My 50 Years in Hollywood:  The Story of a 22 Year Old
358736
My 50 years is an entertaining, candid and very funny insight into the Hollywood that most do not hear about.  The author's quirky stories make for a very fun, fast read that will have you smiling and laughing along the way.  In addition, the author's juxtaposition of the old Hollywood 50 years ago versus the Hollywood of today augments the protagonist's growth and maturing process throughout the book.  I recommend this book to anybody, adolescent to adult, who is looking for a light, fun but meaningful journey through an atypical life in Hollywood.
3398181
Colleen Moore was a big star in the late silent era, but today few of her films are accessible and not many books outline her career. My own familiarity with her comes as much from her participation in Kevin Brownlow's Hollywood documentary series as her stardom in the 20s. In the documentary she comes off as bubbly, cute, and friendly so I was naturally interested in reading her autobiography.

Her personality shines through in these pages, although she is somewhat sparse with details about her personal life, especially after she divorces John, the man who inspired the character Norman Mayne in A Star is Born. However, Moore loves talking about her fellow actors and there are lots of interesting stories, many of which I've never seen duplicated in other books. She certainly has a lot of opinions about these people, some which have since been proven otherwise as in such controversial issues like John Gilbert's fall from fame and the William Desmond Taylor murder. (Curiously, Moore is mentioned in A Cast of Killers, the story of director King Vidor's search for the truth, but not here. She was dating Vidor at the time and got constant updates on his research.)

This book was published in 1968, so a lot has changed since then, and Moore's occasional updates on what her friends are doing "now" are no longer accurate. But as this is a remembrance of an era before Colleen Moore was a "private" person, these minor discrepancies don't affect the reading.
4638450
I enjoyed this book immensely, probably one of the best books on Hollywood, its movies and actors. I loved Mr. DiLeo's frankness on the movies and actors. It reminded me of sitting around a table discussing a movie. A wonderful book!
509809
BEVERLY HILLS --When famed author John O'Dowd who published the definitive book on actress Barbara Payton gifted me with "Reel Tears: The Beverly Washburn Story" I found myself clutching to the book during every waking hour once I started reading it. I did not sleep the night that I read it; I found it so captivating, honest and Washburn's autobiographical style of writing makes you feel like you are reliving the golden era of Hollywood during the 1950s and `60s. Tony Dow pens the foreword and it is about the life and career of a woman who was once considered the most beloved and talented child star in television history.

Before Washburn came Shirley Temple, another Hollywood icon who won the hearts of millions when she was a curly-haired little girl at Twentieth Century Fox, my favorite studio for selfish reasons of course. "Reel Tears" gave me genuine tears of delight. A woman who made us fall in love with her during her youth did such an amazing job as an author that you forget she's actually telling her story and you feel like you are transported to another time.

Ms. Washburn was perhaps Hollywood's most noticeable family child star in our youth. She was best known as a consummate professional performer who worked with one of many of our favorite stars of the time. We shared a personal friendship with Loretta Young, but Beverly managed to work with her on the set of "The Loretta Young Show," which today is on DVD around the world. Beverly Washburn also worked with Tony Dow, the legendary Kirk Douglas, Jack Benny, George Reeves [Superman], Lou Costello, Bill Bixby, Alan Ladd and Dorothy McGuire, just to name a few.

In "Old Yeller" I never saw a young girl cry so much. I remember that film like it was yesterday. Washburn became famous in Hollywood for being able to cry on cue, but her book is not filled with dirty stories from past icons or sex talk. It's filled with amazing memories, and her style of writing forces the mind to imagine clearly and while reading the book you say to yourself, "I am living this." Her book is like a dream, but the best dream you can ever have. You remember it when you wake up, but you can't grasp the vivid nature you feel you are given with great descriptive skills which no one realized Ms. Washburn was capable of sharing and putting on the pages.

Working with Jimmy Stewart in "The Greatest Show on Earth" meant a lot to the star, but her tales of Clayton Moore and working on "The Lone Ranger" makes every man my age long for those days of the classic westerns. Beverly worked on perhaps one of the top five westerns of cinematic history when she starred opposite Alan Ladd in "Shane." That film broke the box office at the time and forced western writers and directors to produce a more accurate depiction of westerns and like most of her films, in that one she cried on cue again.

