Brando Unzipped: A Revisionist and Very Private Look at America's Greatest Actor

Product Description

THE BOOK THAT HAD TO WAIT FOR BRANDO TO DIE The mysteries that enveloped the late superstar MARLON BRANDO (1924-2004) are unwrapped and exposed in a richly anecdotal warts-and-all biography, BRANDO UNZIPPED! by bestselling biographer, Darwin Porter. The greatest film actor of the 20th century lives again in these pages, each meticulously researched over a period of more than 40 years. Each of the people Porter interviewed, including many of Brandos loversboth male and female--had a different story to tell. Many of them contradicted heretofore published accounts of how those encounters evolved. Hostile witness or loving friend, each subject added a piece to the mosaic. The result is a fully rounded view of a revolutionary actor who, like lightning on legs, electrified the world in Streetcar Named Desire, where he played Stanley Kowalski in the Broadway version of 1947, and the film version in 1951. The book also describes his Oscar-winning turn as Terry Malloy, the boxer who could have been a contender in On the Waterfront in 1954, and his electrifying comeback as Vito Corleone in The Godfather in 1972. The combative, moody, iconoclastic, polarizing, and enigmatic figure appears as a flesh-and-blood creation in this revelation-studded bio. Its all here: The Rebel Without a Cause who made rebellion hip. The suicide attempts of former girlfriends, Startling stories about Sleeping with the Enemy (bedding a stalker who turned out to be a cannibal in disguise). His involvement with the Black Panthers. The ill-fated marriages, bitter divorces, and child-custody battles. A son with a murder rap. Jealous actors who wanted to seduce Brando and then become Brando on screen. With candor, the author unveils the details of that ongoing disaster that Brando called my life. The charismatic personality of The Wild One is recaptured in all its brooding power that seemed forever ready to explode at any moment. The same animalistic intensity that Brando brought to the role of Stanley Kowalski lives again within the pages of this bio. From sex symbol of the 1950s to a swollen, overweight slob who became a tabloid scandal in the 90s, Brando was one of filmdoms true originals. Women wanted him, and certain men wanted him, and Brando was willing to share his charms with a string of lovers whose hangouts ranged from the A-list boudoirs of New York and Hollywood to the back alleys of a string of cities from New York to the slums of the South Pacific. Throughout this biography, Brandos quirky and sometimes bizarre humor often bubbles to the top. As an example, once, when he was asked for a summation of his life, Brando said: Ive never been circumcised, and my noble tool has performed its duties through thick and thin without fail! More than the story of Brando himself, the biography chronicles the loves of his life, most of which were of short duration but played out with the same kind of intensity he brought to the screen. Regardless of their origins, his affairs invariably crossed the American plains to land on the opposite coast. His lovers were as mercurial as his own personality. They included Doris Duke, the richest woman in the world, and Burt Lancaster, the actor originally targeted for the role of Stanley in Streetcar. The true story of his explosive relationships with Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra is printed for the first time, as is an array of friendships and/or feuds with such unlikely figures as Richard Burton, Charlie Chaplin, and (believe it or not), Michael Jackson. The roles Brando lived off-screen were even more provocative and intriguing than those he created on screen. He paraded through the bedrooms of such luminaries as an aging Marlene Dietrich, and enjoyed one-night stands with both Grace Kelly and Jacqueline Kennedy. His tortured relationships and love affairs with James Dean and Montgomery Clift are explored in depth, as is the pass

Customer Reviews:

"Brando Unzipped..." - Mostly A Work Of Fiction???.......2007-08-15

I am not sure what to think regarding this book, "Brando Unzipped: A Revisionist and Very Private Look at America's Greatest Actor." I believe some of the contents of the book to be accurate based on my reading on Brando and interviews he has done, but I felt in reading the book that there was a large amount of content that seemed to be mere conjecture and gossip on the parts of "sources" - "sources" I am not sure were real, legitimate, or entirely truthful. In addition, in some cases, sources were not cited at all and statements were made that sounded to me as if the author "thought" certain things "may" have occurred and included those as well. If this is true, then I am concerned about a possible lack of journalistic integrity.

I am highly doubtful that all of the sexual liaisons author, Darwin Porter, describes in this book are accurate or balanced. I doubt that Porter was present during Marlon Brando's sexual encounters and I do not think the scant few "sources" cited in the book were present either. Some of this author's inclusions do not ring true to me. I wonder if the author's own feelings, desires, and personal obsessions got in the way of telling a completely truthful and balanced story.

