Book by Janice Dickinson
No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel
is an
autobiography
by
fashion model
, photographer, author and
talent agent
Janice Dickinson
. It was published in hardcover format in 2002 by
ReganBooks
, an imprint of
HarperCollins
. The author's friend
make-up artist
Way Bandy
advised her to begin putting her past experiences down on paper as a form of therapy from prior trauma in her life. After gaining
sobriety
, she started compiling her notes into book format. She contacted
book publisher
Judith Regan
who agreed to help her publish her book after hearing her tale on the phone, without first seeing a writing sample. In November 2014, Dickinson asserted in an interview with
Entertainment Tonight
that pressure from
Bill Cosby
and his lawyers resulted in the removal of an account of
sexual assault
and
rape
by Cosby when she visited him at a hotel in
Lake Tahoe
, California in 1982. After Cosby's attorney disputed this account, she reappeared on the program to proclaim she was telling the truth and explained she was speaking out publicly because of a need to be heard and to represent other women who stated they experienced a similar trauma.
The book recounts Dickinson's early life where she states she experienced
child abuse
from her father, and moves forward describing her experiences throughout her career as a model. Dickinson explains her struggle with
substance dependence
upon drugs and alcohol during her career. The author discusses her time as a representative for companies including
Virginia Slims
,
Max Factor
, and
Hush Puppies
; and her success appearing on the covers of magazines including:
Vogue
,
Elle
,
Harper's Bazaar
, and
Cosmo
. While performing work as a model she takes the time to gain knowledge about the craft of photography and fashion. Dickinson describes how she originated the term "
supermodel
".
No Lifeguard on Duty
cautions about the tendency towards insecurity in celebrity culture.
No Lifeguard on Duty
received a favorable reception from multiple publications.
Film rights
to the book were purchased by
Warner Bros.
in 2004.
Women's Wear Daily
praised the author's comedic style in the work.
Knight Ridder Newspapers
wrote positively of the author's courage at describing difficult experiences from her past.
The New York Observer
found the writing style of the book to have a good flow throughout.
Publishers Weekly
wrote: "Dickinson comes across as a triumphant survivor."
[1]
Dickinson's book had a positive impact on her career. Because of reading the book,
Tyra Banks
decided to bring Dickinson on board as a judge on her new program
America's Next Top Model
in 2003. Dickinson served as a judge on the program for a total of four seasons before being replaced by
Twiggy
.
Oxygen Network
subsequently hired her for its new program centered on the author's efforts to start her own company; the program launched in 2006 titled:
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
.
Writing process
[
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]
Janice Dickinson's friend
make-up artist
Way Bandy
recommended she use the writing process to help heal from her past experiences.
[2]
She began to do so as part of her addiction recovery during a
twelve-step program
.
[2]
She put her notes down on legal pads and they became numerous over time.
[2]
By the time Dickinson began to compile her writing into book format she had become established in her career and resided in
Los Angeles
,
California
with her two children.
[3]
She started formally putting her notes together into a book after successfully gaining
sobriety
.
[3]
She got in touch with
book publisher
Judith Regan
who agreed to help her publish the book after a brief phone call, without first receiving a draft of the work.
[2]
[4]
In an interview with
Los Angeles Magazine
, Dickinson recalled the process of pitching her book to Regan: "I got a book deal without even turning in one shred of a writing sample. I was having an invincible moment. I told her how difficult it was for me growing up with an abusive father, how when I went to New York to become a model I was rejected for a year for being 'too ethnic.' Judith said, 'Okay, I'm in.'"
[4]
Janice Dickinson
in 2014
The author explained to
Los Angeles Magazine
her reasoning for including in the book a graphic phrase used by
Jack Nicholson
after his lovemaking session with her: "The reason that line made the book is because he told me not to say anything. And I will never, ever respond to anybody?man, woman, vegetable, or mineral?who tells me to keep my mouth shut. Alter what I've been through, I don't think so, pal."
[4]
Dickinson explained in an interview that she authored the work to communicate to others to publicly reveal their past negative experiences as a way to heal from trauma.
[2]
She stated: "I wrote this book to urge people not to keep secrets. I still suffer. The memories are still vivid. I made a lot of mistakes. I was shaped by my mistakes. But the past is done. The future's up to me."
[2]
Contents summary
[
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]
Janice Dickinson
describes her early life where she suffered
child abuse
and
physical abuse
at the hands of her father.
