Does the Crew Sleep Onboard? From Cruise Ships to International Game Shows (hardback)
Does the Crew Sleep Onboard?
From Cruise Ships to International Game Shows
A Memoir By Bruce J. Starin
6x9 size
408 pages
ISBN 9781629337630
Get ready to sail on a Cruise Ship Confidential!
Ever wonder what goes on below decks of a real-life Love Boat? Bruce J. Starin knows. He was hired as a Social Director, and soon promoted to Assistant Cruise Director (First Officer of Entertainment) on a ship he calls the “S.S. Luna Sea” because, if he used its real name in this funny, wise, revelatory memoir, a lot of marriages might dissolve and a fair number of former crewmen might get keel-hauled.
Although Starin is now a highly respected international television game show consultant (that’s the second half of the book), he started off keeping vacationing cruise ship passengers entertained (that’s the first half) and out of trouble. This involved planning onboard shows, running shore tours, and putting up with such questions as “When is the midnight buffet?” “Do these stairs go down?” and the one that gives this book its title, “Does the crew sleep on board?”
When Starin docked his career and began working in Hollywood he encountered just as many eccentrics, only this time they were famous, ranging from game show icons Bob Eubanks, Monty Hall, and Dick Clark to screen legends Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston, and Esther Williams, as well as Muhammad Ali, President Gerald Ford and many more. Each was a memorable encounter.
Whether you’re sailing on a luxury liner or cruising behind the scenes of TV game shows you’ll never have as much fun as you will with Does the Crew Sleep on Board?
"With his sometimes shocking, always engaging and amusing memoir, Starin has pulled back the curtain on two worlds that have been a mystery to many for a very long time: cruise ships and game shows, both undeniably two sides of the show business coin. But while his telling of secrets and occasional tawdry tales does provide loads of entertainment, the book manages to accomplish much more. Instead of revealing his life through a chronological narrative, the author has compiled a series of essays that dissect specific events or aspects of his job at a given time, making it an even easier to digest, instructional primer on how to make a living and a life in these careers that appear to be totally different but are actually nearly the same.
As someone who has also had the good fortune to journey the world while journeying through life, I was especially moved by Starin’s final analysis: that travel, be it abroad or just in one’s own country, is at the heart of understanding and getting along with the myriad types of people who inhabit our planet. I couldn’t agree more, nor could I more strongly recommend Starin’s timely and timeless exploration of life."
Evan Weinstein, Producer, “The Amazing Race”