With regard to the writing, I think this was a tedious read in some respects - the pace was too slow, the book was too lengthy, and there were too many unnecessary details that led to boredom for me as the reader. It could have been better edited. Having said that, it is not the worst I have read, but it is not one I would have purchased for the price I did ($30 including S&H) had I known it was not the great book I thought it would be. To me, it is just an average book, at best, and I am left with doubt as to its integrity.

The Tale of the Noble Tool.......2007-07-21

Well this book certainly destroyed the myth of many of Hollywood's most famous stars. It was a fasinating read full of gossip, some known and some not previously revealed. However, I had problems with verbatim conversations that were not properly footnoted. Was there a fly on the wall? Brando was not someone I would want to know!

Pure rubbish through and through...??? (revised).......2007-07-09

While reading this book, it made me want to shower after each chapter read. Salacious, depraved detail after detail with dubious posthumous dialogue between Brando, his conquests/"f**k buddies", and friends. I don't know what to believe after reading this mess. This book will definitely have you not like Marlon Brando, even to the point of disgustful hatred. With all the screwing around he did, it's a wonder his genitals didn't rot off. If he lived today he would surely be HIV positive. Having been sexually molested/abused by a nanny, and purportedly his own mother, I could think of no other reason for him to have lived so pathologically promiscuous. Brando was definitely a very "unwell", psychically damaged man; this was well-proven up into his last days. I can't really say if this book was exaggerated to say the least, but it sure left me feeling like I discovered something I wish I hadn't. I will never see or look at another Marlon Brando film or photo the same way again. If you want to know more about Marlon Brando, I suggest you read elsewhere, as I will. I gave it a chance, but came to the conclusion of it being cheap, exploitative tabloid [...] instead.

This book just had me shaking my head in disbelief exclaiming "NOT MY MAN!", rendering me mortified...and saying a prayer for his immortal soul.

The infamous "picture" half-way through had me petrified. Just proves the author was banking on sleazy shock value to generate interest and sales. Mr. Porter obviously got my attention, but I'm glad I kept the receipt.

Brando: The Man or the Myth?.......2007-06-22

It's hard to know what to make of this book. Over 600 pages of bedroom revelation covering a mere 15 year period, and make no mistake, each page contains multiple couplings with the famous and not-so-famous. If only a fraction are true, Brando qualifies as a world-class sexual athlete. And that's the trouble. The reader can't know how much to believe since the vignettes pass by rapidly and without attribution. There're some named sources cited at volume's end, but these remain vague and without specifics. Given Brando's proven allure and prodigious talent (at least, during the early years), it's a good bet many are true. But which ones and to what extent, we can only imagine. Author Darwin Porter's narrative resembles a scorecard more than a biography, zipped, unzipped or flagging in the wind. In fact, the narrative leaves much to be desired. The thread, such as it is, follows a rough time-line from about 1943 to 1960, though dates are rarely cited. Instead, the episodes unfold fluidly without framing, merging ultimately into a kind of orgiastic reverie. I hate to say so, but the piling-on becomes repetitive and eventually rather monotonous. Anyone looking to better understand Brando, the man or the artist, better look elsewhere. And in what may be the unkindest reaction of all-- the author manages to turn this legend's rich private life into what is finally a rather tiresome read.

Salacious, gossipy unorthodox bio........2007-01-19

Has such a salacious biography ever been written on a major Hollywood star before?.

Forget the Brando that most of my generation became acqainted with in movies like The Godfather. In the late 40's; 50's and possibly into the 60's before the huge weight gain...he was quite the sex god. According to Darwin Potters book he must have slept with half of Hollywood, male and female and unapologetic or ashamed about his bisexuality.

Its juicy, gossipy and I couldnt put it down, whilst Potter acknowledges his sources pretty close to the revelation. The only problem I had was when he recounts private conversations between Brando and his paramours verbatim...

Another side to a true legend and individual, a good buy.

Oh yes the infamous photograph is included as well.

Average customer rating:

Marlon Brando: A Beautiful Man...
Reflections from one of the greats
This Song Best Left Unsung
The one you need
MARLON BRANDO

Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me
Marlon Brando
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0679410139
Release Date: 1994-09-03

Customer Reviews:

Marlon Brando: A Beautiful Man..........2007-09-09

Marlon Brando was the greatest and most versatile actor ever to grace the stage or screen, but he was also a great human being whose heaviness of heart over the suffering of others in the world drove him to do what he could to alleviate that suffering and to shed light on inhumanity and social injustice.

