Fame

The Room (2003) has been called the Citizen Kane of bad movies. Eccentric filmmaker Tommy Wiseau wrote, directed and starred in the movie, and it has since developed a cult following. Around the country, fans flock to midnight screenings.

In the film about a toxic Hollywood, John Cusack plays a self-help guru whose clients include Julianne Moore. It's full of anxious shoptalk and name dropping, druggy kids and druggier grown-ups.

Jonathan Franzen's new novel Freedom has been called "a masterpiece" by Time Magazine and has received rave reviews from critics. Franzen talks about the runaway success of his previous novel The Corrections, and the strong reaction elicited by Freedom.

Dolly Parton has written thousands of songs, including "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You." In a 2001 interview with Fresh Air host Terry Gross, the actress and singer-songwrter describes how she went from East Tennessee to Nashville to worldwide stardom.

Comedy writer Steve Hely details the journey of a young writer's effort to create the greatest best seller of all time in his new novel How I Became a Famous Novelist.

Isaacson has just written an extensive book about the life of Secretary of State and Nobel Prize Laureate. The writer takes us from Kissinger's boyhood in Germany, his family's flight to America in 1938, through his army career, his years at Harvard as a student and later a professor, and his rise to political power. Isaacson notes Kissinger's many accomplishments, but also portrays him as secretive, paranoid and duplicitous.

Wyman is the quiet, low-profile member of the band who avoided drugs. Using his diaries for reference, he wrote a book about his time in the band through the 1960s, called Stone Alone.

Garrison Keillor retired from the public radio show A Prairie Home Companion in 1987. He says he was overwhelmed by the celebrity, and wanted to focus on writing fiction. Keillor moved with his wife from his native St. Paul to New York City. His recent novel is called Leaving Home; a forthcoming collection of short stories is titled We Are Still Married.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg considers the use of the word "legend," which he believes ascribes too much importance to what could more accurately be described as "fame."

Italian-American boxer Rocky Graziano fame extends beyond his middleweight career. He appears regularly on television and has a new memoir called Somebody Down Here Likes Me, Too.