Book Description

This is the first biography about Anna May Wong, a remarkable Asian American woman who became the country's most famous film actress of Chinese descent. This multi-faceted tale takes the reader on a compelling journey through Wong's early years in Los Angeles and her first Hollywood pictures--films that led to her international fame. It is also an examination into the scope of race, gender, and power and their impact on her personal growth as a Chinese American. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Too Cool for Words ... Apparently
Perpetually Cool: The Many Lives of Anna May Wong, 1905-1961 (Filmmakers Series), by Anthony B. Chan is not a fun read.

The book is not a breezily written show biz bio to be read at a gallop, and enjoyed as a collection of well-known facts, juicy gossip, and scandalous speculation about its subject, nor is it intended to be so.

It is by far the most ambitious of the three books currently available on Anna May Wong, and one written with a degree of academic rigor. In it, Chan attempts to examine the life of his subject through her own words and extant examples of her art, and to place her in various historical, theoretical, artistic, philosophical and political contexts. It is a serious (perhaps overly serious) scholarly work featuring a filmography, notes on sources and many quotes from vintage reviews and writings, and while there may be a few inaccuracies, it is an overall welcome addition to the available literature on Wong.

Chan's 312-page tome is organized in three sections, and comprises eighteen chapters, each treating an aspect of Wong's biography, thought, milieu and her films and related work. It also weaves in exhaustive (and at times exhausting) discourses on subjects such as the representation of Asians in European and European American literature and entertainment, the theatrical tradition of "yellowface" (non-Asians playing the part of Asians), the rise of modern China, prostitution in colonial Shanghai, the basic principles of Taoism and Confucianism, and lots more.

The chapters can be read as independent essays, and there is a certain amount of repetition of facts and theories and interpretive conclusions between them.

Chan's approach and methodology is informed by the theories of a number of cited postmodern writers, particularly those of the late Edward Said, author of the influential text, Orientalism. To borrow a few ideas and phrases from Said, it would appear that Chan is attempting a recovery of a history hitherto either misrepresented or rendered invisible by a quasi-colonial hegemony, and an exposure of stereotypes of "the Other" and the actualities they've perpetuated and informed.

It can also be said that Chan has an axe to grind with "European American Hollywood," "European American actors," "European America" and all who done Wong wrong. He cites examples of the tendency by Hollywood--and society at large--to perpetuate racist notions of Asians as villainous, inscrutable, and generally unsavory, and how these tendencies inhibited the artistic career of Anna May Wong.

While insidious racism and the casting practices of her day undoubtedly limited Wong's choice of quality roles, Chan seemingly does not care to stress that there were many Europeans and European Americans--intellectual and cultural heavyweights on the order of Walter Benjamin, Carl Van Vechten and Evelyn Waugh--who actually admired, championed, celebrated and befriended Wong, and for all the right reasons. He does hit us over the head--relentlessly--with examples of how he feels she was belittled, slighted, and passed over by the European American Hollywood hegemony.

Chan's book is best when he allows his subject to speak for herself, and aficionados of Wong and her films will be grateful for the generous quotes from Wong's interviews and writings presented here. Chan himself is best when he writes objectively, and some of his descriptions of Wong's acting are quite vivid. Chan seems less convincing in his interpretive writing, and some of his observations seem overstated and thesis-bound.

Anna May Wong was, by all accounts, an amazing person; cultured, witty, extravagantly talented, and someone who exhibited an amazing drive to succeed. (How many little girls dream of stardom, and how few achieve it?) Though her talents were in many ways squandered, she worked in practically every entertainment medium extant in her lifetime (Wong starred in Hollywood's very first Technicolor feature at age 17 in 1922, and had her own network television detective series in 1951!), and found work in her chosen profession from her teen years to her death in late middle age. Wong was indeed "perpetually cool;" one wishes that Chan's book was perhaps more balanced, more lively, and more successful in conveying those very characteristics it purports to celebrate in its subject.

Perpectually Cool
I agree with the 2 reviewers that gave this book 5 stars.
This is by far, the best book ever written about Anna May Wong.

If any Asian-Americans out there that's interested in becoming an actress/actor. This would be an insipirational book for them.

Anna May Wong - a paragon of strength
I thorough enjoyed reading Chan's biography of Anna May Wong.Although I saw only one of her movies when I was a graduate student in America, I was deeply impressed by her art and sensitivity.Chan's book filled in a lot of the blanks.I never knew that her career covered such wide territories, not only geographically but in the various kinds performing arts - the silent movies, the talkies, stage and TV.Chan examines her work and her character.The sense I got is her humanity.It's insightful of Chan to bring out her daoist approach to life.If I remember my Lao Zi correctly from my Hong Kong days, daoist philosophy emphasizes not to seek fame or riches, but do your utmost and retreat from the limelight.The Anna May Wong that comes through is a woman of strength.
The fact that Chan's book is dedicated to the Chinese girls adopted by non-Chinese families shows the author's understanding of not only the person of Anna May Wong but also the significance of Chinese heritage.My cousin and her husband (a Scot) adopted a Chinese girl last year.I am sending them the book to keep so that their daughter will read it one day.
(Anyone who knows anything about Chinese culture and Chinese history would know the vast differences between daoist philosophy and daoist religion).
Helen (London, UK)

Anna May Reigns!
I loved Anthony Chan's book "Perpetually Cool!" It's the best book on Anna May Wong currently on the market. Unlike some other books and articles, Prof. Chan does not present Anna May Wong as a "victim" or "exotic" creature to be ogled but rather as a woman who triumphed over adversity, overcame much prejudice, took care of her family, created her own sense of style which remains iconic even today, and led a courageous and exciting life. As a Chinese American, I especially appreciated the Asian American perspective of his book. I too remember seeing Anna May Wong in "Shanghai Express" for the first time on a late-night TV showing, when I was about eight or nine years old. In those days in the late-1970s in America, there were NO glamorous images of Asians, just that awful Calgon commercial. And here was a stunningly beautiful, self-confident Asian woman holding her own against Dietrich. In fact, I think Anna May stole the movie from Dietrich with her multi-layered performance. Prof. Chan's book was fascinating to me because I had not realized all the amazing things Anna May had done in her life, including her stage work in Europe and Vaudeville, her talent with languages, and her work on behalf of charities. What a heroine! Prof. Chan is right! Anna May Wong is indeed perpetually cool.

Full of theory without adequate life stories
This book is a little bit dry. big theories shadow the inadequate narratives about the subject. Especially, the Daoist analaysis does not make sense for me. Follow Chan's logic, everyone could be a Daoist, at least at certain moment of your life. Wish the author got deeper in his research.

It seems that Chan befriended Wong's surviving brother, why have not any oral materials through interviews been included? ... Read more

Book Description

A revealing and affectionate account of the personal and political lives of the left-wing screenwriters, directors, and actors behind Hollywood's Golden Age. The first comprehensive book about Hollywood's future blacklistees and the hundreds of films they wrote or directed from the dawn of sound movies to the early 1950s, Radical Hollywood traces the political and personal lives of the activists along with the often-decisive impact of their work upon American film's Golden Age. A highly readable, anecdotal history, featuring an insert of classic film stills, , Radical Hollywood describes the story-behind-the-story of such famous films as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, and Woman of the Year, alongside such campy items as The Adventures of Captain Marvel, Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror, and Kiss the Blood off My Hands. Genres like crime and women's films, family cinema, war, animation and, above all, film noir are reconsidered here, with fresh evidence drawn from interviews and recent archival breakthroughs. A long-awaited rediscovery of an overlooked intellectual-artistic milieu, , Radical Hollywood will interest all film-lovers and devotees of political culture. 16 pages b/w photographs.

