Entertainers: The Loner

Nearly everyone has heard of Rod McKuen: he has written 900 songs that have been recorded by other people and sold more than 50 million records; his three books of poetry have sold more than a million copies. In his gritty wreck of a voice, he has recorded 35 albums of his own songs, and last year he wrote the scores for two movies. It was not until last week, though, that McKuen got that ultimate symbol of success: his own TV special, a one-man show on NBC, called "Rod McKuen: The Loner."

McKuen's absence from the TV screen until then...

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