My Sister Roseanne: The True Story of Roseanne Barr Arnold - Hardcover

Barr, Geraldine; Schwarz, Ted

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1559722304 ISBN 13: 9781559722308

Publisher: Birch Lane Pr, 1994

Synopsis

The superstar's darker side is revealed by her sister and estranged business partner, with anecdotes and quotes from those who know Roseanne best

About this title

From Booklist:

This book is perhaps most interesting for what it isn't. It's no Sister Dearest ripping the very rippable Roseanne for all the stunts, public and personal, she's pulled over the years. On the other hand, it isn't a page-turner, either, and readers may get bogged down by some of the intricate descriptions of business deals. Geraldine Barr, you may recall, is the sister who got shafted by Roseanne. As Geraldine tells it (and she certainly makes her case), she and Roseanne--two Jewish girls from Utah with the modest goal of sweeping Hollywood off its feet--started out working together, a 10-year plan in hand. While Rosey was upfront, Geraldine did everything from critique the nightclub act, to handle the finances, to form the fan club. As Geraldine remembers, the goal of both sisters was to build a production company that would not only finance their own projects but those of other women as well. Enter Tom Arnold. Once Tom was in the picture, Roseanne changed her tune about many things: "Sisterhood is dead," she told Geraldine after firing her. "I don't believe in that stuff anymore." Geraldine also staunchly defends her parents against Roseanne's charges of child abuse (even presenting polygraph tests to bolster their case). But Geraldine spends too much time on goddess mythology, Mormon theology, and feminist rhetoric, at the expense of what most readers will want: an in-the-trenches, you-are-there look at the embattled and battling Barrs. Still, Roseanne has had her say in two tomes and enough magazine articles to fill the Readers' Guide; it's good to hear the other side of the story for a change, even if a few too many punches seem pulled. Ilene Cooper

From Publishers Weekly:

In this biography that continues the seemingly endless saga of the dysfunctional Roseanne, sister Geraldine, the self-proclaimed "business expert behind the star," describes life with Roseanne from childhood through marriage to Tom Arnold. The author relates how they grew up as poor Jews in Mormon-dominated Salt Lake City. She recalls the trials of the teenage Roseanne: committing herself to the state mental hospital and becoming pregnant out of wedlock. In the early 1980s, the sisters started on a 10-year plan that would take them to Hollywood and comedy fame. The big break happened when Roseanne landed a gig on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. The author goes on to show Roseanne as mother, comedienne and TV star of her own sitcom. The marriage to Arnold (including the "incredibly" small size of his penis) is analyzed, as is Roseanne's penchant for kinky sex. The author tells of her own lesbianism and details her break-up with her sister, who fired her by saying, "I don't want you to clean up my shit anymore." The author also strongly denies that Roseanne was a childhood incest victim of their father. Barr and Schwartz (Delorean) have written a sleazy tell-all.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Birch Lane Pr
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 1559722304
• ISBN 13: 9781559722308
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 293