Films discussed include: The Adventures of Captain Marvel • The Big Clock • Body and Soul • Back Door to Heaven • Blues in the Night • Cabin in the Sky • Caged • Casablanca • Champion • Deadline at Dawn • Destry Rides Again • The Devil-Doll • Diplomaniacs • Dynamite • Frankenstein • G. I. Joe • Give Us This Day • Gun Crazy • High Noon • Hitler's Children • Hold That Ghost • Honky Tonk • Keeper of the Flame • Kiss the Blood off My Hands • Kitty Foyle • Lassie, Come Home • The Lawless • Life with Father • The Long Night • The Maltese Falcon • The Man Who Reclaimed His Head • Marked Woman • Mayor of Hell • Meet the People • Mission to Moscow • Monsieur Verdoux • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington • None but the Lonely Heart • Our Vines Have Tender Grapes • Phantom Lady • The Philadelphia Story • A Place in the Sun • The President's Mystery • Pride of the Marines • The Public Enemy • Ruthless • The Sea Hawk • Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror • Stella Dallas • Stormy Weather • The Story of G.I. Joe • Talk of the Town • Theodora Goes Wild • The Thin Man • Thirty Seconds over Tokyo • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn • Watch on the Rhine • The Wizard of Oz • Woman of the Year ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Hollywood's Travels -- and Travails
Radical Hollywood, by Paul Buhle and David Wagner, is an exhaustively (if at times exhaustingly) comprehensive and, as far as I can tell, mostly accurate (if at times chronologically confusing) catalog of the many U.S. motion pictures created during the brief cinematic "Golden Age" from roughly the beginning of the New Deal to the onset of the Cold War by what could loosely be called the Hollywood Left -- or the Left in Hollywood, such as it was.

The fact, though, that Buhle and Wagner had to write a book largely to explain the alleged "radical" subtext in these films by their non-monolithic screenwriters illustrates how the "threat" posed to U.S. society (read: the capitalist class) by such pictures was wildly exaggerated by right-wing anti-communists for political reasons.(Was Lassie Come Home, for example, going to undermine the foundations of capitalism simply because it was adapted for the screen by a Communist?)And yet, maybe that perceived subtlety (where present, enforced perhaps at least as much by studio economics and cultural restraints as by national politics) was the kind of "subversion" the inquisitors found so dangerous to the interests of the social class they actually represented.

Or maybe it was a case of guilt by either membership or association, with the work of any Communist -- or anyone associated however remotely with a Communist or the Communist Party -- being cast under suspicion, whatever the nature of his or her work.But just as Freud is reputed to have said that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, sometimes, say, an expressly comedic film is just that, and nothing more.And even from a Leftist perspective, that is not necessarily bad.Consider, though, Sullivan's Travels, which oddly political yet intriguing picture instead of self-consciously being "an answer to communism," actually makes a case for it in spite of itself, and which despite its intentions (or perhaps because of them), may be more politically effective than many a more tendentiously political piece of cinema, even when the title character keenly observes that, "There's a lot to be said for making people laugh," it being "all some people have."(Curiously, the opening scene-within-a-scene of this 1941 comedy -- written and directed by Preston Sturges, who, like this film, is not mentioned by Buhle and Wagner nor is he identified by them as being a part of the Hollywood Left community -- anticipated the ending of the 1948 drama Ruthless, co-scripted by one of the Hollywood Ten and discussed by the authors.)Indeed, there is nothing inherently wrong or reactionary with making people laugh, provided one sees that culture can and should be for the edification as well as the entertainment of the public.And this is where skilled and honest Leftist cultural workers are in their element.But just as an artist must elect to fight for freedom or slavery, according to the great Paul Robeson, so, ultimately, must an artist's audience.

However, Buhle and Wagner betray a kind of not so much discernibly anti-communist as anti-Communist (or anti-Communist Party) subtext of their own throughout the book -- typical of that tendency of neo-Left thought developing in the 1960s which, by intent or in effect, sought the very break with the historical continuity of the Communist Left that Buhle and Wagner see as a consequence of the Hollywood blacklist, as when they blame "Party bureaucrats" for the demise of the Hollywood Left (or what passed for it), when were it not for the (albeit imperfect) agency of the Communist Party (often in the midst of internal struggle as well as external attack, the effect of the former evidently not sufficiently and fairly understood or appreciated by the authors), most of those who became the radical screenwriters and filmmakers of Hollywood would likely never have even thought of attempting what they somehow managed in some form to bring to the movie screen.

A fascinating journey
"Radical Hollywood" is both fabulously entertaining and enlightening. For movie fans (who isn't) and students of American history, it provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the radical politics of the directors, screen writers, and actors who were part of the Hollywood mainstream until McCarthyism drove them out. When you reflect on the greatness of their work, you realize that the witch-hunt was our loss as well as theirs.

The cover photo of "Radical Hollywood" suggests that many of these figures were not ordinarily associated with the left. With James Cagney placing his hand somewhat menacingly on Jean Harlow in "The Public Enemy", you have to wonder what the connection is. As it turns out, the script was written by William Bright, who was one of the first left-wing innovators in Hollywood. Hailing from Chicago, he was part of a group of youngsters around Dr. Ben Reitman, Emma Goldman's longtime lover. During the Great Depression, he worked for a time as a smalltime bootlegger and was inspired by this experience to write about criminal life, emphasizing how social relations are distorted by capitalism.

Cagney threw his support to the burgeoning labor movement in the 1930s on Bright's prompting. He signed on to a support committee for strikers in the San Joaquin Valley in 1934. When the Hearst press began to redbait Cagney, he pulled back from future involvement with the left. If witch-hunting had not been a factor in Hollywood from the beginning, it is not too difficult to imagine much more willingness on the part of movie stars to speak out on social and political questions.

To see how figures such as Ed Asner, Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn are stigmatized in the equivalent of the Hearst press today for having the temerity to speak out about US foreign policy, you can only appreciate the scholarly effort that went into "Radical Hollywood". For in the final analysis its authors demonstrate that radicalism is very much a phenomenon that grew out of the American soil and was not imported by agents of a foreign power.

Man the pumps, it's too thin to shovel
It's quite true that the authors' knowledge of Hollywood film history is encyclopedic, and this alone makes the book an indispensable reference to the stories behind the stories of innumerable great and less-than-great films. Described elsewhere as "the Abbott and Costello of film studies," these two spew forth gallons of embarrassingly wrongheaded and outmoded leftie humbug; nevertheless this is exactly what makes their work so useful. Yes, all those "paranoid" right-wingers were right all along about the real motives and agendas in Hollywood "back then." And not much has changed...it's still "Fantasyland" in more ways than one, which ought to be an important clue to the etiology of leftism. My only real objection to this work is that being so thoroughly deluded by their own political fantasies as they are, the authors attempt to claim almost everyone in Hollywood as a real, potential, or lapsed leftie, whether or not there was ever much actual evidence of it...a kind of triple-reverse McCarthyism. One final tip: buy this book second-hand. I'd hate to think I'd given one red cent (no pun intended) to either of these authors or their publisher.

