About Stefan Halley
Location: Malmo, Sweden
Occupation: Editor-in-Chief
Bio: Stefan has been writing reviews for seven years and started Pop Syndicate out of need to voice his mis-guided opinion.
Posts: 719
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NBC & Me: My Life as a Page in a Book by Herbie J Pilato
Books: 0 comments: 05/01/2008
An insiders look into life as an intern for NBC that gives you no idea what it was like being a page for NBC.
Normally a book that gives you an insider’s glimpse a career is usually pretty interesting. Herbie J Pilato has written four books, recorded a CD and acted in several television series. With all this experience, one would think that he would be able to tale stories from his days as a page for NBC with ease. Sadly, NBC & Me: My Life as a Page in a Book is a horrible collection of anecdotes and name dropping that is more cloying and pathetic than enjoyable.
NBC & Me is 158 pages long and has 41 chapters. That means that each chapter is roughly 4 pages long. In the hands of a better writer, these chapters could be lean, straightforward stories, but in the hands of Pilato, it’s more about random connections and who he randomly met in a hallway or limo. Most of the chapter titles have the name of a popular television series giving the impression that the chapter will either be about that series or one of the stars of the series. Pilato doesn’t do either of those things.
Take for instance the chapter titled “The Golden Girls”. In it, Pilato manages to fit three random events into one chapter and manages to make all the stories completely pointless and dull. This four page chapter (one of the longer ones) starts with how he randomly met Bea Arthur on the street and told her he liked her work. He then moves on to sitting at a table with her and Betty White where she gets up and leaves. Finally, he gets busted by Bea Arthur for chewing gum on the set. None of it means anything and nothing gives you any idea about what it was like being a page at NBC.
When NBC & Me is over, the only thing we can actually say about Herbie J Pilato is he’s a shameless self-promoter, he likes to drop names and anyone can succeed in show business regardless of talent. They say you can’t judge a book by its cover but the cheap photoshop artwork on the cover is a good warning at what lies within. If you have a choice between reading NBC & Me or getting kicked in the crotch, choose the kick, it’s less painful.