"Reel Tears: The Beverly Washburn Story" is one of the best star autobiographies I've ever read and one that I hope will become a feature film. It was refreshing to find a child star who did manage to have a career and come out unscathed, but it's very honest and something that makes her readers think about the difficulties this business can create.

This is a must-read that is published by Bear Manor and is available nationwide in bookstores and Amazon.com.

 Copyright 2007 by [...]
2719987
Very interesting life of a woman who wanted to be an actress, but since that didn't pan out became an agent to actors in a business that she loved.
Sure, she was aggresive and salty, but she had to be in a business dominated by only men at the time.  She flourished when movies were driven by characters and plot, mainly the 60's & 70's.  Things started to deteriorate for her when all movies had to be blockbusters like Star Wars and became franchises expected to make big money every time.  Sue had her faults, but she certainly loved actors and the movie business.  Well
written, fascinating book about a woman born in Germany who became a talent agent to major movie stars in the US at a time when very exciting,
non-formulaic movies were being made.
340567
Tab Hunter's telling of his early life; Catholic upbringing, his stern German mother, his alcoholic father and his older brother are interesting and engaging.  Having only vaguely remembered his actual movie roles, I was curious about his reputation as a gay man in an era much different from today in light of society's current acceptance of alternative life styles.  Mr. Hunter portrays his sensitivity to doing the right thing, his professional and personal struggles along with the lifestyles in Hollywood, the impact of other professionals on his life and career.  Well written.
4889305
A good book if you are in to the Hollywood life of movies star's and their family.
3834223
For generations of movie goers Cary Grant represented the glamour and glory of Hollywood mega-stardom. Grant (1904-1986) was the Bristol born son of a alduterous father and a mother who spent most of her years in an insane asylum (Cary thought for years that she was dead!).

  Eliot spins the tale of the acrobatic Grant who left Britain for the golden dream of America. Along the way he starred in 73 movies including many classics. My favortie parts of the book deal with his work on such Hitchcock classics as "Suspicion:;

"Notorious"; "To Catch a Thief" and "Morth by Northwest". Grant

worked well with the best female stars in light comedy such as

Irene Dunne, Katherine Hepburn and the luminous Carole Lombard.

  Grant had a quintet of wives: Virginia Cherrill; Barbara Hutton; Betsy Drake; Dyan Cannon and Barbara Harris. His daughter Jennifer was the product of his short marriage to Cannon.

  Grant lived for years with Randolph Scott and was clearly bisexual.

  Cary enjoyed racing, saving his money and being well dressed.

He also enjoyed countless amours with very young women.

  Grant was not the perfection of manhood seen on the screen but a man with many personal problems from LSD use to contemplated suicide.

  Eliot writes with verve and in a matter of fact manner making no authorial moral judgments on the boy from Bristol.

  As long as movies exist so will the stardom of Cary Grant.

Marc Eliot's biography stands as the definitive account of the actor's life. It is well worth the time of those interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood. It is chock full of telling anecdotes about Grant and his peers. Recommended!
3758099
I discovered this book after stumbling on a 1978 TV interview of Ann Southern and Tisha Sterling on Youtube.  It is not a tell-all Hollywood memoir motivated by jealousy and revenge, although it does shed additional light on the plight of female stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood and their relationship with their children explored in the FMX series "Feud." Unlike Christina Crawford or B.D. Davis, however, Tish Sterling had what it takes to become a star. Early in her career she was courted by television and Hollywood. She owns the mistakes and personal flaws that were responsible for wasting her golden opportunities, but also stresses the importance of the lessons learned from them.