In reading "Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me" by Marlon Brando (with Robert Lindsey), my emotions ran the gamut. I laughed. I cried. I longed for Marlon's presence among us once again. I felt some anger that this person - this wonderful man who gave us so much - this man who stood by the convictions of his heart to help others and who changed the lives of many for the better was scorned and criticized for his activities on behalf of those living in misery and despairing among us in the world. People called him "radical" and otherwise labeled him. And, he felt their contempt and was affected by it. How unfair it was. While so many people merely paid lip service to such causes, Marlon actually did something to bring about positive change and peoples' lives were changed positively as a direct result of this. So, if this was "radical," then I would wish to be so honorably labeled, myself.

Marlon's seemed a painful and lonely childhood filled with abandonment, insecurity, and heartache. He was a prankster - a fact that reminds me of something I learned years ago when I was in nursing school about children whose needs are not met in life - that they are the "clowns" or pranksters in a group, laughing on the outside, but crying on the inside. Marlon said he had difficulty trusting women until very late in his life and that this was the reason he had multiple relationships simultaneously. If one woman left or rejected him, the pain would be more bearable, knowing there were still others. He would not have to feel so alone and abandoned and rejected as he had at times during his childhood like when his nanny left him and when his mother whom he loved so much was not emotionally available to him due to her dependence on alcohol.

As for Marlon's relationship with the public, it is apparent that society held Marlon Brando to its own unattainable expectations. This is a shameful societal legacy. No person on earth remains who they were at twenty years old when they are fifty or seventy or eighty. People praised Marlon when he was meeting their personal expectations of him. But, then, when he did what was natural by growing older (and wiser, more seasoned, and more socially responsible) and some people felt he was no longer meeting their personal expectations, they became contemptuous or indifferent toward and about him. Marlon discussed this with Lawrence Grobel in Grobel's book, "Conversations With Brando." Marlon talked about how he was received when he had a new hit film out compared to when he did not. He said something to the effect that he could "see it in the eyes of the airline hostesses" and other people how, when he had a new hit film out, he received a "full thirty-two teeth" greeting and that when he did not have a new hit film out, they would talk to him like he was a has-been. This is so ridiculous to me. It seems the memories of some are as short as the last breath they took - either that or perhaps they have not actually reviewed the incomparable and timeless work of Marlon Brando.

Having said that, there is definitely no shortage of love, respect, and admiration for Marlon Brando in the world of movies and among other artists, among his fans, and among those whose lives he helped bring improvement to over the years through his activism, his kindness, and his friendship. This is not to mention the love for him expressed by his children in interviews since his passing.

There was no better actor that ever lived and no film better than those Marlon made - and there were so many: "On The Waterfront" and "The Godfather" both bringing Marlon Brando Academy Awards, "One-Eyed Jacks," a masterpiece in which Marlon acted and which he directed, "Mutiny On The Bounty," among the best films of all time, in my opinion; "Last Tango In Paris" in which Marlon allowed us into his private pain and thoughts and which contained a gutwrenching monologue by Marlon over the body of his character's dead wife; "Apocalypse Now," a film in which Marlon performs a beautiful recitation of T.S. Eliot's, "The Hollow Men," and in which he plays a role that is truly heart-stopping; "A Streetcar Named Desire," in the role of Stanley Kowalski which he acted in such a way that there would be no other that came after him that could come close to matching his performance; "Burn," a film whose subject became somewhat a reality on the set, causing Marlon to take a stand, "The Young Lions" a dramatic and moving film and one of my favorites, "Julius Caesar" in which Marlon proved himself a consummate Shakespearean actor; "The Fugitive Kind," "The Wild One," "The Appaloosa," and, so many others.

