Up With the Sun: A novel

A look back at the life of a little-known, C-list celebrity striver who met a bad end in New York City in the 1980s.

Dick Kallman was an up-and-coming actoruntil he wasnt. From co-starring in Broadway shows, to becoming part of Lucille Balls historic Desilu workshop, and then finally landing his own short-lived primetime TV series, Dicks star was clearly on the rise. But his roles began to dry up and he faded from the spotlight - until his sensational murder in 1980. Told from the perspective of Matt Liannetto, Dicks occasional pianist and longtime acquaintance, we see the full story of Dicks life and death. Liannetto is a talented journeyman pianist, often on the fringes of Broadway historys most important moments. Hes also a gay man who grew up in an era when that sort of information was closely held, and he struggles with accepting the rapid changes happening in the world around him.
 
Up With The Sun takes readers on a journey that spans more than thirty years, from the studio lots and rehearsal sets of the 1950s to the seedy streets of 1970s Manhattan. It is a busy, bustling world, peopled by a captivating cast of characters all clamoring for a sliver of the limelight. Readers will bump elbows with Sophie Tucker and gossip about Rock Hudson during intermission at Judy Garlands comeback show. Newsweek has called Mallon a "master of the historical novel," and here he proves himself a veteran of the genre, doing what he does best: conjuring figures from history who feel real enough to walk right off the page. This is a crime story, a showbiz story, a love story, and a deeply moving story about a series of pivotal moments in the history of gay life in the post-war era.
 
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