Encyclopedic
This is a good look at the often ignored early radicals of hollywood. It gives a good history of the time leading up to and the aftermath of the Blacklist and it's antisemitic tendencies.Paul Buhle, et al seem to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject but I found their method of sharing the information a little overwhelming and pedantic. Every page is dotted with references to very obscure films, many with alternative titles, that are impossible to find. It's difficult to envision many of the situations and influential aspects of the films when you can find no more information on them much less see them. Taking all of the authors information on faith is not the usual film studies method. In contrast to many books about hollywood this one dosn't have many salacious details about harlets and moguls. I would recommend this book to serious film/hollywood history buffs only. ... Read more

Book Description

A new biography, the first in two decades, of the legendary actress who inspired Anton Chekhov, popularized Henrik Ibsen, and spurred Stanislavski to create a new theory of acting based on her art and to invoke her name at every rehearsal.

Writers loved her and wrote plays for her. She be-friended Rainer Maria Rilke and inspired the young James Joyce, who kept a portrait of her on his desk. Her greatest love, the poet d’Annunzio, made her the heroine of his novel Il fuoco (The Flame). She radically changed the art of acting: in a duel between the past and the future, she vanquished her rival, Sarah Bernhardt. Chekhov said of her, “I’ve never seen anything like it. Looking at Duse, I realized why the Russian theatre is such a bore.” Charlie Chaplin called her “the finest thing I have seen on the stage.” Gloria Swanson and Lillian Gish watched her perform with adoring attention, John Barrymore with awe. Shaw said she “touches you straight on the very heart.”

When asked about her acting, Duse responded that, quite simply, it came from life. Except for one short film, Duse’s art has been lost. Despite dozens of books about her, her story is muffled by legend and myth. The sentimental image that prevails is of a misty, tragic heroine victimized by men, by life; an artist of unearthly purity, without ambition.

Now Helen Sheehy, author of the much admired biography of Eva Le Gallienne, gives us a different Duse—a woman of strength and resolve, a woman who knew pain but could also inflict it. “Life is hard,” she said, “one must wound or be wounded.” She wanted to reveal on the stage the truth about women’s lives and she wanted her art to endure.

Drawing on newly discovered material, including Duse’s own memoir, and unpublished letters and notes, Sheehy brings us to an understanding of the great actress’s unique ways of working: Duse acting out of her sense of her character’s inner life, Duse anticipating the bold aspects of modernism and performing with a sexual freedom that shocked and thrilled audiences. She edited her characters’ lines to bare skeletons, asked for the simplest sets and costumes. Where other actresses used hysterics onstage, Duse used stillness.

Sheehy writes about the Duse that the actress herself tried to hide—tracing her life from her childhood as a performing member of a family of actors touring their repertory of drama and commedia dell’arte through Italy. We follow her through her twenties and through the next four decades of commissioning and directing plays, running her own company, and illuminating a series of great roles that included Emile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin, Marguerite in Dumas’s La Dame aux camélias, Nora in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, and Hedda in his Hedda Gabler. When she thought her beauty was fading at fifty-one, she gave up the stage, only to return to the theatre in her early sixties; she traveled to America and enchanted audiences across the country. She died as she was born—on tour.

Sheehy’s illuminating book brings us as close as we have ever been to the woman and the artist. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

An actress beyond compare
The difficulty of describing delicacy in acting is one that Helen Sheehy has not entirely overcome, but otherwise she seems to have read and swallowed everything written about the great Duse and here, in this big Knopf biography (a genre all its own) she arranges the facts in that big sumptuous Knopf manner, with creamy photographs and the touch of class big book buyers love. Basically a conservative book, this book leads us to believe that no one of today is fit to tie Duse's shoes.

Sometimes Duse was foolish about men and about writing, and according to the standards of the day she was a bad mother, but other than that, she was sublime in every way. Sheehy claims that her appeal was a plastic one, that her rich warm smile illuminated her face, and took away the slightly doughy and overdone shadows her photos cast in composure. She loved to walk, to relieve stress, and she made one half-hour motion picture, back in the days before exhibitors' demands froze the motion picture into being more or less ninety minutes long. Sheehy says it's great, but by this time, the reader isn't sure whether or not to believe her, because everything is so superlative the tone is pitched too high.

Unsatisfyingly distant
I've been a fan of the many theatre books published in recent years by Knopf under the astute editorship of Victoria Wilson and other editors at Knopf. This is not one of their more compelling. Even allowing for the absence of living witness interviewees still available for biographers of, say, the Lunts, I persistently sensed the writer of this book coalescing her picture of Duse from a psychological "mezzanine," rather than "front row," perspective. It is a strangely cold, unhumanized retelling of a striking human being that was anything but. Sheehy is either too awed and respectful of Duse, too afraid of the pitfalls of the so-called pathobiography, or just too uninsightful to bring Duse to life as a three-dimensional personality. She settles for a textbook writer's air of intimate remove, of calculated decorous unfamiliarity with the personality, rather than a biographer's symbiotic fusion that makes the reader feel emotionally with the biographee, whether the biographee's character is admirable or disreputable. Her quotation of Charles Chaplin describing a performance of Duse is in a few paragraphs a far clearer evocation of what specifically and technically made Duse compelling as an actor than anything Sheehy writes of Duse anywhere else in her book. The testimonials she recites of Lee Strasberg, Chekhov, et al. are offered as thirdhand hearsay, generalities to be taken on faith rather than evoking for the reader a clear, singular picture like Chaplin's. The book also reads somewhat desultorily and does not endow Duse's life with a sense of driving drama-- quite a shortcoming for a book about such a great actor. I started to read this book with great expectations and hopes and finally abandoned it more in disappointment than in anger, just wishing it had been better.

A dove in flight
My interest in the art of Eleonora Duse grew urgently while I studied the theater of Gabriele D'Annunzio. Strangely Duse's legend had not done more than tantalyze me hitherto. Vague photographs in sepia written words in passing had so far only configured a distant actress that was oddly lackluster. My fascination had remained with the likes of Adrienne Lecouvreur and with Rachel long dead players at the Comedie Francaise. I had lusted for Andromaque and Athalie living feverish candlelit nights among Corneille Moliere and Racine. I had imagined attending one of Sarah's histrionic performances. It was while I read 'La Citta Morta' and 'Francesca da Rimini' that D'Annunzio made me glance closer at the great Duse, shy and transparent with her understated genius for acting. Unhurriedly this seemingly intangible donna assoluta was letting me know that Eleonora Duse was no theatrical bandwagon. She now haunted me a fascinating dove in flight. Her's she claims with a grin, is not the boom enchantment one orders with a Byzantine impetuosity the enraptured hand to the brow. Or the hot stage tear that streaks the bright rouged cheek. That in a scene all Duse is willing to offer is a sigh. Her signature is a beguiling penchant to vanish. This biographical account by Helen Sheehy is like her masterful biography of Eva LeGallienne, a triumph. Both biographies are the product of an inspired and consummate writer. Please look up her life story of LeGallienne if you want quality. Other sources are 'Duse' by William Weaver and 'The Mystic in the Theatre' by Eva LeGallienne herself a great actress and writer. Eleonora wants to say that her's and her's alone is the thespian refinement you invoke with a glance and the faintest of tragic smiles. Many believe Duse to be the parent of modern acting. Both Sheehy and LeGallienne narrate how Eleonora started in the theater from the smallest age, playing with her family of itinerant actors. Duse's was a ragged and browbeaten Commedia dell'Arte peddling town to town in late nineteenth century Italy. I believe poverty and this early perambulating scarred her. There were times when Eleonora watched local urchins tormenting her father, who was neither talented nor enterprising. Her first liaison was with Arrigo Boito who along with Verdi wrote for the opera. They had a daughter. Then soon appeared Gabriele D'Annunzio a genial master of words who enraptured Eleonora with his exquisite theater. Perhaps he loved La Duse he clearly benefitted from her for by the time their convoluted idyll paled she was the most discussed actress in Europe. The philandering playwright and the sublime actress were now both monstruously famous. Sheehy narrates brilliantly her support and torment for Gabriele, as well as her theatrical conquest of America. How lucky are we cinematography captures today in perpetuity the inspirations of our gifted actresses. Locked in a box for all to watch. How sad that time a beast has gobbled up the classical performances of the great Rachel and the incomparable theater of Eleonora Duse. The Italian actress who wore neither makeup nor camellias while portraying Dumas fils. The humble woman who inspired Chekhov and resurrected Ibsen. The one who showed Stanislavski what acting should be. All those theater nights are lost. But if you hold your breath and close your eyes you can see her. How easy it is to imagine Elenora on stage, betrayed and broken as Silvia Setalla in D'Annunzio's 'La Gioconda' Eleonora so evocative in 'La Femme de Claude' droll pert sinewy as Mirandolina in Goldoni's comic 'La Locandiera'. Duse, playing her beloved Ibsen in 'A Doll's House' and 'Hedda Gabler'. Later, an ecclectic and transcendent Eleonora as if transformed by the ocean in 'The Lady from the Sea' Go ahead, go on, you can do it, she'll again appear magically within your mind. Take a deep breath close your eyes and you'll soon find her, fey deft doomed wistful unforgettable, a devastating Marguerite in 'La Dame aux Camellias' a darting cloud in chiffon. Amid applause triumphing and shining, among tremedous curtain calls glowing, so evoking every French romantic nuance as she takes many bows. Regaling a teary audience with tragic glimpses and she gives up Armand. So naturally sketching every enchantment emoting every painful heartbeat. After Isadora Duncan's children died in Paris the dancer went about Europe desperately, hearing words of sympathy urges to be strong. Then she went to stay with Eleonora in her villa in the vicinity of Viareggio. By then Duse was semi-retired notorious for her books and a penchant for solitude. Cry cry, Duse told her, I'll sit by you in silence and won't interrupt your tears. I find this Helen Sheehy's biography, as well as Eva LeGallienne's account of the Duse she knew personally, the best informed and most sensitive protrayals of this unique woman.

