Bego, Mark 1952-

PERSONAL:

Born September 23, 1952, in Pontiac, MI; son of Robert and Mary Bego. Education: Central Michigan University, B.A., 1974.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Tucson, AZ. Agent—Nina Graybill, 918 16th St. NW, Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20006; Tony Seidl, 360 E. 57th St., Ste. 11-B, New York, NY 10022; and David Andrew, 16 Fleet St., Ste. 4, Marina del Rey, CA 90212. E-mail—markbego@aol.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Modern Screen, editor-in-chief, 1983-85. Narrator of video Madonna: The Name of the Game; guest on television and radio programs, including the Joan Rivers Show, Maury Povich, and Entertainment Tonight.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Top Ten Best Music Biographies of all times, E! Entertainment Online, 2000, for I Fall to Pieces.

WRITINGS:

The Captain and Tennille, Grosset (New York, NY), 1977.

Barry Manilow, Grosset (New York, NY), 1977.

The Doobie Brothers, Popular Library (New York, NY), 1980.

Michael!, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1984.

On the Road with Michael!, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1984.

Madonna!, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1985.

Rock Hudson: Public and Private, New American Library (New York, NY), 1986.

Sade!, PaperJacks Books (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 1986.

Julian Lennon!, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1986.

The Best of Modern Screen, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1986.

Whitney!, PaperJacks Books (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 1986.

Cher!, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1986, revised edition published as Cher: If You Believe, introduction by Mary Wilson, Cooper Square (New York, NY), 2001.

Bette Midler: Outrageously Divine, New American Library (New York, NY), 1987.

The Linda Gray Story, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1988.

TV Rock, PaperJacks Books (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 1988.

Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1989, revised, Da Capo Press (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Debbie Gibson) Between the Lines (autobiography), Eakin Publications (Burnet, TX), 1989.

Linda Ronstadt: It's So Easy, Eakin Publications (Burnet, TX), 1990.

(With Jimmy Greenspoon) One Is the Loneliest Number, Pharos Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Ice Ice Ice: The Extraordinary Vanilla Ice, Dell (New York, NY), 1991.

Madonna: Blonde Ambition, Random House (New York, NY), 1992, revised edition published as Madonna: Blond Ambition, Updated Version, Cooper Square (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Micky Dolenz) I'm a Believer (autobiography), Hyperion (New York, NY), 1993, revised edition published as I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness, Cooper Square Press (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Martha Reeves) Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva (autobiography), Hyperion (New York, NY), 1994.

Country Gals, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Country Hunks, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1994.

Kurt Cobain: In Search of Nirvana, SPI Books, 1994.

I Fall to Pieces: The Music and the Life of Patsy Cline, Adams (Holbrook, MA), 1995.

Alan Jackson: Gone Country, Taylor Publishing (Dallas, TX), 1996.

The Rock and Roll Almanac, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Bonnie Raitt: Just in the Nick of Time, Carol (Secaucus, NJ), 1997.

George Strait: The Story of Country's Living Legend, Kensington (New York, NY), 1997.

LeAnn Rimes, St. Martin's Griffin (New York, NY), 1998.

Leonardo DiCaprio: Romantic Hero, Andrews McMeel (Kansas City, MO), 1998.

Matt Damon: Chasing a Dream, Andrews McMeel (Kansas City, MO), 1998.

Will Smith: The Freshest Prince, Andrews McMeel (Kansas City, MO), 1998.

(With David E. Stanley) Raised on Rock: The Autobiography of Elvis Presley's Stepbrother, Mainstream (Edinburgh, Scotland), 1998.

Vince Gill: An Unauthorized Biography and Musical Appreciation of the Country Superstar, Renaissance Books (Los Angeles, CA), 2000.

The Marx Brothers, Old Castle Books (Harpenden, England), 2001.

Bette Midler: Still Divine, introduction by Rita Coolidge, Cooper Square Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Tina Turner: Break Every Rule, Taylor Trade Pub. (Lanham, MD), 2003.

Joni Mitchell, Taylor Trade Pub. (Lanham, MD), 2005.