People seemed obsessed with Marlon's weight in his later years. I remember seeing him in "The Freshman" and thinking how good it would feel to be hugged by him then. I also remember thinking that he was such a handsome man with the same beautiful eyes, smile, and sense of humor. He was still Marlon - a sexy, beautiful, inspiring, sensitive man with a wonderfully expressive face and a brilliant mind - a beautiful soul - and among the most interesting people in the world, in my opinion. I would have loved to know him and to have spent time with him - listening to his ideas and theories about life and working with him on projects. I always thought his ideas and projects were inventive, creative, and often workable. One of the things that I was absolutely amazed to hear in a documentary about Marlon was someone talking about Marlon's idea to use the very cold sea water hundreds of feet below sea level and pumping it up to cool buildings above sea level. The person being interviewed said that this idea was actually put into use to air condition hotels in tropical places - and with an approximate energy savings of two-thirds. It amazes me every time I think about it.

Regarding "Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me," Marlon chose not to write about his children. I respect that. I think it would have been fine if he had written about his children, but I think that his love and his protective nature when it came to his children precluded his succumbing to any public pressure to subject his children to such scrutiny and exposure. It was obvious to anyone who knew anything about Marlon as a father that he stood by his children, anguished deeply over them, and made all of the sacrifices that a father whose children mean everything to him would make whenever his children were in crisis. In a documentary I once saw, Marlon's children spoke of him. Their love for their father was obvious and his love for them was obvious in their words as they spoke about the kind of father he was. Marlon, who had endured a difficult relationship with his own father obviously wanted to be a different kind of father to his own children - a gentler, more emotionally connected, and loving father - also a father with a great sense of humor and a playfulness about him.

Marlon writes about his father, his mother, and his sisters in this book. And, this book's title is so fitting when one reads how, despite his mother's struggles with her alcoholism, she still gave him so much, including his love of nature and his love of music and theatre. Marlon loved his mother beyond her problems and he took care of her as best he could, even during his younger years when he should have been the one being taken care of. He loved deeply and he grieved deeply and this was evident when he lost his mother, a woman he said "taught me how to die." Marlon also speaks lovingly of his sisters who seemed to have somehow given him a little of the approval, acceptance, and reassurances about himself that he was not receiving elsewhere in his childhood. In particular, in this book, he includes an inscription on the back of a photograph of him written by one of his sisters that said, "Bud - and is he a grand boy! Sweet and funny, idealistic and oh, so young." As for Marlon's relationship with his father, it seemed Marlon spent much of his life seeking his father's approval because his father was always so disapproving and critical of him. I was so pleased to realize through Marlon's words that he had come to terms with regard to he and his father's relationship and that there seemed to be some healing, forgiveness, and understanding on Marlon's part, not only of his father, but also of himself, in the latter part of his life.

Mere words are inadequate to express the way I feel about Marlon Brando. I love him. I miss him. My heart was broken when I learned of his passing and I still feel it now. If, but for the certainty I feel that Marlon is now in a place of complete peace and wholeness, I would wish for his presence back here among us again.

As for "Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me," I highly recommend this book. It is a book I literally could not put down once I started reading it. It is a very well written and poignant story of the life of a beautiful person who left his mark on the art of acting and on the world in so many ways.

Reflections from one of the greats.......2006-12-28

Marlon Brando's memoir reads like a breezy conversation thanks to the assistant (if not outright ghostwriter) Robert Lindsay, who was able to compile this material after who knows how much dribble. Brando was undeniably one of the greats, a brilliant craftsman and innovator on the stage and screen. After his cult of personality had been established with `Streetcar,' `On the Waterfront,' and `The Wild One,' Brando drifted to smaller projects, which Hollywood was quick to dismiss. However, during this time Brando performed in Burn! by Pontecervo, which he cites as his greatest performance. I would argue `Last Tango in Paris,' wherein Bertolucci really let Brando's improvisational talent flourish. This memoir is undeniably fluff; he even admits he agreed to do it for the money alone, but it's entertaining fluff. You get to learn about his peculiar politics which include: a visceral support for Zionism, support for the civil rights movement, opposition to the war in Vietnam, and extreme activism to support Native Americans. Brando was a devoted and complex individual. He admits that he enjoyed having affairs, that he often took projects for money, that he was often depressed, lonely, and hot-tempered. What also emerges here is a portrait of an artist trying to gain independence in an inauthentic industry; perhaps he was one of the few who refused to let it ever beat him.

This Song Best Left Unsung.......2006-10-06

The history of the book when it was published tells it all. After a media blitz and great anticipation with what would be written - due to Brando pocketing an absolutely huge advance - the sales were so abysmal that it was discounted by fifty-percent or more less than two weeks after sitting mostly unsold on store shelves.