[2]
[3]
She writes that her three sisters and mother also experienced abuse from her father.
[2]
She recounts her ups and downs during her career while finding success in the fashion industry.
[1]
She emphasizes how bravery is important to success, and explains how she remained firm on her request for
US$
20,000 for a modeling position when the market figure at the time was only $5,000.
[1]
Throughout the process she experiences emotional pain from relationships that lack depth, and learns for herself about the harms of
substance dependence
.
[1]
Incidents related to her drug addiction problems include ingesting
heroin
from
Gia Carangi
prior to a photography session in
Italy
, and an experience in a state of
alcohol intoxication
falling off a
fashion runway
for
Valentino Garavani
and landing upon
Sophia Loren
.
[2]
The author discusses her time as a representative for companies including
Virginia Slims
,
Max Factor
, and
Hush Puppies
.
[1]
She writes of her success appearing on the covers of magazines including:
Vogue
,
Elle
,
Harper's Bazaar
, and
Cosmo
.
[2]
Professional photographers including
Francesco Scavullo
,
Norman Parkinson
,
Irving Penn
,
Richard Avedon
,
Peter Beard
, and
Michael Reinhardt
work with her in
photoshoots
.
[2]
While performing work as a model she takes the time to gain knowledge about the craft of photography and fashion.
[1]
In the book she asserts that her experiences helped influence models who came after her including
Cindy Crawford
and
Christy Turlington
.
[4]
She writes that she was the first to use the term "
supermodel
" and refers to herself as such.
[4]
She recounts a particular exchange with her agent Monique Pillard who asked her: "Janice, you are working night and day. Who do you think you are, superman?"
[5]
Dickinson responded: "No, honey. I'm supermodel."
[5]
[6]
Dickinson remembers relationships with fellow celebrities including
Sylvester Stallone
,
Liam Neeson
,
Warren Beatty
,
Mick Jagger
, and
Jack Nicholson
.
[1]
She enjoys her celebrity status and her time with friends
John Belushi
,
Truman Capote
, and
Andy Warhol
.
[4]
Belushi and Dickinson enable each other's predilections for abusing drugs.
[7]
She regularly spends time at
Studio 54
during this period.
[4]
Dickinson recounts a darker side of celebrity, and writes that she trusted in
Bill Cosby
when he informed her he could help her career in
show business
, only to experience verbal anger from him when she said she was too tired to engage in sexual activity with him.
[7]
She was supported during her career by her friendship with actor
Bruce Willis
and her positive connections with her sisters.
[1]
She reflects on the nature of her marriages and looks back on her prior self-indulgent lifestyle.
[1]
She explains to the reader how personal achievement may result from the allure of success, and simultaneously cautions against harmful byproducts of behavioral insecurity inherent in the mystique of celebrity.
[1]
Publication history
[
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]
The book was published in hardcover format by
HarperCollins
in 2002 under its imprint
ReganBooks
in the United States.
[8]
[9]
Another edition was released the same year in the United Kingdom.
[10]
The book was re-published in both formats in 2003, with a new cover.
[11]
[12]
ReganBooks released a subsequent edition in 2004 with a third cover re-design.
[13]
HarperCollins published
eBook
formats of the work in 2007 and 2008.
[14]
[15]
Three editions of the book were published under its third cover design in 2009.
[16]
[17]
[18]
Warner Bros.
purchased the
film rights
to the book in 2004.
[19]
Dickinson subsequently turned her works into a
trilogy
of three books.
[20]
She followed up on
No Lifeguard on Duty
with
Everything About Me Is Fake – And I'm Perfect
in 2004,
[21]
[22]
and
Check, Please! – Dating, Mating, and Extricating
in 2006.
[23]
Reception
[
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]
After reading
No Lifeguard on Duty
,
Tyra Banks
decided to make Janice Dickinson a judge on her television program
America's Next Top Model
.
[24]
No Lifeguard on Duty
received a favorable review from
Publishers Weekly
.
[1]
The review concluded: "The book is sometimes predictable and psychologically simplistic, but Dickinson comes across as a triumphant survivor. Her willingness to recognize her own flaws makes it easy to relate to her positive message and should inspire readers searching for solutions to career and personal conflicts."
[1]
The review praised the author's ability at being: "honest enough to acknowledge the stimulating aspects of success and glamour, explaining why they lure insecure personalities and imprison them past the point of no return."