In this and in her compassion and resolve to remember the good and heal the bad in her relationship with a famous mother, her memoir is closer to Carry Fisher's  Wishful Drinking and Post Cards from the Edge. It's a similar story, simply and honestly told, about how hereditary factors and a disfunctional family dynamic can be tragically amplified by a combination of personal circumstances, larger social forces, and changes in the entertainment industries of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Anyone interested in the history of woman in Hollywood and television, the Sixties, and the part family history plays in patterns of addiction and recovery should find this book a very interesting read.
4578379
A very, very interesting book. His life was almost unbelievable. It's hard to believe that I had never heard of him before and I used to follow all the Hollywood names when I was growing up.
3010461
In the sixties Ingrid and her family moved in USA from Germany. Ingrid is sixteen years old, but with fake documents and her tall body she is looking as grown up. On her teenage state she experiences more than ever can experience on teenager. There are good and bad, twists and turns, but with all those things she becomes one strong person with one to get back in Germany. After Los Vegas she moved in New York and meets some special for her. His name is David. David wants to build the business in New York, but as Ingrid says:That was New York. You either beat it, or city beat you.
Whether she returns in Germany or she will switch her wish with another one?
This book makes me to believe that Im in USA in sixties and seventies, when hippie movement is in began to develop. I love the hippie movement, their ideals and their style (or no style) in every part of their life: in fashion and hair style and how they lived their lives. Besides there is Elvis Presley and all singing and movie star from this age. I like Elvis songs and movies, so considering that he is shows up here I like this book too.
Ingrid is young girl, who just wants to live her life that she knows, back in Germany chatting and hanging up with her best friend. But her parents moved their family in USA for better life and all those kids ideas for life are despaired for Ingrid. In USA she had some big changes and turns which makes her to grow up faster and on her teenage she become woman. The author describes Ingrids life and all those things which happen to her with dialogues then with her own thoughts and feelings.
There is more action, dialogues, then thinking and reasoning things. I like the age that is describe in book, then I like descriptions of Ingrid, how she grows and is self person.
142472
Melissa Gilbert has had a full rich life. For the most part this biography is without malice. She did say some less then kind things about Melissa Anderson. Melissa's book is a Hollywood story. An adopted child who was adopted by people with in the Hollywood industry. She was a shoe in for the part of Laura Ingalls Wilder. This part has occupied a great deal of her life. She is now playing the part of Ma in a musical stage version going around the country.
She worked very hard as a child. Not only was she on Little House but she remade some pretty good movies. Splendor in the Grass, The Diary of Anne Frank and The Miracle Worker were all made during the Little House run which occupied 10 years of her life. She tried to find her real parents and could only find her biological father as her biological mother had passed. The fact that she was given up for adoption is disturbing to her. She also has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood such as George C Scott. She was never accepted in theatrical films but has made many worth while life time movies. Her relationship with Michael Landon is talked about. Her Mother did not want her to write about her life. Which makes you wonder how much she didn't talk about her childhood with her mother. She tried drugs but became dependent on alcohol. Now in AA, Melissa admits to her alcoholism. We know that alcoholism is a disease. All in all a very good biography. We could have done without the put downs to Melissa Anderson. That was something she should have left out.
4257062
I received this book free from the publisher, in exchange for writing an honest review.

I've always been intrigued by the "Golden Age" of Hollywood, with its elegant stars and well written movies.  I often compare today's stars with their sloppy sweat pants, public meltdowns and drunken photos in the gossip columns to the always-well-turned-out stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Clark Gable.  What I didn't fully realize is that movie stars have always been normal humans; their personal lives and reputations just had the protection of the police, paparazzi and publicists.  There was a lot of bed hopping, back stabbing and drug use from the earliest days of Hollywood.  I was especially intrigued by the way the Mafia was connected to so many of the actors.

Dina Di Mambro's True Hollywood Noir gives an in-depth look at the lives and deaths of a dozen stars from the 20s to the 80s - William Desmond Taylor, Thomas Ince, Jean Harlow, Thelma Todd, Joan Bennett, Lana Turner, George Reeves, Gig Young, Bob Crane, Natalie Wood, Robert Blake, and Mickey Cohen.  There are many great photos included in the book, some of them never released before.

All of these stars (or their victims) died in questionable circumstances, although they were often passed off as suicides or accidents.  In the decades before DNA forensics, there often wasn't a way to prove the cause of death, and with police being paid off and publicists scrubbing crime scenes before the officials arrived, some of these deaths will never be explained.