It was supposed to be the reflections of arguably the greatest actor of his generation, but unfortunately Songs My Mother Taught Me is nothing but psycho-babble with a text that can be read (skimmed) very quickly.

The only thing I determined was Brando very early in the writing process decided he was going to be as difficult on this "set" as he reportedly was with most of his film directors.

Next to Gerald Ford's brief and boring book published after his controversial presidency, Songs My Mother Taught Me is perhaps the most disappointing publication by a major public figure in the latter portion of the last century.

The one you need.......2006-04-27

After I read Marlon Brando's own memoirs, my view on him changed. That he was one of the most brilliant actors in history is a fact most people are aware of, but what fewer know is that he was a very intelligent man who helped discriminated folk groups more than many. I knew this even before I read this book, SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME. But what I was not aware of, was how sensitive and funny he could be when he felt comfortable. I believe much of his "tough" behavior simply was an image. Not all the time, of course, he was very masculine and could --which he admits in this book-- be brutal at times, but this side of him is obviously exaggerated by the press through the years.

After a four-page long introduction by Robert Lindsey, who put this book together with Brando, the actor opens chapter I with the sentence, "As I stumble back across the years of my life trying to recall what it was about, I find that nothing is really clear." I respectfully disagree with this. Brando tells his story with so many interesting, funny and sad details and comments that I can't do anything else. The sentence that follows, however, is more telling -- "I suppose the first memory I have was when I was too young to remember how young I was. I opened my eyes, looked around in the mouse-colored light and realized that Ermi was still asleep, so I dressed myself as best as I good and went down the stairs, left one foot first on each step."

Ermi was the childhood love of Marlon (or 'Bud,' as he was referred to at that time). She was his nurse maid, and he writes lovingly about how she took care of him during his earliest years. But only a few months after his first school year began, she married a man Marlon never got a chance to even see and left him. Although Marlon tells the story with understanding, there is a clear bitterness between the lines. At the time Ermi said good-bye, Marlon discovered a heart-breaking fact -- his parents were abused to alcohol. This did, of course, not make the situation more pleasant.

Marlon's picture of his mother, Dorothy is filled with bitter-sweet love, while his father, Marlon Sr., is described as a "brutal bar-fighter." He had his reasons. During his teens, he and his sisters (two and four years older than him) had to bring their mother home from the police station often once a week after a "night out." In these circumstances, it happened now and then that their father took his wife upstairs and beat her. One time when this was the case, Marlon ran up to the bed-room, put his teeth in a Goliat-position and said terrifying, "If you ever touch her again, I will kill you."

In spite of such unhappy memories, Brando's pre-acting years are also often described with much humor. Escpecially one episode impressed me. While he was in a military school --which he hated but his father had sent him there-- one thing annoyed him more than anything else -- a bell that rang every quarter. One night he stole the bell and buried it. The next day, the school had never been as quiet before. They finally had to use a tromphet to make the ring signals, and every time the instrument made a sound, Marlon fell on the ground with laughter.

When he was twenty, he went to New York to make a living as an actor (though "only to survive"). He began his career on Actor's Studios, where later many other great actors, James Dean among them, would start their careers. His "wonderful teacher Stella Adler" saw what she had between her hands, and after some small parts in a couple of so-so Broadway plays, he got his chance as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee William's masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire in 1947. Brando was praised from the beginning on. But Brando himself has several times --also in this book-- claimed that he don't care about Stanley Kowalski, a brutal bar-fighter (do you see the resemblances?). "He isn't impressed of anything, I detest the character," is Brando's words, which puzzled a whole world, myself included. Marlon Brando's portrait of Stanley Kowalski is --together with his portrait of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront and Don Corleone in The Godfather-- the best acting he ever did.

Streetcar was filmed in 1951, and was a huge hit. It made Brando world famous. But he admits in his autobiography that he truly would have been happier if he had not been a movie star.

Brando describes each film he appeared in with interesting and funny notes, how he became the characters he went into, etc. A deilightful surprise was that he actually co-wrote a lot on several of his movies, including Sayonara, The Young Lions, The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris, The Missouri Breaks and Apocalypse Now. The characters in these movies were his creations in every way.

Although he has left out information about his three marriages and comes out with only a little --actually very little-- stuff about his children, Brando's private life is tension and funny reading through the whole book. He tells shamelessly about a handful of his affairs with all kinds of women, about his love for animals, about his temperament --like when he knocked out the front windows of a bus with both fists-- and when he gradually learned to control this anger. The life on Teitora --the island where he had the happiest moments of his life-- are described with deep love and yet honesty for the Tahitian people.

