Marlo Thomas - Growing Up Laughing

Tickets $32 (includes a signed copy of the book)
Call (415) 927-0960, ext. 1
Dominican University of California
Guzman Lecture Hall (2nd Floor), San Rafael, CA

Can't attend the event? Order a signed copy

In Growing Up Laughing, Marlo Thomas recalls the behind-the-scenes decisions that shaped her career; her marriage to Phil Donahue; and her friendships and collaborations with an impressive list of cultural icons—from Gloria Steinem and Milton Berle to Orson Welles and Elaine May. Among her interviews and remembrances, Thomas also shares a running collection of prized jokes, both long and short, that summon up the rich chorus of voices she has brought together.

Along the way, Thomas shares stories about her childhood; her hard-working father and high-spirited mother and the family they created; and the making of her signature television series That Girl. It was in 1966 that Thomas first charmed her way into the nation’s living rooms as That Girl—a single career woman in New York City. At the time, the notion of a young woman living on her own and charting her own course was not seen as viable television entertainment, and yet Thomas’s landmark portrayal of budding actress Ann Marie would pave the way for the Murphy Browns and Carrie Bradshaws to come. She was just getting started breaking barriers: With her acclaimed Free to Be…You and Me books and recordings, Thomas challenged preconceived notions of gender and rejected fairy-tale endings so that young girls and boys could be free to express their hopes and dreams. And through it all, she has remained at the heart of American entertainment and culture—starring on and off-Broadway, stealing scenes as Rachel Green’s mother on Friends, and becoming the public face of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Marlo Thomas is an award-winning actress, author and activist whose body of work continues to have an impact on American entertainment and culture. She has been honored with four Emmy Awards, a Peabody, a Golden Globe and a Grammy, and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.