Narrator Takes Name off Mickey Mantle Audiobook
By Kevin Howell -- Publishers Weekly, 5/14/2007 12:52:00 PM
The strange back story surrounding publication of Peter Golenbock’s 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel took another twist this week when Michael Viner’s Phoenix Audio released the unabridged audiobook version--the narrator's real name does not appear on the product. The reading is credited to Alan Smithee, a well-known pseudonym that has been used in Hollywood for nearly 40 years by film directors who wanted their names removed from productions they didn’t want to be associated with. "Smithee" is actually the fourth narrator that Phoenix Audio approached about reading the book."The first two actors that read the manuscript turned it down because of its sexually explicit nature," said Henrietta Tiefenthaler, Phoenix Audio’s head of production. "The third, John Larroquette, began recording and, half way through the book, he decided it was not a project he wanted to have his name attached to. A fourth person was hired and completed the book without credit. I think it was his agent’s idea to do it anonymously."
Despite the setbacks, the audio’s production was speedy. "We approached Lyons Press when they picked up the novel after ReganBooks cancelled it," said Tiefenthaler. "We inquired about audio rights around March 7th and signed a contract about a week later and six weeks later it's out. We didn’t want to pull out because we didn’t think the book was gratuitously shocking. It's really well written and Peter Golenbock is well regarded in the sports arena."
Phoenix Audio has high hopes for the audiobook. The 9-disk audiobook’s initial printing of 2,000 copies is double the company’s normal initial print run. "Even though he is not credited, the reader did an excellent job," said Tiefenthaler. "We think it's one of the best, and most professional, recordings of the year."
Golenbock’s troubled novel—which features a fictional, alcohol-fueled sexual encounter between the baseball legend and Marilyn Monroe in which Mantle prematurely ejaculates and pronounces Marilyn "a lousy lay"—was dropped by its original publisher, ReganBooks after the company ousted head Judith Regan. Lyons Press picked up the title two months later.
When the hardcover was released last month, the press announced a 250,000-copy first printing and a $150,000 promotion/publicity budget. Figures from Nielsen BookScan show the novel has sold 3,000 copies since its April release. PW’s review said, "This book would make Henry Miller blush."