There is something for everyone here, but personally, I found the chapters where he confirms his political opinions and his views on human nature most interesting. I agreed with almost everything. It helped me a lot to understand human behavior and it was a very good source to a school test I was forced to do while I still was reading the book.

No doubt. Marlon Brando was one of the greatest actors in history, we know that. But besides, he was also one of the greatest storytellers in history. Buy, rent or steal this book (personally I bought it here on Amazon.com), read it, and then you know everything you need to know about the genius Marlon Brando. You don't need to be a fan of him already to enjoy this book, but it is doubtful that you can read it through without becoming it.

Peter Manso's mammoth-book might be filled with information, but it's cynically written and dwells on names and incidents over and over again, without very many conclusions. SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME is a wonderfully told biography which reads like one of the most affecting novels I've ever put my hands on.

Forget the ridiculous gossip-books -- this is the one you need.

MARLON BRANDO.......2006-03-26

I HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK AS IT WAS A PRESENT TO MY MOTHER. I HEARD GOOD REVIEWS ABOUT IT ON THE WBAI RADIO HERE IN NEW YORK.

Female Brando: The Legend of Kim Stanley

Average customer rating:

Should've been much, much better!
Compelling Story, but...
Kim Stanley revisited.
Worth reading but lacking in some important respects
A great actress you might not recognize

Female Brando: The Legend of Kim Stanley
Jon Krampner
Manufacturer: Back Stage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0823088472
Release Date: 2006-06-01

Book Description

• Oscar nominations for Frances and Seance on a Wet Afternoon • Tony award nominations for A Touch of the Poet and A Far Country • Emmy award for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof • The first major biography of a great star, meticulously researched—author conducted more than 225 personal interviews • Like icons Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, Stanley's talent was matched by her self-destructiveness • A compelling tale of triumph and tragedy

Elizabeth Taylor and Joanne Woodward were inspired by her work. Arthur Penn called her the American equivalent of Eleanora Duse. She was the greatest stage actress of a generation that included Julie Harris, Geraldine Page, and Colleen Dewhurst. Between 1949 and 1964, Kim Stanley created starring roles in twelve Broadway productions, including Cheri, the nightclub singer in Bus Stop. Then, after fifteen years of stardom, Stanley walked away from the theater, never to return. What happened? Female Brando answers that question with a meticulously researched, empathetic biography that traces Stanley's childhood, her early training, her stardom—and her tragic descent into alcoholism and loneliness. Much more than a mere cautionary tale, Female Brando is a clear-headed examination of Kim Stanley's brilliance that places her in the pantheon of great American artists.

Customer Reviews:

Should've been much, much better!.......2007-06-12

I really looked forward to reading this biography as I had thought that an account of this truly accomplished actor was long overdue. By page 78, I felt something was wrong. By page 110, the answers were apparent. First, and forgivable, was the type face. It looks like the manuscript was typewritten and then bound into a book. Is the font called "Selectric Modern?" Most egregious, however, is the heavy dependency on interviews on the part of the author. Every OTHER paragraph seems to be a quote from somebody.
Trying to delve into the persona of a person based on second-hand or even third-hand "memories," truly leaves me still puzzled as to who Kim Stanley actually was. Many of the interviewed are "remembering" events that took place 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years ago. I'm amazed at how people's memories are SO vivid.
Perhaps one day, a truly analytical attempt at presenting this most complex personality will emerge. I do not judge this particular biography to be very successful in that endeavor.
Oh, I agree with the other reviewer concerning Ms. Stanley's attendance at the Oscar ceremonies--she WAS there!

Compelling Story, but..........2007-05-05

I am 41 and, honestly, until I saw a documentary on Broadway's "Golden Age," I really did not know of Kim Stanley. I had heard the name in passing and vaguely remember some brouhaha surrounding her appearance in the 1982 film "Frances," but that was it. Her life, as told by Krampner, made for a riveting, saddening read. However, Krampner's style of writing annoyed me with its often confusing, long-winded ramblings toward this or that point, with the odd non-sequitur thrown in for good measure. Overall, this is a book worth reading for anyone interested in theatre and/or mental illness.