[25]
Women's Wear Daily
reviewed the book and wrote: "What keeps the book from becoming too tawdry is Dickinson's sense of humor. She applies a healthy dose to both her conquests and disaster's alike."
[3]
[25]
In a 2002 article,
Knight Ridder Newspapers
characterized the book as: "a brave, profane memoir of her escape from childhood abuse into the even more risky whirl of bright lights, big cities and spiraling self-destruction."
[2]
A subsequent article in 2003 by Knight Ridder Newspapers wrote: "what makes Dickinson's tome stand out from all the other Hollywood memoirs is that she has a cheeky sense of humor about her self-absorption."
[26]
Philip Weiss
of
The New York Observer
wrote: "I read
No Lifeguard on Duty
at once and wasn't disappointed. Janice Dickinson is a funny and fluid narrator."
[7]
Of the author's path to success recounted in the book, the
International Herald Tribune
wrote: "Janice Dickinson had a cometlike trajectory as an early supermodel in the 1980s, which she has recounted in her raunchy life story".
[27]
Impact
[
edit
]
While reading Dickinson's book,
English
novelist
Jackie Collins
ran into the author at a bookstore and asked the fellow author to lunch to discuss their mutual experiences.
[28]
Janice Dickinson landed a television role as a judge on the program
America's Next Top Model
due to
No Lifeguard on Duty
.
[24]
Show creator
Tyra Banks
explained to
The Boston Herald
her decision process: "The reason why I hired Janice Dickinson is because I read her book (
No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel
), and that book represented every single thing that I have never done. Every single thing that I have never experienced."
[24]
Banks elaborated that she wanted a judge on the program that had gone through issues in her modeling career that she herself had not: "I sit all the time and talk to girls and say, 'Don't drink. Don't smoke. Don't go out. Don't do this. I never did it.' But there's only so much you can preach to someone if you've never done it. I thought I could have someone like Janice because she's so outrageous."
[24]
Banks stated that she thought Dickinson provided a warning to models not to follow the path she had taken because it had proved dangerous:" When she's telling a girl, 'Don't do this,' she's saying, 'Don't do this because it didn't work for me.' I thought it was a good balance."
[24]
After serving as a judge on the program for four seasons, Dickinson's spot was filled with
Twiggy Lawson
in 2005 for the show's fifth season.
[29]
[30]
In December of the same year,
Oxygen Network
hired Dickinson for its new reality modeling television program which at the time was initially titled
The Janice Dickinson Project
.
[31]
It centered on her efforts to launch her own business with a modeling agency.
[31]
Her television show launched in 2006, titled:
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
.
[32]
In a November 18, 2014 interview with Dickinson on
Entertainment Tonight
, she stated the initial version of
No Lifeguard on Duty
was different from what became the final published product.
[33]
[34]
[35]
Dickinson said she wrote about a traumatic experience where she said
Bill Cosby
sexually assaulted
her in 1982 at a hotel in
Lake Tahoe
, California.
[33]
[34]
[36]
She stated that Cosby supplied her with
red wine
and then medicated her with drugs and subsequently
raped
her at the hotel.
[34]
[35]
[37]
According to Dickinson, both Cosby himself and his attorneys persuaded the author and her publisher HarperCollins to delete mention of the incident from her book prior to publication.
[33]
A few hours after the interview was publicized on
Entertainment Tonight
,
Netflix
made the decision to postpone its Cosby comedy film special
Bill Cosby 77
from its lineup.
[33]
[38]
Martin Singer, an attorney representing Cosby, made a statement in which he asserted Dickinson was not being truthful in her account.
[34]
[35]
After Singer's statement, Dickinson reappeared on a subsequent broadcast of
Entertainment Tonight
to reassert her account from her prior interview on the program.
[39]
In addition, she publicized photographs she took with a
Polaroid camera
of Cosby wearing a checkered bathrobe in order to support her assertions.
[40]
In the interview with
Kevin Frazier
she stated her account was the truth: "It is not a lie. It is my right as a woman. I have to speak up and you have to be able to go in and just be brave and do it for all the women that can't come forward."
[39]
She explained her motivation for going public and her desire for her voice to be heard: "The loss of innocence that I suffered and that these women suffered is why I'm sitting here today. And I don't care about what Cosby or networks or anybody says, you will hear me."
[39]
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
References
[
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]
- "Rants and raves".
