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On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, Ramon Hervey II shares details of his new book, The Fame Game: An Insider’s Playbook for Earning Your 15 Minutes.
The Fame Game
In The Fame Game: An Insider’s Playbook for Earning Your 15 Minutes (Amistad; August 16, 2022; Hardcover; ISBN-13: 9780063275850), Ramon Hervey II presents a fascinating, informative, star-studded retrospective of his career representing an impressive roster of famous people in music (like Paul McCartney, The Jacksons and The Commodores with Lionel Richie), film (like James Caan and Nick Nolte) and pop culture (ex-wife, Vanessa Williams) from the ‘70s to today — and the challenges he overcame to compete, achieve success and earn respect as a Black professional in a white dominated industry.
The book is his unique story as a collaborator in the rise of prominent Black and white entertainers in the 20th and 21st centuries. Along with an insider’s glimpse of their career journeys, he offers his perspective and philosophy on fame, historical context and invaluable lessons he learned. He recounts:
– His first interactions with famous people, from Miles Davis to Shirley MacLaine, while living in London and working as a flight attendant on Pan Am Airways — as one of the first Black males hired as a steward in the early ‘70s.
– His early days as a publicist for Motown Records, when Berry Gordy’s label featured superstars like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson, among others.
– How he earned his stripes working at entertainment public relations powerhouse Rogers & Cowan, and confronted racism while representing top talents, including serving as the exclusive account executive for rising comic star Richard Pryor.
– How he brokered the groundbreaking deal for Pryor’s landmark live concert film and dealt with the comedian’s uncensored self-destructive streak, culminating with the infamous freebasing cocaine “explosion,” which nearly cost Pryor his life.
– Why he made the leap from PR to personal manager and brand consultant, embarking on his own as an entrepreneur in the mid-80s, and tapped into his superpowers: a calming style and knack for seeing the potential in talented folks.
– How he turned crises into gold, starting with the Bee Gees, who were accused on the cover of Jet of getting rich on Black music. His fix: forging a high-profile charitable collaboration between the brothers Gibb and Coretta Scott King.
– One of his crowning achievements: orchestrating Vanessa Williams’ rebound from scandal to superstar. He reveals dramatic details of the frenzied press conference where, fueled by the revelation that Penthouse was set to publish nude photos of her, the first Black Miss America defied expectations and, at the last minute, surrendered her crown. As Williams’ manager, Hervey secured the inclusion of her hit song “Colors of the Wind” in Disney’s Pocahontas, which she performed at the Oscars. Hervey also shares snippets of their tumultuous love story and raising three children together.
– His rewarding work with Bette Midler, including how he catapulted the singing sensation into a New York Times bestselling author; composer Quincy Jones on The Wiz, starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross; and a long list of famous people, from Little Richard to Rick James, from Muhammad Ali to Caitlyn Jenner.
Hervey also shares his 13 “Tenets of Fame” (No.1: Fame is not a destination — it’s an accolade.) and his thoughts on our insatiable obsession with celebrity culture, with attention to the impact of social media platforms. The Fame Game is a must-read for anyone determined to become famous.
Ramon Hervey II
Ramon Hervey II has earned global recognition for his work as an entertainment manager, brand consultant and public relations specialist.
Since founding and launching Hervey & Company as a multi-faceted boutique entertainment firm, he has represented a diverse and impressive roster of entertainers across a wide spectrum of contemporary music genres, including pop/rock, rhythm and blues, hip-hop, jazz, and gospel.
He has also served as an executive producer for several films, television shows and live events, including the Peabody Award-winning documentary Chisholm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed and the anniversary album NBA AT 50, and was a music supervisor for the NAACP Award-winning film, Free Angela and All Political Prisoners.
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