(With Yolana Bard) Just One More Question: Answers and Insights from a Psychic Medium, Putnam (New York, NY), 2006.

Billy Joel: The Biography, Thunder's Mouth Press (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to Supreme Faith: Someday We'll Be Together, by MaryWilson, 1990. Contributor to magazines, including People, Celebrity, Cosmopolitan, Penthouse, Music Connection, and US. Past nightlife editor, Cue. Many of Bego's works have been published in foreign editions.

ADAPTATIONS:

Bonnie Raitt: Just in the Nick of Time, was read by the author for an audio recording, B&B Audio, l996.

SIDELIGHTS:

Mark Bego specializes in the life stories of celebrities from music and film. His 2001 release, Cher: If You Believe, is an updated version of a 1986 publication. The new version covers the more recent details of the Academy Award-winning actress and singer, including the death of her ex-husband, Sonny Bono, in a ski accident, and the relationship with her gay-activist daughter, Chastity Bono. While Caroline Dadas, writing in Library Journal, found fault with Bego's tendency to "emphasize the sensationalistic" aspects of Cher's life, the book was praised by a Publishers Weekly contributor as even more meaty than Cher's autobiography, The First Time: "Along with the lively writing, Bego offers fans a comprehensive Cher almanac at the back of the book." Bonnie Raitt: Just in the Nick of Time gained mixed reviews. Impressions of the book ranged from "little more than a dry valentine" from Entertainment Weekly reviewer Alanna Nash to an "overdue tribute" to a "generous, socially responsible and ever-creative" performer from Booklist reviewer Donna Seaman.

In addition to writing, Bego has created his own hazelnut coffee, called Mark Bego's Romantic Hero Blend.

In his biography of 1950s and 1960s movie star Rock Hudson, titled Rock Hudson: Public and Private, the author provides an intimate view of Hudson's life, from his secret life as a gay man to his relationship with Elizabeth Taylor and other stars of his era. Linda Ronstadt: It's So Easy is an unauthorized biography of the one-time lead singer for the 1960s band the Stone Poneys. Ronstadt went on to become one of the top female rock singers in the 1970s. In a review of the Ronstadt biography, a Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the author does "a capable job of pasting together quotes from various sources to create a coherent chronology."

Bego collaborated with Micky Dolenz of the Monkees rock band fame to write I'm a Believer. Dolenz's autobiography takes the reader from the time that Do- lenz was a child actor to his stint on the television show The Monkees and into his later life and career. Country Hunks provides sixteen profiles of young male country music stars in 1994. Ray Olson, writing in Booklist, determined that Country Hunks was "for light-reading young country fans."

Bego also collaborated on another book in 1994 titled Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva. Coauthored with Martha Reeves of the singing group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, the memoir focuses primarily on Reeves's singing career at Motown recording studios during the 1960s. Mike Tribby, writing in Booklist, noted that Dancing in the Street is "no rumor-mongering tell-all but an account of being at ground zero when some of America's most popular music was created." Writing in the Women's Review of Books, Emily Toth commented that the memoir contains "gossipy fast-moving stories that are also thought-provoking for what they leave out."

Bego collaborated with David E. Stanley to write Raised on Rock: The Autobiography of Elvis Presley's Stepbrother. The book provides intimate details of living as the brother of a singing icon. "Thanks probably to Bego, the writing is crisp and well organized, and the little details explored are remarkably interesting," wrote Mike Tribby in Booklist.

In Bette Midler: Still Divine, the author chronicles Midler's life from being an overweight young girl to her career in singing and films. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that Bego is "in top form with this fast-paced, affectionate and incredibly detailed biography of the diminutive belter." Bego focuses on another singing star with his book Tina Turner: Break Every Rule. In a review of Tina Turner a Publishers Weekly contributor commented that the author reveals "a sincere enthusiasm for his subject and a willingness to go beyond summarizing news clips to provide uncritical fans with something more for their money."

In his 2007 book, Billy Joel: The Biography, the author provides an eye-opening account of Joel's life, including a supposed suicide attempt. A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented that Billy Joel contains "plenty of factoids and musical insight about our Piano Man."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Film, December, 1986, Dorothy Gallagher, review of The Best of Modern Screen, p. 61.

