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Wednesday, December 6, 2006; Posted: 1:42 PM - by BWW News Desk

Supporting Player: My Life Upon The Wicked Stage by Richard Seff will be released this month.

"For a stage production to be staged successfully, every player must be present; the lead actors, stage crew, technicians, and all the supporting players. Richard Seff brings you a behind the scenes, star-filled odyssey through the golden age of Broadway, told from his point of view--that of one of the supporting players," as press materials describe the book.

"The memoir follows Richard Seff's professional life, as actor / agent / playwright / librettist / production associate.  Supporting Player: My Life Upon The Wicked Stage is filled with amusing tales of professional moments in the lives of Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, Rex Harrison, Chita Rivera, Kander and Ebb, Rosalind Russell, Bob Fosse and many others. He has acted in film or on stage with Jason Robards, Ralph Fiennes, Christine Lahti, Christopher Reeve, Richard Thomas, William Hurt, Judd Hirsch, Linda Hunt, James Woods and many others. In his memoir, he tells of some backstage shenanigans that went on behind closed doors, and he cites examples of how stardom is achieved and handled."

Seff has worked in the theatre all of his life.  He first acted professionally in 1946 and his last engagement onstage was in 2006. He took a 22 year leave of absence from the stage, after a long run on Broadway in support of Claude Rains and on tour with Edward G. Robinson in the prize winning Darkness At Noon. During those two decades plus he represented numerous artists in musical theatre.  He left the talent agency in 1974 to return to the stage. In the 30 years that have followed, he's appeared in 25 plays and won the Carbonell Award for 'Best Supporting Actor' for his performance in Angels Fall. He's been in 7 feature films and over 50 television series, soap operas, TV films and mini-series. He is the author of the Broadway play Paris Is Out!. The musical Shine! for which he wrote the book, won a National Music Theatre Network Award in 2001 and has been published by Samuel French, Inc. and recorded by Original Cast Records.  For more information visit www.RichardSeff.com.

The new book can now be purchased by contacting Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.Xlibris.com.  Later this month, it will also be available at major bookstores, or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders.

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