TV Dinners by Laurie Jacobson

In the new cookbook TV Dinners by Laurie Jacobson you will find favorite recipes from 40 classic TV child stars dished up with a side of memories.

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Favorite recipes

TV Dinners combines America’s great nostalgia for Classic TV kid stars with its love of good food by sharing recollections and favorite dishes from 40 of the most popular child stars of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. As American as apple pie, it captures all the fun and warmth of the era while giving insight into what it was like to be a working kid during TV’s Golden Age when just three channels ruled the airwaves. From the Mouseketeers to the Brady Bunch, the stories they tell here are funny, charming, poignant and often revealing.

Being part of the first generation of stars to appear weekly in our living rooms brought with it unprecedented fame. These icons and the characters they played are firmly embedded in our popular culture, cherished by millions of loyal fans who continue to celebrate them to this day. We didn’t just watch these kids grow up, we grew up with them. They’re an indelible part of our lives.

And they knew all the best places to hang out! Whether drive-ins and ice cream joints or passed down through the family, their recipes from both their heyday and today are highlighted with a heaping helping of personal memories, detailed biographies and rare photos.

And Laurie has a unique connection to these kids that gives her more access than most. She is married to one of them and has called the rest friends for two decades. She is able to cut right to the meat of every story. The result is so genuine, fans will feel like their TV heroes are in the kitchen right alongside them. And what a great story they will have when they serve their TV Dinners.

Perfect time for a book like this

You all know we are facing an unprecedented loss of morale in America. No matter how optimistic you are it’s hard not to occasionally sing the blues with thoughts like “everything’s closed”, “can’t get toilet paper”, “there’s no yeast”. Our Baby Boomers want to be lulled back to the pleasant state of security we felt during the idyllic days of Donna Reed, The Beav and Lassie.

In TV Dinners, author and Hollywood historian Laurie Jacobson has compiled a book sure to warm the hearts of anyone who remembers when there were only three major networks and America believed in the value of innocuous escapism.

About the author

Laurie Jacobson is a celebrated Hollywood historian, writer, and reformed stand-up comic. She has authored Hollywood Heartbreak, Hollywood Haunted, Dishing Hollywood, and Timmy’s in the Well– the Jon Provost Story as well as having contributed to several other tomes on Hollywood history. She has also written and produced documentaries, television series, and specials.

As a reigning expert on Tinseltown mysteries, scandals, and ghosts, Laurie appears regularly in documentaries, on television, podcasts, and radio. In 2017, the Southern California Motion Picture Council presented her with their Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding literary contributions in the entertainment industry. She and husband Jon Provost make their home in Northern California.

If you are like us, you grew up with these child stars as your idols and role models. It is so much fun reading their anecdotes and enjoying their favorite recipes!