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The Girls

From Golden to Gilmore

Published by Indigo River Publishing
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

“...the very definition of a page-turner. READ THIS BOOK!” – Colin Mochrie, “Whose Line is It Anyway?,” “Hyprov”

Featured on Watch What Happens Live! With Andy Cohen, People Magazine, Queerty Magazine, Fox Digital News, The New York Post, The Daily Mail, The Hollywood Reporter, and Out Magazine.


The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore is the story of Stan Zimmerman, a gawky Jewish boy who dreamed of becoming a wildly successful actor, rich enough to build his own mansion in the Hollywood Hills. While the actor part didn't quite pan out, Stan found success as a writer, producer, director, and playwright, working on such shows as The Golden Girls, Roseanne, and Gilmore Girls.

Growing up in a small suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Stan was surrounded by three strong, intelligent women-his mother, his grandmother, and his sister-all of whom supported his imagination and creativity. Instead of playing outside, he spent time in his basement directing and acting in plays with the neighborhood kids. At seven-and-a-half years old, he was the youngest student accepted into a prestige summer theater school program.

After high school, he was awarded a work/study scholarship to NY/Circle in the Square, where he met his first serious boyfriend and became Andy Warhol's unwitting photo subject one night at Studio 54. He also met Jim Berg, a journalism student at NYU's University Without Walls, forming a writing partnership that has continues to this day. partnership to this day. Their latest project is naturally an all-star, female ensemble Christmas comedy movie for Lifetime!

Throughout his life, most of Stan's friendships have been with females. He credits those friendships and the women in his family with his ability to connect with creative women who have played a part in his career success.

Accompanied by journal entries, The Girls details Stan's relationships with some of entertainment's most notable women, including Roseanne Barr, Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, and, of course, all four Golden Girls.

The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore is a candid, funny, and sometimes poignant testimony about how a young boy turned his dream into reality.

About The Author

Stan Zimmerman is a man of many mediums (TV, film, and theater). He's been nominated for two WGA Awards for Best Comedy Episodic Writing on the classic TV series The Golden Girls and Roseanne. Stan has also written and produced on Gilmore Girls, co created the Lifetime sitcom, Rita Rocks, and wrote on both Brady Bunch movies. Stan has a BFA in Drama from NYU/Circle in the Square and has directed such LA productions as Entertaining Mr. Sloane, A Tuna Christmas, Gemini, Pledge, Heartbreak Help, and his original plays-Meet & Greet, Knife to the Heart, and Have a Good One. Stan appeared on Broadway with Nureyev & the Joffrey Ballet and in an East Coast tour of his suicide awareness play, right before I go, with Virginia Madsen and Gilmore Girls cast members. He was the Host/Showrunner on Sean Hayes's Bravo reality show Situation: Comedy and has been seen numerous times on CNN. Stan directed Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) in Hyprov (Daryl Roth Theatre). TRW Plays recently published and licensed three of Stan's works-Yes, Virginia, Silver Foxes, and right before I go. Silver Foxes, directed by Michael Urie, had its world premiere at Dallas's Uptown Players in March 2023.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Indigo River Publishing (February 13, 2024)
  • Length: 238 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781954676619

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Raves and Reviews

“Before I ever met Stan Zimmerman, I recognized his name from the credits of my favorite show and personal obsession, ‘The Golden Girls.’ Reading his book, however, I got to learn about his fascinating life and career, which have taken him around the world and behind the scenes of some of the fiercest and most iconic television shows in history. This book is delicious–and, of course, full of juicy tidbits about my favorite Girls. Read it! Devour it like cheesecake! And enjoy it as much as I did.” – Alaska, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (Season 5, runner up), “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (Season 2, winner)

“Having been fortunate to have been directed by the fabulous Stan Zimmerman, feel even luckier to have read his book. Stories (and let’s face it, a little dirt!) about the fabulous women he has worked with, interspersed with the rollercoaster emotions of being a writer, producer, show runner in this not always appreciative business, makes this book the very definition of a page-turner. READ THIS BOOK!” – Colin Mochrie, “Whose Line is It Anyway?”, “Hyprov”

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