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Heroin, Acting, and Comedy in New York City

  • Book
  • © 2017

Overview

Authors:
  1. Barry Spunt

    1. Department of Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY, New York, USA

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  • Offers sociological insight into heroin use and misuse by an understudied population
  • Explores how heroin affects the daily work performance of entertainers as well as their overall career goals
  • Includes analyses of films such as The Panic in Needle Park and Trash

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
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  2. Introduction

    • Barry Spunt
    Pages 1-40

  3. Mainstream Actors

    • Barry Spunt
    Pages 41-75

  4. Non-Mainstream Actors

    • Barry Spunt
    Pages 77-112

  5. Films (and Plays)

    • Barry Spunt
    Pages 113-139

  6. Comedians

    • Barry Spunt
    Pages 141-169

  7. Conclusion

    • Barry Spunt
    Pages 171-179

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 181-191
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Keywords

About this book

This book focuses on New York City-based actors and comedians who are self-acknowledged heroin users. Barry Spunt examines a number of hypotheses about the reasons why actors and comedians use heroin as well as the impact of heroin on performance, creativity, and career trajectory.  A primary concern of the book is the role that subculture and identity play in helping us to understand the heroin use of these entertainers. Spunt captures the voices of actors and comedians through narrative accounts from a variety of secondary sources. He also examines how New York-based films about heroin relate to the major themes of his research.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Sociology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY, New York, USA

    Barry Spunt

About the author

Barry Spunt is Associate Professor of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at CUNY, USA.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Heroin, Acting, and Comedy in New York City

  • Authors: Barry Spunt

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59972-8

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-59971-1Published: 22 July 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-93850-6Due: 20 August 2017

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-59972-8Published: 21 July 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VII, 191

  • Topics: Urban Studies/Sociology, Popular Culture , American Cinema and TV, Self and Identity

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