The Mother of Modern Acting
Lee Strasberg, Charlie Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw, and dozens if not hundreds of others who had the privilege of seeing Duse on stage describe it as if they saw a saint, someone supernatural in her ability to convey thought, feeling, emotion, subtext and that extra something that's finally indescribable. The name Duse has been synonymous with the highest possible attainment in acting, even though she is little known outside the theater. Helen Sheehy has written a detailed, even scholarly biography that stands head and shoulders over the other previous bio in English, by William Weaver. Sheehy succeeds, as far as one can, at analyzing and dissecting otherworldly Genius. But the excellence of Sheehy's book also makes it an unbearable tease. Duse was a stage actress. No traces of her greatness remain, save one thirty minute film that is maddeningly difficult to obtain; for some reason, showings of the film are as rare as UFO sightings. In my mind the film has attained the status of a relic. And I've yet to see it. Frustration aside, Sheehy does much to unveil the very private views of her subject on art and life. I certainly wouldn't recommend this bio to anyone with only a casual interest in acting or theater; however, for anyone with a substantial interest in dramatic art, this bio is simply a must.

Insightful, artful biography of the mother of modern acting
As the New York Times has called this an "exemplary biography", there seems little reason to add a review by the average reader. However, you do not need to be an expert in theatre history to find this book a great read.

I had never heard of Duse before Sheehy's work, yet the author makes a convincing argument why the Italian actress is one of the founders of modern acting - a woman who presented a powerful, natural style of acting that George Bernard Shaw, Charlie Chapin, and John Barrymore found overwhelming to behold. Duse created a compelling counterpoint to the highly stylized form perfected by Sarah Bernhardt and she presented a standard of a new acting for all performers in the twentieth century to emulate. Today, we are unaware as we watch film or television, that we are watching Duse's heirs.

Sheehy goes beyond her central thesis of Duse's acting career to describe a very flawed woman. Sheehy enumerates Duse's poor choices in lovers, her neglect of her daughter because of the girl's physical resemblance to Duse's discarded husband, her indulgence in self-pity and hypochondria, and her manipulative use of society friends for favors and loans. Sheehy does not shy away from her hero's defects, but neither does she wallow in them.

This book is of obvious value to people of the theatre or with special interest in Italian culture. For the general reader, it is an artful biography of a compelling and important cultural figure. ... Read more

Book Description

Within is a masterful assembly of the most personal details and gorgeous minutiae of Frank Sinatra's way of living--matters of the heart and heartbreak, friendship and leadership, drinking and cavorting, brawling and wooing, tuxedos and snap-brims--all crafted from rare interviews with Sinatra himself as well as many other intimates, including Tony Bennett, Don Rickles, Angie Dickinson, Tony Curtis, and Robert Wagner, in addition to daughters Nancy and Tina Sinatra. Illustrated with scores of photos, The Way You Wear Your Hat captures the timeless romance and classic style of the fifties and the loose sixties and is a stunning exploration of the Sinatra mystique. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The REAL Frank
What a GREAT book about the Chairman Of The Board! The text and pictures are first-rate,and the captions quoting Frank are priceless. An absolute must for the genuine Sinatra fan, you will pull it off the shelf to read it for years to come.

A great insight to the King of Cool's thoughts and beliefs
What a great book! I have read this twice already and didn't put it down until the wee hours of the morning. To read this is to almost be talking to Mr. Sinatra one on one. The author did a great job to give the reader the essance of Sinatra and see what made him "Tick". His views on friends, enemies and lovers is blunt, honest to the point and quite refreshing in this day of political correctness. Alot of important details about how Sinatra looked and dressed are emphasized and are quite valuable to the overall picture. The heydays of the ratpack, relationship with Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe and his last love..his wife, are told with a tinge of regret and admiration, but lovingly honest as well. The man admitted his flaws but his style and personality made his admirers overlook them. I recommend this to anyone who wants to know what the late night swing life of the 1950's-early 60's were like. A fantastic read! Kudos to the author.

Live each day like it may be the final day...
There have been a lot of books written on Sinatra;but this one is excellent.Where does one start and what does one say?Zehme has zeroed in on what made Sinatra an icon and a one of a kind.Sinatra had a great line for all occasions;and even when there was no occassion,he had a line for that too.
"Fear is the enemy of logic"
"Don't despair.You have to scrape bottom to appreciate life and start living again."
"the big lesson in life ,baby,is never be scared of anyone or anything."
The book is a quick,concise and intrest holding read. The pictures chosen were excellent in portraying Sinatra's personna.
You can't go wrong with this book if you ever liked anything Sinatra said or did.

Life Changing Material
What can I say that hasn't already been said? About 3 or 4 years ago I wasn't doing so well. I was looking for some guidance, some help to define myself and create my own identity. I came across this book on a sales rack and picked it up. I had been a Sinatra fan for awhile, had a few books and some albums. But this, this was something special. You come away from it really knowing who Mr. Sinatra really was. You get to know the man behind the "legend."

Immediatly I began to change the way I was. I began to relax, not worry so much. I changed my wardrobe (For years I had been kind of a bum, really not thinking about my dress) to more of a "classier" one. I became less of a cheapskate and helped any of my friends who needed help. Why? Because that's what Frank did! Not to mention I discovered "his way" to mixing drinks the way with women.

One cannot talk about this book without mentioning the excellent writing of Bill Zehme. He really gets to the soul of the experiences. The writing has the same flair as Sinatra's speech, always hip, always to the point. It's no wonder he has written the liner notes for the live Rat Pack cds. He really "knows" Frank and the boys and shows it.