The Advocate
. November 12, 2002.
ISSN
0001-8996
.
- Amatangelo, Amy (September 22, 2004). "Runway roulette; Tyra Banks dishes on new season of 'America's Next Top Model'
".
The Boston Herald
.
- "Ex-'Top Model' Judge Dickinson Gets Series".
Associated Press
. December 28, 2005.
- AP Worldstream (May 27, 2005). "Janice Dickinson gone from next 'Top Model'
".
Associated Press
.
- Bauder, David; Lynn Elber (November 18, 2014). "Model-TV Host Dickinson Accuses Cosby of Assault".
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
.
Associated Press
.
- Bueno, Antoinette (November 18, 2014).
"Exclusive: Janice Dickinson Details Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Accusations: He Raped Me"
.
Entertainment Tonight
. Archived from
the original
on November 22, 2014
. Retrieved
November 22,
2014
.
- "Janice sashays away from 'America's Next Top Model'
".
Chicago Sun-Times
. May 28, 2005.
- Carter, Bill (November 20, 2014).
"Comeback by Bill Cosby Unravels as Rape Claims Re-emerge"
.
The New York Times
. p. A1.
- Chow, Emily; Mitch Rubin; Caitlin Moore; Veronica Toney; Chloe Coleman; Anne Farrar (November 22, 2014).
"Timeline: Bill Cosby"
.
The Washington Post
.
- "Dickinson, Janice 1955?".
Contemporary Authors
.
Gale
. January 1, 2004.
- Elber, Lynn (November 20, 2014). "Netflix Postpones Launch of Cosby Comedy Special".
Daily Herald
. Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Associated Press
.
- Ferrara, Miranda Herbert, ed. (2004). "Dickinson, Janice".
The Writers Directory 2005
.
St. James Press
.
ISBN
978-1558625143
.
OCLC
58973776
.
- Fitchett, Joseph (October 3, 2002). "The Global Class: Runway Vamp".
International Herald Tribune
.
- Fitchtner, Margaria (August 31, 2002). "Supermodel Janice Dickinson tells all about her rise to fame".
The Miami Herald
.
Knight Ridder Newspapers
.
- Roig-Franzia, Manuel;
Scott Higham
; Paul Farhi;
Mary Pat Flaherty
(November 22, 2014).
"Bill Cosby's legacy, recast: Accusers speak in detail about sexual-assault allegations"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
November 23,
2014
.
- Frazier, Kevin
;
Nancy O'Dell
(November 19, 2014).
"Exclusive: Janice Dickinson on Bill Cosby Accusation: 'It Is Not A Lie'
"
.
Entertainment Tonight
. Archived from
the original
on November 22, 2014
. Retrieved
November 22,
2014
.
- Hammer, A.J.
;
Brooke Anderson
(hosts) (June 5, 2006). "
'The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency' Reality Show".
CNN
– via
NewsBank
.
- Kerwin, Jessica (August 23, 2002). "Girl gone wild".
Women's Wear Daily
.
ISSN
0043-7581
.
- Kresse, Jim (September 14, 2002). "Author finds patriotism a bit 'promiscuous'
".
The Spokesman-Review
. Spokane, Washington.
- Mackenzie, Drew (May 23, 2004). "Delish Dickinson rates Hollywood lovers".
The Boston Herald
.
- Perry, Douglas (July 23, 2003). "Move over, Simon Cowell ... here's Janice Dickinson".
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
.
Knight Ridder Newspapers
.
- "Nonfiction Book Review: No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel"
.
Publishers Weekly
. August 2002. Archived from
the original
on November 21, 2014
. Retrieved
November 21,
2014
.
- Schoenberg, Nara (September 5, 2002). "
'70s supermodel tells how she overcame addiction, abuse".
Chicago Tribune
.
- Sedensky, Matt; David Bauder. "Florida woman latest to accuse Cosby of forced sex".
Associated Press
.
- Wallace, Amy (September 1, 2002). "Wild thing: supermodel Janice Dickinson bares it all".
Los Angeles Magazine
.
- Weiss, Philip
(September 9, 2002). "Interview With the Vamp ? TheFrontPage".
The New York Observer
.
- "Fashion scoops: Early-bird special...crossoverappeal...the show must go on ? Three's a crowd".
Women's Wear Daily
. September 16, 2003.
ISSN
0043-7581
.
Further reading
[
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]
External links
[
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]