That’s ‘Showbiz!,’ baby: Murray Hill leaves it all on the page in a winning debut memoir.

On this episode of Fully Booked, comedian, TV host, actor, writer, and producer Murray Hill joins us to discuss Showbiz!: My Life As a Middle-Aged Man (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster, Oct. 6). “A drag king, actor, comedian, and onetime mayoral candidate tells his story,” Kirkus writes in an admiring review of this poignant, hilarious debut memoir from the man behind the famously mustachioed public persona.

Hill is an old-school, vaudeville-style, all-around entertainer. You may know him from his role as Fred Rococo on HBO’s award-winning Somebody Somewhere, or from Life & Beth, Drag Me to Dinner, and King of Drag. In 1997, he ran for mayor of New York, and his campaign has been inducted into the New York Historical Society. He lives in Brooklyn.

Here's a bit more from our review of Showbiz!: “Thanks to RuPaul, the typical American adult can probably name a drag queen or two, but drag kings have yet to become household names in a comparable way. A performer with the adopted name Murray Hill has spent decades trying to even the score, and, if there’s any justice, he will make strides with this barn-burning memoir.…It’s all here, folks: reinvention, recriminations, rehab, and even a little romance. In a word: showbiz! A rip-roaring story of Liza-esque unsinkability from a Don Rickles–esque entertainer.”

In a rollicking conversation, Hill—an avowed lover of showbiz memoirs—tells listeners what makes a good one, some of his favorites (Tina Turner, Sammy Davis Jr., Little Jimmy Scott, Etta James, Viola Davis), and why he chose to his own. We discuss public personae, queer and trans representation, dysfunctional families, addiction, mental health, shame, therapy, and healing. We talk about his “excruciating” writing process, and the difficulties of narrating one’s life, which chapters were fun to write, and which weren’t. We dig into the particulars of growing up in a conservative Catholic family (showbiz!); the positive responses he received to his role as Fred Rococo from trans youth and their parents; and whether he’d consider hiring a drag king named Burt Toast for his opening act.

At the end of our interview, Hill recommends a recent memoir written by a friend of his. Follow @kirkus_reviews on Instagram, DM us the title of that book, along with your email and location, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to receive a $100 Visa gift card, courtesy of Kirkus. The giveaway is open to legal residents of the U.S. who have reached 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell (Simon & Schuster Audio)

The Stirling Defense by Gerald Patnode

Life With Less of Me by Julianna Burmesch 

The Noema Field by Salvatore Cataudella

The Drop by Iohamil Navarro Cuesta

A Stranger in Every House by Richard Carr

Fully Booked is produced by Jessica Lockhart and Megan Labrise.