So read this book. Who knows what could happen? You may come away from it with a new view on life.

A way in Which A Hat Will Nevre Be Worn Again
Zehme does a spectacular job in bring what Frank Sinatra really was to the people of the world. It has an easy reading short story flow that will make you not want to put it down. Reading this book has enspired me to read more about Frank Sinatra and others by Bill Zehme. The Chariman would be proud. ... Read more

Book Description

"CANDID AND HONEST...A philosophical looking-backward and forward--an inquiry into the question 'Is that all there is?' "
--Liz Smith
New York Newsday
"FRANK AND AMUSING...[AND] BRIMMING WITH CONFESSIONS...Part career memoir and part meditation on what it's like to be a single woman of lingering glamour, enduring vitality and advancing age...The book has the Bacall voice behind it. Her writing echoes her deep, sardonic, no-nonsense timbre and jazzy tempo....Bacall is at her best when talking about friends she has loved and watched die. Bernstein, she says, was more than a little seductive; Huston, more than a little remote; Olivier, a survivor to the end."
--Chicago Sun-Times
"HER PROSE IS SPARE AND HONEST....A kaleidoscope of thoughts and ideas on loneliness, aging, and above all, surviving...There are also poignant reminiscences of the golden years of Hollywood and many of its leading creators."
--The Washington Post Book World
"SHE REMINDS US OF SOME FAMILIAR TRUTHS WORTH ATTENDING TO. . . .What she's writing about, Ms. Bacall explains, is 'life' and indeed her musings about getting older, about intimations of mortality, about living solo, about letting go of one's children will resonate with women who, like her, are of a certain age."
--The New York Times Book Review
"ENGROSSING. . .POIGNANT."
--People
... Read more

Reviews (2)

Read the other one first
Read Bacall's "By Myself" before this - she writes as if she assumes that you have. She actually rehashes a lot of what she wrote in that book: her work on Broadway, people in her life, etc. I didn't necessarily mind that - I read this one directly after the other so it complemented it. I would've found it very slight by itself, though. In this one she also talks about putting together her dream home and finding it lacking, and about her grown kids and their lives, some other topics too.

Good followup to "By Myself."
"Now" isn't as fulfilling as was "By Myself" but is still a good short read for anyone interested in Lauren Bacall. The book covers the 15 years after her first publication "By Myself." Ifyou're new to Lauren I would suggest reading "By Myself" firstand if you would like to see a more personal side of the actress give thisbook a try. ... Read more

Book Description

Jennifer O'Neill knows all there is to know about life in the fast lane. Even before she skyrocketed to movie stardom at age twenty-two, she had already experienced more than most women twice her age: international modeling at fifteen, marriage at seventeen, and motherhood at nineteen. Then came Summer of '42.

If her career was already a dream come true, however, her private nightmare had just begun. The dark years that followed saw scandal and sorrow offset by beauty and style: eight marriages, nine miscarriages, a near-fatal gunshot wound, and three other near-death experiences. Even motherhood proved a painful trial when one of her husbands fell into the abyss of sexual abuse, with Aimee, the eldest of her three children, as his victim.

But Jennifer O'Neill is a survivor -- by the grace of God. Now, with her faith intact, she looks back on the roller coaster of her past with an unsparing honesty tempered with compassion, humor, and a new understanding of herself. Her story is an unforgettable drama of a beautiful, intelligent, talented, whimsical, yet deeply troubled woman redeemed in the end by the gift of her spiritual awakening.

... Read more

Reviews (28)

Award winning writing at its best!!!
Funny, tough and tender. A book that is a class act! The true-life story of Jennifer O'Neill is simply magnificent. Hollywood is destined to make this novel into a mini-series or film. This book communicates on the level of deep human feelings, and leaves an unforgettable impact. It is my pleasure to recommend to your attention this book! Jennifer's story shows how the Lord can take a life and change it, mold it, and shape it - into a life that will be a great testimony for Him!

The Most Unforgettable Story!!!
It was such a blessing to read about one of the world's most dazzling women Jennifer O'Neill... It's an emotionally charged saga of a life full of glamour, riches and romance, and the search for the one thing that eluded her - a lasting love. She traveled the world, from one exotic spot to another, and went from marriage to marriage until she found true love... In Jesus!! Don't miss this unforgettable story of an equally unforgettable woman. Brimming with splendor, tragedy, and drama, this is the best writting I've ever read!!

An interesting read because she's so screwed up!
Has anyone noticed that most of the rave reviews of this book are by devout Christians?
Now -- For those of us who are NOT religious, O'Neill's book is interesting mainly because this woman is a jaw-dropping psychological mess. I feel truly sorry for her children, since O'Neill is obviously someone who should never have had kids. As another reviewer pointed out, she married every man who showed any interest in her, had as many kids as possible, and immediately dumped them in the care of whoever happened to be handy -- even people who had proven themselves untrustworthy or even criminal! I hope that her born-again Christianity has made her a little bit easier for her family to live with.
I also was a bit disappointed that there were not more pictures of this very beautiful woman -- especially since her looks seem to be her only redeeming quality!

Have You Fallen? You Can Be Forgiven Too
We all have a unique and special life story. This is part of Jennifer's story. We can learn much from people's life stories - a lot from her's.
If the Almighty God can forgive a woman who was made as many mistakes as Jennifer, certainly there is hope for the rest of us if we come to him on his terms! If you know you've made mistakes and want hope and encouragement for your own life, read her story.

I Would Like to Hear the Other Side
I seems strange to me that someone so beautiful, talented, compassionate, understanding, smart, kind, giving, etc., etc. etc., could run thru eight husbands (or was it nine?). I'd like to hear a bit of their side of the story. This can't be as all black and white as it seems. ... Read more

Book Description

Wearing thick glasses, speaking in her thick Icelandic accent, and, well, seeming a touch thick, Bjork stormed the public consciousness in 2000 as an unlikely heroine in the experimental musical film Dancer In the Dark. Army of She is an in-depth look at the woman who first took the public stage twenty-three years ago, analyzing her rise from child prodigy to punk anarchist to New Wave novelty (as member of the Sugarcubes) to hit soloist to film star.

... Read more

Reviews (3)

not so bad... come on guys...
I couldn't help but smile while reading this book. I found it to be a fresh outlook on Bjork. Instead of hearing someone who knew everything, we see Bjork through the eyes of someone who started out knowing nothing about her. It's a first hand evolution of the bjork fan. I find it to be almost a representation of the crossing over into that place where it is hard to return. Once I became a fan, I was a fan for life, and I admire this author for sharing this raw, intimate experience she had. I enjoyed the book, and I feel it only brought me closer to Bjork's music. I think every Bjork fan could relate to this book.