Booklist, June 15, 1992, Ilene Cooper, review of Madonna: Blonde Ambition, p. 1796; June 15, 1992, review of Madonna, p. 1816; August, 1993, Ilene Cooper, review of I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness, p. 2026; May 15, 1994, Ray Olson, review of Country Hunks, p. 1657; August, 1994, Mike Tribby, review of Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva, p. 2013; February 15, 1995, Ray Olson, review of Dancing in the Street, p. 1048; December 15, 1995, review of Bonnie Raitt: Just in the Nick of Time, p. 678; September 15, 1996, review of The Rock and Roll Almanac, p. 284; January 1, 1998, Mike Tribby, review of Raised on Rock: The Autobiography of Elvis Presley's Stepbrother, p. 762; September 1, 2001, Tribby, review of Cher: If You Believe, p. 31.

Cosmopolitan, June, 1987, "Bette Midler; Divinely Outrageous as Ever," p. 191.

Country Music, May-June, 1997, Rich Kienzle, review of George Strait: The Story of Country's Living Legend, p. 68.

Entertainment Weekly, February 2, 1996, Alanna Nash, review of Bonnie Raitt, p. 52.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2007, review of Billy Joel: The Biography.

Library Journal, September 1, 1989, David M. Turkalo, review of Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul, p. 191; September 1, 1990, David M. Turkalo, review of Linda Ronstadt: It's So Easy, p. 222; August, 1993, Carol J. Binkowski, review of I'm a Believer, p. 105; August, 1994, Rosellen Brewer, review of Dancing in the Street, p. 89; July, 1995, review of I Fall to Pieces: The Music and the Life of Patsy Cline, p. 80; December, 1995, Rosellen Brewer, review of Bonnie Raitt, p. 110; August, 2001, Caroline Dadas, review of Cher, p. 109.

New York Times Book Review, August 21, 1994, David Walton, review of Dancing in the Street, p. 20.

Notes, September, 1993, Camille Paglia, review of Madonna, p. 88.

People, January 27, 1986, Richard Sanders, "Chatter," p. 98; September 12, 1994, Gene Santoro, review of Dancing in the Street, p. 35.

Publishers Weekly, May 24, 1985, review of Madonna!, p. 67; April 4, 1986, John Mutter, review of The Best of Modern Screen, p. 57; June 20, 1986, John Mutter, review of Sade!, p. 96; November 14, 1986, John Mutter, review of Whitney!, p. 57; April 3, 1987, John Mutter, review of Bette Midler: Outrageously Divine, p. 67; August 25, 1989, Genevieve Stuttaford, review of Aretha Franklin, p. 56; August 3, 1990, Penny Kaganoff, review of Linda Ronstadt, p. 71; July 26, 1993, review of I'm a Believer, p. 64; July 4, 1994, review of Dancing in the Street, p. 50; August 6, 2001, review of Cher, p. 78; November 4, 2002, review of Bette Midler: Still Divine, p. 74; October 27, 2003, review of Tina Turner: Break Every Rule, p. 55.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 1984, review of Michael!, p. 210; June, 1985, review of On the Road with Michael!, p. 143; October, 1985, review of Madonna!, p. 272.

Washington Post Book World, April 28, 1996, review of The Rock and Roll Almanac, p. 12.

Women's Review of Books, December, 1994, Emily Toth, review of Dancing in the Street, p. 25.

World Entertainment News Network, May 13, 2006, "Gest to Reveal Jackson Secrets"; January 25, 2007, "Joel's Suicidal Past Comes to Light in New Biography"; June 7, 2007, "Joel Rubbishes Breakup Reports."

ONLINE

BookCrossing.com,http://www.bookcrossing.com/ (January 3, 2008), review of Barry Manilow.

Madonna Memories.com,http://madonnamemories.com/ (December 6, 2005), Mariam Ayub, "Welcome to Our Exclusive Interview with Mark Bego!"

Mark Bego Home Page,http://www.markbego.com (January 2, 2002).