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MEDIA
ZONE THE MARKETING OF FRANK McCOURT by Joe Frango For Frank McCourt, nothing sells like poverty and hardship. The best-selling author of Angela's Ashes and its much-anticipated sequel, 'Tis, has turned a life of hostile circumstances into literary gold. Born in Brooklyn in 1930, the acclaimed memoirist found himself back in Limerick, Ireland at age 4, where the McCourt family stood the immigrant experience on its head and returned in search of better times. Now, at age 69, McCourt finds himself feted by an America hungry for tales of his lean years and the ethnic identity that both plagued and nourished him. His father's alcoholism and abandonment of the family, the deaths of his infant sister and twin baby brothers, the oppression of the Catholic Church and parochialism of the people of Limerick are all richly chronicled in Angela's Ashes, which catapulted him into the stratosphere of literary stardom. "I never expected the reaction it received," McCourt told the online Potpourri Magazine. "I expected the reviews to say, `an Irish book, charming and lyrical."' Instead, it garnered a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Critics Circle Award, and is now a major motion picture. 'Tis, which recounts McCourt's return to the United States, his stint in the army, and his struggle for dignity and respect in an America as abundant in debasements as delights, has also shot to the top of the New York Times Best Sellers List. An engaging wit and raconteur, McCourt navigates a busy schedule of speaking engagements, TV interviews, and book signings. With his lilting brogue and eloquently understated manner, he embodies the humility and tenacity of the immigrant spirit and its triumphant quest to realize the promise of America. But the former high school English teacher is also a media commodity, a commercial byproduct of ethnic marketing and diversity training. Ethnicity is "in" - and so is Frank McCourt. And yet the McCourt phenomenon smacks of society's fascination "with the bad old days," a time predating political correctness and a dizzying Dow Jones. That he can now cash in on his hard times as if they were a ripened stock portfolio is a peculiar commentary on opportunity in America today. McCourt's success has transformed a tragic lineage into a kind of "McCourt Inc." for family members. Frank McCourt and his three surviving brothers shared the spotlight in the HBO documentary, The McCourts of New York, and in a special segment on 60 Minutes. A play written by Frank McCourt and brother Malachy has been produced off-Broadway. And Malachy's own memoir followed on the heels of Angela's Ashes. A rollicking joyride of a spin-off, it includes an acknowledgment crediting Frank with "opening the golden door and leading the way." In 'Tis, a young Frank McCourt wonders why he cannot be known simply as an American, but must bear the dual identity of an Irish-American, with all the colorful baggage it implies. After 40 years he's found the answer: He couldn't be a celebrity without it.
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