunion of Liberace’s chauffeurs as being the gayest place on earth,” decides to become a volunteer hot-line counselor at the AIDS Project Los Angeles. Her passion to help eventually falters under the crushing reality of the disease.
“This was the first phone call where it occurred to me that the ‘them’ in the AIDS epidemic might look a lot like me,” she wrote.
“Dog Days” depicts Cummings’ rescue of a stray and her attempts to find her a good home. I had to reach for the Kleenex while reading this one. Anyone who has ever loved a dog will feel her pain, frustration and affection.
“I knew exactly who Ursula was capable of becoming, and I loved her anyway,” she writes. “I did the best I could. What else is there?”
If you need a lot of laughs and perhaps some tear-shedding, check out “Notes from the Underwire” by Quinn Cummings. This former child star is a footnote no longer.
Lisa E. Brown is the administrative assistant of the Joplin Public Library.
Globe Life
JPL book review: Ex-child star’s ‘Adventures’ funny, touching characters
- Globe Life
-
-
Students add vision to collaborative exhibit
In a “secret room” upstairs at Spiva Center for the Arts, an art project began last week that won’t be finished for 18 more days. That’s because it is being created by more than 1,100 artists.
-
Cari Rerat: Pair of graphic novels tell tales of heroism
Witty banter, blood-soaked violence, and old-school sound effects make this one of the most fun graphic novels I’ve read in a long time.
-
Frankie Meyer: Celebrity genealogy hunt makes return to TV
At last, my favorite series is returning for its third season. “Who Do You Think You Are?” is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Fridays.
-
Frankie Meyer: Church minutes can provide details about ancestors
As you compile your family history, you will often learn the name of the church that an ancestor attended. Novice researchers sometimes ignore that type of detail, not realizing that church records can provide details that blast through the brick walls of research.
-
Phyllis Seesengood: Prequel takes Jack Reacher book series back in time
“The Affair,” by Lee Child, is the 16th book in the series of Jack Reacher thrillers and is a prequel to the other books. It takes us back in time to March 1997, where we learn valuable information about Reacher’s background and his reasons for leaving the military.
-
B-easy does it
Chris Watson, a Pittsburg State University graduate and Kansas native, was visiting a local video store when he stumbled across three horror movies he’d either produced, directed, directly written or co-written over the last eight years.
-
Book highlights opposites in animal kingdom
Even in science opposite attract. It’s the opposite ends of a magnet that attract. Don’t try to connect the south poles on two magnets, because it’s not going to work. Opposites attract.
-
Cemetery research can yield details about family
Through cemetery research, family history researchers can learn details such as names of spouses and children, military service, hobbies and religious preference, as well as the date and location of birth, marriages and death.
-
Art class helps kids deal with feelings from tornado
And while this innovative program received national attention -- thanks to the Joplin-based episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on Jan. 13 -- Bourne’s mobile arts center, dedicated to the growth and healing of children through art, had been up and running long before the EF-5 tornado suddenly spiraled out of the clouds.
-
Danya Walker: Non-fiction work examines history’s infamous mistresses
Many times, the cover and title of a book promises a much more risque read than is actually delivered. “Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman” by Elizabeth Abbott is one such book.
- More Globe Life Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