Double yaaaaaaaawn
While I must admire the author for trying to write a book about Bjork, I began to wonder if she really was, or was just trying to write about her social view towards God knows what. I mean I know it's trendy and all but Labeling this and that conservative and calling former mayor Rudy Guliani an ---hole was not only in bad taste but has nothing to do with the book. If she wants express her liberal ideology kaka she needs not look far, just don't put it in a biography about Bjork, who is quite the fox I might add.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.........
Wow, who would of thought a book about the awesome BJORK would be dull. Instead of getting some interesting facts about Bjork, all we hear are the author's opinions over and over and over and over. It's like this, "Yadda yadda yadda yadda yabba dabbo do!" Boring!! Like fans don't already know how great she is. I put this book down after the first two chapters. All the information that IS in the book you can get from the Bjork webring. Don't waste your money, instead just buy the OFFICIAL BJORK book. Great stuff! heheheheh. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Nora Kuzma was a troubled teenager from Steubenville, Ohio; Traci Lords was the underage skin mag/porn queen who became the centerpiece of the adult video industry's greatest scandal. In reality, they were one and the same, the subject of this slick, if thin autobiography. But what's striking here is not the familiar storyline--confused, sexually abused teen falls in with drugs and the wrong Southern California crowd, forges fake IDs to become Penthouse Pet of the Month at 16 and the '80s hottest adult star, then arrested as focus of the Reagan administration's crackdown on porn, only to become reborn as cleaned-up, psychoanalyzed/rehabed purveyor of legitimate film, TV, and music career. Rather, what's striking is Lords's capacity for denial, compartmentalization, and myopia when it serves her ends.

Her scandalous tenure in the skin trade--undeniably the sole basis for her infamy and subsequent legitimate career--is glossed over here in a few score pages, with more attention paid to the heavy-metal musicians that dotted her life than the motivations and machinations of the Feds who literally changed her life; Slash's snake gets more ink here than Attorney General Ed Meese. Quick to ladle generous sympathy on her own plight, she heaps little but scorn upon those from the seedy past of her porn-star alter-ego, yet seems to have had few qualms about formally adopting that moniker as her legal name. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Confessions of a sexual terrorist who turned her life around
"Imagination is more important than intelligence," as Albert Einstein used to say and Traci Lords has now proved in her new autobiography "Underneath It All."

Not that Ms. Lords is dumb. Far from it. Throughout her book she displays a keen mind to equal her accomplishments as the only former adult movie actress ever to achieve mainstream success. Although this does not mean much in global terms of important world news, her life story is interesting enough in its own right, and in its own way even has a moral of redemption.

Born Nora Kuzma in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1968, Ms. Lords' childhood was marred by a traumatic rape that occurred when she was only 10 years old. After her mother moved the family to California, the young Miss Kuzma found herself a stranger in a strange land just when she most needed guidance. Instead, left largely neglected, with little parental supervision for long periods of time, she became a heavy drug abuser in high school. Then her mother's ex-boyfriend introduced her to nude modeling and got her started performing in XXX-rated movies when she was just 15.

This is the most delicate and difficult part of "Underneath It All." On the one hand, Ms. Lords must answer legitimate questions about her role in what was the biggest porn scandal of the 1980s. On the other hand, there is a fine line between addressing those questions and describing details of her erotic exploits that appeal more to the reader's prurient interests than to advance her main story.

Generally speaking, Ms. Lords does an admirable job in covering this ground with grace and honesty. For legal reasons, she does not provide the real name of the producer who hired her as an underage actress (but the pseudonym she uses identifies him for anyone remotely familiar with the case). She also makes it clear that she did not call in the authorities and set up the FBI bust that instantly made her such a notorious figure. In fact, Ms. Lords even claims that President Reagan's smut-busting Meese Commission had been investigating her for three years before finally cracking down on her illicit activities. By then, of course, the former Nora Kuzma was famous for her newly adopted screen persona.

There are areas where Ms. Lords tries to have it both ways, though. She talks repeatedly and at great length about how she hates being "the poster child for a business I loathe." She movingly asks, "What do you do when your past is your present? How do you leave it behind?" And yet she also expresses some mixed feelings about her brief career as an adult movie star. It is obvious that she enjoyed the attention she received at the time, and has not been above capitalizing on the publicity that went along with her previous reputation as "a sex-crazed, drugged-out wild child."

However, in spite of Ms. Lords' occasional attempts to deceive the reader (and sometimes, one suspects, herself), she still comes across as a decent person with a talent for thinking outside of the box that others built for her. And it is worth noting that she gives ample credit to her friends and supporters such as John Waters, Christina Applegate, and Roseanne Barr.

No one will ever confuse Traci Lords with Katherine Hepburn, but Ms. Lords has become a good actress and an excellent singer. That transformation did not occur overnight and it is a tribute to Ms. Lords' hard work that she was able to make it happen, even at the cost of her first marriage. When she first sought legitimate jobs in the entertainment industry, she could not have known how difficult it would be. Cynicism aside, learning about how Ms. Lords struggled to overcome her personal and professional demons is almost inspirational in its impact.

Maybe the best way to read "Underneath It All" is with an equal mix of healthy skepticism and sympathy for the author. Certainly no one has done more to earn a small measure of respect. As absurd as it may seem, it is not too much to say there is a kind of nobility of spirit about Ms. Lords. A lesser person could never have survived such a trial in the court of public opinion, and her resilience has been remarkable. Like Bob Dylan before her, Traci Lords literally reinvented herself under another name and then had to live with the consequences. What could be more American than that?

At a mere 286 pages, "Underneath It All" is a bit too slender for its own good. In addition, the book would benefit from fewer fashion-model pictures of Ms. Lords and the addition of an index, but these are relatively minor flaws in a biography that otherwise has much to recommend it.

In the end, Ms. Lords seems not so much against porn as she is opposed to what it has become in today's depraved and sexually violent culture. And while others talk about profound "national security" and "homeland defense" issues, Ms. Lords makes a convincing case that the real security (or lack thereof) depends more on what is happening to our children in our families and on the streets. For those who still hope for a brighter future, "Underneath It All" is a book that shows change is possible.

Confessions of a sexual terrorist who turned her life around
"Imagination is more important than intelligence," as Albert Einstein used to say and Traci Lords has now proved in her new autobiography "Underneath It All."

Not that Ms. Lords is dumb. Far from it. Throughout her book she displays a keen mind to match her accomplishments as the only former adult movie actress ever to achieve mainstream success. Although this does not mean much in global terms of important world news, her life story is interesting enough in its own right, and in its own way even has a moral of redemption.

Born Nora Kuzma in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1968, Ms. Lords' childhood was marred by a traumatic rape that occurred when she was only 10 years old. After her mother moved the family to California, the young Miss Kuzma found herself a stranger in a strange land just when she most needed guidance. Instead, left largely neglected, with little parental supervision for long periods of time, she became a heavy drug abuser in high school. Then her mother's ex-boyfriend introduced her to nude modeling and got her started performing in XXX-rated movies when she was just 15.

This is the most delicate and difficult part of "Underneath It All." On the one hand, Ms. Lords must answer legitimate questions about her role in what was the biggest porn scandal of the 1980s. On the other hand, there is a fine line between addressing those questions and describing details of her erotic exploits that appeal more to the reader's prurient interests than to advance her main story.

Generally speaking, Ms. Lords does an admirable job in covering this ground with grace and honesty. For legal reasons, she does not provide the real name of the producer who hired her as an underage actress (but the pseudonym she uses identifies him for anyone remotely familiar with the case). She also makes it clear that she did not call in the authorities and set up the FBI bust that instantly made her such a notorious figure. In fact, Ms. Lords even claims that President Reagan's smut-busting Meese Commission had been investigating her for three years before finally cracking down on her illicit activities. By then, of course, the former Nora Kuzma was famous for her newly adopted screen persona.

There are areas where Ms. Lords tries to have it both ways, though. She talks repeatedly and at great length about how she hates being "the poster child for a business I loathe." She movingly asks, "What do you do when your past is your present? How do you leave it behind?" And yet she also expresses some mixed feelings about her brief career as an adult movie star. It is obvious that she enjoyed the attention she received at the time, and has not been above capitalizing on the publicity that went along with her previous reputation as "a sex-crazed, drugged-out wild child."