This book could have used a good editor, to tighten up some of the repetition and poorly constructed sentences.  But the subject of mysterious celebrity deaths and the inside scoop on how intertwined the stars' lives were overcomes the editing shortcomings.
4491164
The pictures in two photo sections tell the whole story of Gordon, Sheila and family.  I have selected some interesting items about Hollywood instead of the typical movie couple in the Fifties.  He made four movies with DoDo Day: "Tea for Two", "The West Point Story," "On Moonlight Bay," and "By The Light of the Silvery Moon."  She was a bit old for the perrenial boyish MacRae.  They were asked to pose for an Easter Seals poster with some 'handicapped' children.  She refused on religious grounds that she was a "Christian Scientist and they don't believe in cripples."  (Hear that, Wink M.)  Gordon was insulted and cursed this Girl-next-door character "She's giving my religion a bad name."  Oh well, in her older years, she always had to be filmed through a special filter to obliterate her wrinkles and aging process, the big phony.  I loved Gordon in "Carousel" and "Oklahoma."  He was fabulous and such a good singer.

Movies are tricks of the eyes and the makeup artists.  There's a quirk in how we see that allows a series of still pictures to spring into motion.  In pursuit of that optical illusion, fortunes have been made; lives devoted to it, and some ruined.  The trouble was if you couldn't tell what was 'legerdemain' and what was 'real,' (magician from the magic); Sheila appeared as the magician's assistant and eventually got to know all the tricks.

They were in Hollywood during the blacklisting and has some interesting things to reveal about the prophetic Ronald Reagan.  Also, when she was named as "Mother of the Year" her marriage was a shambles and they were on the verge of a divorce.  Sounds like Debbie and Eddie, a typical Hollywood couple.  Of all her affairs, I was shocked that Frank Sinatra was one!  She had moved here from England and kept a tinge of the British accent; I guess that's what intrigued him as I don't think it was her singing.  She was pretty and talented during the Sixties, but after the divorce, things went downhill for them both.  Such is life, but especially for the woman.
2671758
This is a great read from start to finish. Jim Clark's memoir spans early days as a trainee at Ealing Studios to editing big blockbusters and working with great directors. It contains no-holds-barred revelations of the politics and characters behind the movies and gives a great insight on what it is really like to work on a movie and how it can also affect your personal life. You do not have to be working in the film industry to enjoy this book, I would recommend it to any one interested in cinema.
3667580
Reading this book was like losing myself in an old movie from the 30's or 40's - - - but seeing behind the scenes.  This isn't a mystery, it isn't a romance, it isn't just chick lit - - it's a good, old-fashioned STORY!  For me, it was a delightful escape to a bygone era of perceived glamour - and what happens in real life to the glamourous people.

Elsa Emerson wanted to be an actress from the time she was a child and acted in her parents Wisconson theatre.  She married as much  for a way to leave Wisconsin as for love but her dreams of being in the movies were put on hold when she had children.  When Elsa is 'discovered', she's christened Laura Lamont - - and goes on to become a famous actress and movie star.  The book takes a look at what goes on in real life for the glamourous stars.  Some of the characters were thinly veiled portrayals of well-known stars from the era which made for interesting guessing.

The novel follows Elsa/Laura throughout her life from her childhood with an early trauma, through her marriages and children, and her struggles to remain in the public eye as she aged.

I liked the way the book ended - - still hopeful and with a promise of more happy times to come.
2307782
1939. Hollywood. The era of MGM, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. In other words this is Hollywoods Golden Age

Jonathan Craine is a LAPD detective, a world weary fixer, well versed in the ways of the film world and its capricious cast members. One of the producers of The Wizard of Oz is found dead. Suspicious or not, no whiff of scandal must leak out in order to protect his starlet wife. Life in the world of film has to be picture-book perfect, nothing must be untoward, everything has to be sweetness and light.

Craines wife has recently passed away, drowned in a bath, discovered by Michael their son and thus the two are still grieving, raw and exposed. Michael has lost his power of speech and has been farmed out to Boarding School. It is their relationship that really holds the novel together.

The opening murder of a young woman seems to link back somehow to the film studios and Craine feels obligated to look deeper into crimes within the industry. The industry brings big bucks and kudos to the city of Los Angeles, but can he really continue to turn a blind eye?

The book has a very visual and cinematographic quality to the writing, and Hollywood of the era feels very strong. The writing style is competent and easy to read. Sometimes the jaded, laconic aspect of the main character feels quite palpable and on occasion I struggled to engage. But overall a good read, with an all too real story set in a credible time and place.