About this item
The incredible story of Brownie Wise, the Southern single mother - and postwar #Girlboss - who built, and lost, a Tupperware home-party empireBefore Mary Kay, Martha Stewart, and Joy Mangano, there was Brownie Wise, the charismatic Tupperware executive who converted postwar optimism into a record-breaking sales engine powered by American housewives. In Life of the Party, Bob Kealing offers the definitive portrait of Wise, a plucky businesswoman who divorced her alcoholic husband, started her own successful business, and eventually caught the eye of Tupperware inventor, Earl Tupper, whose plastic containers were collecting dust on store shelves. The Tupperware Party that Wise popularized, a master-class in the soft sell, drove Tupperware's sales to soaring heights. It also gave minimally educated and economically invisible postwar women, including some African-American women, an acceptable outlet for making their own money for their families - and for being rewarded for their efforts. With the people skills of Dale Carnegie, the looks of Doris Day, and the magnetism of Eva Peron, Wise was as popular among her many devoted followers as she was among the press, and she become the first woman to appear on the cover of BusinessWeek in 1954. Then, at the height of her success, Wise's ascent ended as quickly as it began. Earl Tupper fired her under mysterious circumstances, wrote her out of Tupperware's success story, and left her with a pittance. He walked away with a fortune and she disappeared - until now. Originally published as Tupperware Unsealed by the University Press of Florida in 2008 - and optioned by Sony Pictures, with Sandra Bullock attached to star - this revised and updated edition is perfectly timed to take advantage of renewed interest in this long-overlooked American business icon.
About the Author
I'm the author of five titles. My newest is : "Elvis Ignited, The Rise of an Icon in Florida." Please take a moment to check out and share the book's press kit for information on appearances, sales and more! http://www.upf.com/mkt/samples/ElvisIgnited_PressKit.pdf In 1956, his most crucial and transformative year, Elvis Presley played more live shows in his breakout state, Florida than any other; more than New York, California and Las Vegas combined There are many other little-known Florida connections to this iconic performer's moonshot to fame. In fifteen months, Presley barnstormed Florida four times rising from bottom of the bill nobody to the stratosphere of music stardom. Lots of primary source interviews including former Florida Governor and United States Senator Bob Graham, Steve Binder the producer of Presley's 1968 comeback special and Presley's "Follow that Dream" co-star Anne Helm(film and tv rights available) . "Life of the Party," is the new and updated version of my 2008 book, "Tupperware, Unsealed" telling the full story of Brownie Wise, the forgotten genius behind Tupperware's home party system. There is still an active effort to develop this story in to a television series or film. My 2013 book, Calling Me Home, Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock was named by the influential British music magazine Uncut, to its Best Books list. Check out Gram Parsons Derry Down, the state historic site for which research on this book was the catalyst. Film and TV rights available.You can still purchase an updated edition of my first book Kerouac in Florida by email at callingmehomebook@gmail.com Remember to support your local brick and mortar bookstores!