However, in spite of Ms. Lords' occasional attempts to deceive the reader (and sometimes, one suspects, herself), she still comes across as a decent person with a talent for thinking outside of the box that others built for her. And it is worth noting that she gives ample credit to her friends and supporters such as John Waters, Christina Applegate, and Roseanne Barr.

No one will ever confuse Traci Lords with Katharine Hepburn, but Ms. Lords has become a good actress and an excellent singer. That transformation did not occur overnight and it is a tribute to Ms. Lords' hard work that she was able to make it happen, even at the cost of her first marriage. When she first sought legitimate jobs in the entertainment industry, she could not have known how difficult it would be. Cynicism aside, learning about how Ms. Lords struggled to overcome her personal and professional demons is almost inspirational in its impact.

Maybe the best way to read "Underneath It All" is with an equal mix of healthy skepticism and sympathy for the author. Certainly no one has done more to earn a small measure of respect. As absurd as it may seem, it is not too much to say there is a kind of nobility of spirit about Ms. Lords. A lesser person could never have survived such a trial in the court of public opinion, and her resilience has been remarkable. Like Bob Dylan before her, Traci Lords literally reinvented herself under another name and then had to live with the consequences. What could be more American than that?

At a mere 286 pages, "Underneath It All" is a bit too slender for its own good. In addition, the book would benefit from fewer fashion-model pictures of Ms. Lords and the addition of an index, but these are relatively minor flaws in a biography that otherwise has much to recommend it.

In the end, Ms. Lords seems not so much against porn as she is opposed to what it has become in today's depraved and sexually violent culture. And while others talk about profound "national security" and "homeland defense" issues, Ms. Lords makes a convincing case that the real security (or lack thereof) depends more on what is happening to our children in our families and on the streets. For those who still hope for a brighter future, "Underneath It All" is a book that shows change is possible.

good book, wild ride, but a little emptiness
This book is an exciting wild ride. I have always heard of Traci Lord's name being whispered by men as a secret knowledge. Her name makes people blush. I read the book in two days, she is a good writer. I believe she is self-delusional at times. I personally believe she probably was very mature for her age and in someways knew exactly what was happening to her (getting involved in the porn world) The great thing about Traci is she opens herself up to our judgements and her talent involved more than her past.

An Excellent Book. . . But
This is an excellent book. It cleared up allot of half-truths and non-truths for me. However, I couldn't give this book 5 stars because there seem to be huge gaps. Traci did one of her porn movies with the Porn King John Holmes and she never mentions him at all. She said she liked being kissed by a girl when she was young. But later when she did a scene with Ginger Lynn, she loathed the thought of kissing a girl. It only casually mentions her reunion with her mother. It never says if her mother has any explanations for abandoning her at her hippy ex-boyfriends house. Traci said she woke up on a few occasions to her mom's b/f staring at while while zipping up his pants, but it never explains how far he got or what exactly he was doing. I hoped she'd go into much more detail about why the FBI was hounding her even after her lawyer supposedly stopped them. The book never explains when the FBI finally did stop. It doesn't mention her current relationship with her sisters either. She says her dad doesn't approve of her, even now. But she never mentions how she discovered that. Again, it really is a great book. But there are just too many gaps. Hopefully the new paperback release with and extra chapter might clear some of this up?

how hard it was for her to grow up.
basicly she had a hard life grow up as a kid.and going to the adult porn. and get to the drugs and achool just to kill the pain she was in.and the book is well done. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Alec Guinness begins his most recent memoir, a sort of sequel to his bestselling My Name Escapes Me, with what he calls an apology for a "ramshackle book": "It states it is a Journal and yet it doesn't quite aspire to that and it isn't a diary. Not many dates are to be found in it." What is in it are as charming a collection of memories, readings, observations, and anecdotes as could be imagined from an actor whose genius for self-effacement is legendary. Now in his 85th year, the celebrated Sir Alec has made a major contribution to a minor but much-loved literary form, the notebooks of an English gentleman. (It's no surprise to learn in these pages that Samuel Butler, author of The Way of All Flesh and his own published Notebooks, is one of Guinness's favorite authors.) Considering his age and virtual retirement, Guinness's life is an astonishingly active and full one, and for all the reminiscing, much of A Positively Final Appearance is taken up in describing his present-day doings with his beloved wife Merula (married 61 years), their dogs, and the occasional forays they make to visit friends and family. There are trips farther afield as well, to a spa in Baden-Baden and to films and theater, including a hilarious attempt to see the controversial West End hit Shopping and F***ing (with Guinness suggesting several substitutes for the supplied asterisks). His omnivorous reading is simply staggering, and a lifelong love affair with Shakespeare is evidenced not only by his memories of favorite performances but also his readings of scenes from the Bard, which reveal an imaginative scholarship infused with a lifetime's theatrical experience.

One of the strangest paradoxes of this superb actor (and equally fluent prose stylist) is that he seems destined to be remembered primarily for his becloaked performance in the original Star Wars trilogy as Obi-Wan Kenobi. There's a priceless story included about Guinness's encounter with a child who claimed to have seen the first film over 100 times, and the request he made of the boy: "Do you think you could promise never to see Star Wars again?" The result of this request, along with much else in this entirely captivating memoir, will amuse and delight. --John Longenbaugh ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The swansong of a quiet giant
As previously said, this is a very well and beautifully writen errr... memoir. The cover tells you the whole story of what to expect inside. At first glance Alec dancing appears as a comical figure almost, but as you look closer you can see he is in some sort of agony. And as the book moves on, it is hard for him to not show his melancholy.
Despite being a bit of a emotional downer, this is still a very worthwhile read for any of his fans.

More than a journal
The late Sir Alec Guinness was a lovely writer, and with this, his final memoir, he improved vastly over his previous gift to us, MY NAME ESCAPES ME. Whereas the latter was strictly a selection from his diary, with this Guinness moves beautifully from journalistic descriptions of day-to-day events (from eye surgery to walks with his wife, Merula, to the indignities of moving slowly in an ever fast-paced and impolite world) and wry reflections on current events to anecdotes spanning his entire career in theatre and film. Each chapter is arranged by a theme, mostly seasonal, but they meander charmingly.

Those interested in his encounter with the church and his beginnings as an artist should find his autobiography, BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE. Those who might want reflections on STAR WARS will be disappointed. When one gentleman asked Guinness for an autograph from Ben Kenobi immediately after mass, Guinness admonished him, "Not in front of the parishioners!" and disappeared as nimbly as a young Jedi.

A Positively Marvelous Book
Alec Guinness is undeniably one of the most gifted actors of our times, and now, with his offering of "A Positively Final Appearance," we get to know something of the man behind the mask. This journal, kept between the summer of '96, and 1998, is chock full of insightful musings, reminiscences and anecdotes that are a delight. He shares his love of the theater, discussing many of the plays he attended during this period, and gives comments on recent movies, as well. An avid reader, he talks enthusiastically of favorite authors and books; his love of literature is unmistakable. The stage is his first love, however, and he speaks fondly, and frankly, of many of the plays he's done, and of his experiences with many of the actors and directors with whom he has had the privilege of working. He invites you into his private life, discussing the love of his life, Merula, and discoursing on their life at home, as well as their many travels. You learn what the greatest regret of his life is, who some of the people are he admires most, and a few of whom he could do without. He explains his negative attitude toward the "Star Wars" phenomenon, and addresses many of the events, large and small, that have in some way affected his life, and helped mold his perspectives. His concern over world events and the human condition is poignantly evident. Guinness writes so fluently, you can almost hear that distinct, familiar voice; you seem to be listening, rather than reading. There is a dignity and charm to his words that reveal, to some degree, the man behind them. That he values his privacy is apparent, and it becomes very clear that he is not the most accessible person, yet without any rancor; he holds his fans in high esteem, but there is a sincere humility to the man, who simply doesn't feel worthy of all the fuss. In a world seemingly rife with crass sensationalism and indifference, "A Positively Final Appearance" is like a tonic to the soul; it is so refreshing to discover that somewhere elegance and refinement still exist. My positively, final word on this book is that it is a joy, and should not be missed.

