Read any good autobiographies?

#1

Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 7:56pm

I love reading them.
The best one I ever read was What Falls Away by Mia Farrow.
She holds nothing back, and is always really honest, admitting her own mistakes. Of course, Woody doesn't come out of it looking too good, but we knew that. She even includes all the court documents (in full) relating to their very bitter very public court battle. After reading it, I had a new respect for Mia - she is a great woman. And it was a fascinating read with cameos from lots of celebs and icons like Salvador Dali, Liza Minnelli, and Hollywood stars from the Golden Era.
Mia Farrow is amazing.

#2

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 8:00pm

Gypsy Rose Lee's Memiors are fantastic!

#3

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 8:00pm

Mine.

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Seven and a half cents doesn't buy a hell of a lot!

#4

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 8:06pm

Call Me Anna - Patty Duke
When You Wish Upon A Star - Annette Funicello
Child Star - Shirley Temple
Me and My Shadows - Lorna Luft

are some of my faves, off the top of my head.

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Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson

#5

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 8:11pm

Now talking seriously, my favorite one is Groucho & Me.

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Seven and a half cents doesn't buy a hell of a lot!

#6

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 8:15pm

I read Ashlee Simpson's. Okay, that was a really bad joke... I have lost all of my speaking privleges...

#7

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 8:31pm

My favorite autobiography is YES I CAN by Sammy Davis Jr.

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"Friends are the people you chose as family."....Me.

#8

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 9:54pm

One of the BEST for theatre anecdotes is A HELL OF A LIFE by Maureen Stapleton.

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Updated On: 10/26/04 at 09:54 PM

#9

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:04pm

I totally agree on What Falls Away. It really is a well written book. I also like Lauren Bacall's autobiography.

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So my dear you think you can get to Broadway. Well, let me tell you something. Broadway has no room for people like you. Not the Broadway I know. My Broadway takes people like you and eats them up and spits them out. My Broadway is the Broadway of Merman, and Martin, and Fontaine, and if you think you can build yourself up by knocking other people down... ...GOOD LUCK... Seinfeld

#10

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:08pm

A MASS FOR THE DEAD by William Gibson, author of THE MIRACLE WORKER and GOLDA'S BALCONY. It's an extraordinarily moving memoir that is a tribute to his parents as well.

#11

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:22pm

Lauren Bacall is a role model to Marisa Tomei and Helen Hunt.

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Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson

#12

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 10:24pm

Marlon Brandos is quite interesting.

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BSoBW2: I punched Sondheim in the face after I saw Wicked and said, "Why couldn't you write like that!?"

#13

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/26/04 at 11:07pm

I'm waiting for Liza's.

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Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson

#14

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 12:38am

Read it long ago but remember enjoying SWANSON ON SWANSON.

Also love DANCING IN PETERSBURG by Mathilde Kschessinska.
She was the first great Russian Ballerina and was very powerful because she had been with Nicholas II when he was Tsarevitch and later married one of his cousins. She escaped the revolution and settled in Paris where she became a great teacher, Margot Fonteyn being one of her most famous students.

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" ...the happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid."

#15

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 12:45am

shaimanmenkenfan, I LOVE Groucho and Me!! Fantastic, pure Groucho stuff.

My favorite autobiography right now is:
Singing from the Soul - Jose' Carreras

Wonderful book about performing in general and making it a spiritually enriching experience. And his recovery from cancer is inspiring to say the least.

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Word. Word, indeed.

Updated On: 10/27/04 at 12:45 AM

#16

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 12:50am

A series of three books:
The Road From Coorain
True North
A Woman's Education
-- by Jill Ker Conway

Nothing came easily for Jill Ker Conway. She was born in the Australian outback in 1934. She lived on a sheep ranch until her father died in 1945, forcing the family to move to Sydney. Loss and difficulty did not dim Conway’s vision because she could see beyond the life she knew. Even though she had to drop out of school several times for family reasons, she earned her college degree in 1958 and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1969.

Though her life seemed to progress steadily from one accomplishment to the next, it was Conway’s constant hard work that led to every forward step. Her focus and drive achieved a successful career as a teacher, writer and university administrator culminating with her appointment in 1975 as the first woman president of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

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"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."

#17

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 12:56am

The Diary of Anne Frank - Anne Frank
Freedom in Exile - the Dalai Lama
Writings - Thomas Jefferson
The Story of my Experiments with Truth - Gandhi
Any of Maya Angelou's - especially I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

#18

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 5:23am

Andrea Bocelli's Memoir "The Music of Silence"

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"Applause begets applause in the theatre, as laughter begets laughter and tears beget tears." CLAYTON HAMILTON, "Theory of the Theatre" "I think theater ought to be theatrical ... you know, shuffling the pack in different ways so that it's -- there's always some kind of ambush involved in the experience. You're being ambushed by an unexpected word, or by an elephant falling out of the cupboard, whatever it is." TOM STOPPARD

#19

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 9:01am

not exactly an autobiography - but "The Impossible Musical - the making of Man of La Mancha" is a great read.

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"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!" Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!

#20

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 9:24am

i want to read My Anecdotal Life by Carl Reiner...

#21

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 9:25am

What's stopping you, joeyjoe?

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Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.

#22

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 9:27am

How could I forget
The Story of My Life - Helen Keller

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Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson

#23

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 9:29am

I just got through reading

Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood

#24

re: Read any good autobiographies?

Posted: 10/27/04 at 9:30am

PCB, i have to buy the book!