OFFSCRIPT | A BOOK BY LARRY J. NAMER

WELCOME

AUTHOR

You probably know me as the guy who co-founded E! Entertainment Television. (Yeah, that E!) But my adventures in media go way beyond celebrity gossip and red carpets. My friend and partner, Alan Mruvka, and I were told over and over again that regular guys like us couldn't start a TV network. "Only big media companies can do that," they said. Well, we weren't smart enough to listen, and now E! (which we first called Movietime) is in over 140 countries and arguably the biggest influencer of pop culture on the planet. But getting there? Let's just say it wasn't all champagne wishes and caviar dreams. I started out in Coney Island, Brooklyn, back when it was just a place where regular folks lived, not the hipster haven it is today. First in my family to graduate college (rocking a solid C average, mind you), I couldn't land a decent job. So, I figured I'd take a temporary gig – a friend of a friend got me into the electrical workers union, and next thing I know, I'm an assistant underground splicer making $90 a week. Yep, that meant working in the sewers with the rats and roaches. Talk about starting at the bottom! But hey, it was all up from there. Director of Operations at Manhattan Cable, VP and General Manager of Valley Cable in Los Angeles (the first 61-channel interactive cable network in the US), founding E!, building media companies in Russia and China... and now, after riding out the pandemic back in the US, I'm cooking up some exciting new media ventures. Speaking of cooking... that's how I stay sane! Never been to therapy, but give me a kitchen and some fresh ingredients, and I'm in my happy place. It's my form of meditation – and a whole lot tastier than sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat!

THE BOOK

For decades, people have been telling me to write a book. "You've got stories to tell, Larry!" they'd say. But I always resisted. In my mind, I wasn't done yet. I still wake up every morning buzzing with new ideas and raring to go. But then it hit me: why not combine my rather offscript, unconventional journey in business with my lifelong passion for cooking? So, that's exactly what I did. I took my life story, chopped it up into bite-sized pieces (pun intended!), and sprinkled in the recipes that inspired me along the way. The result? A book that's part memoir, part cookbook, and 100% Larry Namer. It's the story of how a kid from the streets of Brooklyn managed to build businesses around the world, all while cooking his way to the top. Consider it my recipe for success – with a few unexpected ingredients thrown in for good measure. And if you are wondering, no, I am not a vegan!