A great man
The journal of an extraordinary gentleman, one of the greatest actors ever to grace stage or screen. His reflections on his career are moving and perceptive, totally lacking in self-aggrandisement. His thoughts on the whole "Star Wars" phenomenon are particularly witty but smack of the desperation of being hounded by that film's fans. It's tragic that this great man may only be remembered by modern generations for his appearance in that opus instead of for his work in the Ealing comedies, "The Bridge on the River Kwai", his lengthy stage career and his magnificent turn on TV as George Smiley.

Sir Alec Guinness: More, please!
Receiving and reading this book was one of the highlights of this Christmas season for me. _A Positively Final Appearance_ is a most worthy successor to Sir Alec's _My Name Escapes Me_ and was a warm, wise, witty, wonderful companion indeed this holiday season. Sir Alec is justly admired as one of the world's great actors but has not received the acclaim I believe he merits for his erudition as a writer. At the risk of embarrassing him, I would say that Sir Alec embodies all that is best about the English national character -- qualities that have made me, an American, a lifelong Anglophile. As an American, I must also say that I much appreciated Sir Alec's concern about America's growing militarism and ever increasing tendency to inflict its trashy popular culture on other nations. ... Read more

Book Description

Harold Lloyd, born in 1893, became one of the greatest comic actors in America. This is a compendium of all things Lloyd, with entries on noteworthy persons, recurring themes, crucial elements of Lloyd’s life (birth, education, marriage, family, hobbies, death, etc.), his prime co-stars and co-workers, the films that made him a legend (201 of them), and numerous other topics covering every facet of the man and the actor, all fully cross-referenced and accompanied by a vast collection of images and advertisements.

Lacking the vaudeville training of his chief contemporaries, Lloyd nonetheless grew quickly from a gag technician to a skilled actor. In 1917, he created his famed Glass Character, but a live bomb amongst the props maimed his hand two years later. Keeping his handicap hidden by use of a revolutionary prosthetic, he continued to both charm and enthrall audiences. "The action may be outlandish," he said of himself, "but the characters—most particularly the central character—must not be."

An Appendix A lists the Lloyd shorts in the order produced, with the Production Code assigned by the Rolin Film Company officials. Appendix B is a proper filmography, listing each Lloyd film from 1913 to 1966 in chronological order. ... Read more

Book Description

The sometimes astounding, often deplorable, and frequently shocking exploits of Hollywood's most notorious leading men

Offstage, some of movies' and television's most popular leading men have often led private lives filled with overindulgences and troublesome exploits. Most of these irregular activities by some of Tinseltown's greats were hushed up or toned way down to save careers and reputations, but now the real facts are revealed in Hollywood Bad Boys! Bestselling showbiz author James Robert Parish provides a road map to the stormy and sometimes wacky lives of the show business famous who've taken a walk on the wild side. From tales of drug addiction and alcoholism to sex scandals and murder, and just plain naughty behavior, Parish delivers the behind-the-scenes facts on 70 of the most notorious movie and television stars in Hollywood history.

Reviews (12)

"Bad Boys Bound Between Covers"
What do Charlie Chaplin, W. C. Fields, and Dean Martin have in common? In addition to passing away on Christmas Day in their respective years of death, all 3, along with 67 others, appear in
"Hollywood Bad Boys," from the prolific pen of James Robert Parish. From Ben Affleck to Gig Young (Oscar winners both), you get a succint account of the lives (and, in 37 cases, the deaths) of the notables and the wannabes, that, for better or worse, made the American entertainment industry what it is today.
If you like E!'s "True Hollywood Story" and "Mysteries and Scandals," you'll love "Hollywood Bad Boys."

Getting Past the Tabloids
This is a fascinating look at Hollywood history.Bad behavior is as old Hollywood and bad boys go back to the earliest days.But this is not a simple recap of tabloid stories; this is an indepth look the backgrounds and careers of these bad boys.It also traces the consequences of this bad behavior.The book could also serve as a cautionary tale; much of this bad behavior is the result of booze and/or drugs and in many cases derailed or completely destroyed promising careers.I recommend this highly interesting book.

Getting Past the Tabloids
Hollywood has a long history of bad boys as this fascinating book shows.Bad behavior is as old as Hollywood,but this book is not a simple recap of tabloid stories.It gives an interesting background to the actors' careers, their missteps, and the consequences of their bad behavior.It can also serve as a cautionary book.So much of the bad behavior is a result of booze and/or drugs and in many cases derailed or destroyed very promising careers. I would definitely recommend this book.

Parish is a living, breathing, show biz encyclopedia
He not only gathers information that would otherwise require assistance from the CIA or NSA, he disseminates it in a lively, juicy, easy-to-read manner. He bridges the gap between researchers and the everyday yahoo who wants to know the most salacious details of Hollywood royalty acting like the pampered, indulgent maniacs they often are. One would expect this kind of all-encompassing, zippy, definitive collection from Parish, who has mastered this form, and he does not disappoint.

Entertaining & well-written
You might think this book just represents a tabloid-type recap of the scandals we all know about already.You'd be wrong.This book was obviously very well researched.Parish presents detailed facts about our favorite "bad" boys, written in an entertaining style.It also covers an impressive scope, including not just current stars (Hugh Grant, Ben Affleck, etc.) but also those of yesteryear.You won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Book Description

On the occasion of her 60th birthday, Sean French looks at thelife and work of this gifted and controversial actress, including herrole as cultural icon. Featuring 80 photos. Jane Fonda is unique in thehistory of American cinema. From wide-eyed sex kitten to activist andfeminist, she has continually reinvented herself. Along the way, shebroke every rule: appearing nude, courting political controversy, andproducing films that expressed her own views on the role of women insociety. At an age when many actresses would have retired, Fonda builta business empire whose main products were self-esteem, glamour, andhealth. Sean French's Jane Fonda is an absorbing portrait of an actresswhose life is defined by its chameleon-like progress. Ever changing,she is now married to the influential media baron Ted Turner. And ashalf of one of America's most powerful partnerships, she is as visibleas ever. Sean French is a well-known journalist and novelist; hisprevious books include Bardot and The Imaginary Monkey. 192 pp 6 1/2x 9 1/2 80 b/w photos ... Read more

Book Description

"Outstanding....A biography equal to its subject, warm, honest, fascinating."—Newsday

With Charles Higham, Katharine Hepburn first authorized a writer to interview her closest friends and colleagues about her career, life, and behind-the-scenes romantic involvements from Leland Hayward to Spencer Tracy. And she herself tells the deeply moving story of her twenty-five-year love affair with Tracy. Here is a vivid portrait of the most elegant, independent, and tempestuous star to grace the screen. Over a half million copies sold. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

~A Katharine Kind of a Biography~
This is a wonderful biography for anyone who want to know everything about Kate. This book focuses a lot on her career and the people she met along the way. After reading this book, I had no idea what kind of a person she was, she was definitely not your average movie star who adored the glamour of Hollywood but a fiesty red-headed women who was charismatic towards whatever she did. A must for any Katharine Hepburn fan or classic movie star fan. ... Read more