Kim Stanley revisited........2007-01-10

My years spent living in New York City enabled me to see great theatre, especially in the 1950's and 1960's.

I first saw Kim Stanley in Bus Stop and was amazed and deeply touched by her performance.

This book is very well written. The author lets us know about her acting techinique and what it cost her in her private life. This reader was caught up with her life experiences and became even more grateful to Kim for her unreserved sharing of her deepest feelings.

Those who read this book will learn so much about themselves and the people around them.

I highly recommend this book.

Thelma Norton

Worth reading but lacking in some important respects.......2006-10-23

Jon Krampner deserves praise for taking on the tough project of writing a biography of Kim Stanley. It's good that he did it while there are still plenty of people around who knew and worked with Stanley, and he has interviewed many of them. The notes in the back are laudably comprehensive in identifying sources for almost every statement in the book.

I want to be able to rave about this book but I found it only partly successful. There is a lot of good information here and it's almost always absorbing. There are, however, some big gaps in its coverage of Stanley's personal life and aspects of her career. The gaps in recounting her personal life, at least, are somewhat understandable given that all four of her husbands are dead, she seems to have left behind few letters and, as Krampner documents, she not only made up stories about herself, especially about her early life, she told different stories at different times. And as her life went on, she became something of a recluse.

Krampner gives an account of her early years and her family background that seems as thorough as anyone could have managed, which can't have been easy. But when it comes to her later life, there are some really puzzling elisions.

For example, on page 231 we're told, pretty much out of the blue, that Stanley has just married a man named Joseph Siegel. Prior to this, there have been only two brief mentions of Siegel, including one that does tell us they would marry. But there's virtually nothing about their courtship and nothing at all about how they met. If nothing is known, that should have been stated.

Another example: On page 256, when Stanley is in the midst of her first major breakdown, Horton Foote is quoted about having been asked to go to New York to help her. He says that he suggested Vivian Nathan should be called to help her. There have been three previous mentions of Nathan in the book, all fairly brief. The last previous one was on page 81. If she was so important to Stanley that Foote said, "She's the one who can help Kim," why have 175 pages passed since she was last mentioned?

There are several other similarly frustrating lapses.

Trivial but puzzling is when a man named Ken Pressman is quoted about an incident that occurred when, at the age of 14, he saw Stanley in "Bus Stop": another cast member fainted onstage, the performance stopped, and then continued with the actress's understudy. Pressman says, "Of all the performances I saw Kim do, that was not my favorite, or even close. Because my feeling was that her concentration was blown." This is the book's only mention of Pressman. We never find out who he is, what other performances of Stanley's he saw, or why he might be considered an authority on acting or Stanley. It's not even an interesting story. Is it surprising that Stanley's concentration might have been thrown in that situation?

Krampner's theatre knowledge is a bit lacking, resulting in some factual errors as well as statements that are correct but don't include relevant information. For instance, writing of the house in which Stanley was born, he mentions that another actress, Jan Clayton, was born there, telling us that she played the mother in the "Lassie" TV series. True enough, but in a book about an actress who often proclaimed her dedication to the theatre, it would have been appropriate to mention that Clayton created the role of Julie Jordan in "Carousel" and starred as Magnolia in the 1946 revival of "Show Boat."

Similarly, when Krampner writes a couple of pages later that Stanley was the most important dramatic actress to come out of Albuquerque, better known for "TV sitcom stars" such as Vivian Vance and Neil Patrick Harris, it might have been appropriate to acknowledge Vance's and Harris's many theatre credits. I wonder if Krampner knew of them. (It's easy to find out about them on the Internet.) On the next page he writes of a significant event in Stanley's life: when she saw the tour of "The Philadelphia Story," with Katharine Hepburn, Joseph Cotten, and Van Johnson -- except it would have been Van Heflin, not Van Johnson. These things may seem trivial, but with a number of other examples of gaps in Krampner's theatre knowledge occurring elsewhere, it does make you question the thoroughness of his research and wonder whether he's getting other things wrong that you're not picking up on.

Particularly disappointing is that we read relatively little about Stanley's working methods and rehearsal process, or learn with much specificity what went on during rehearsals for the plays in which she appeared. We do get a fair amount about "Three Sisters," especially about the disastrous London engagement, but much of that comes from Foster Hirsch's book "A Method to Their Madness." With many people still around who were in plays with her, I think that we could have learned more about these productions and how she worked in rehearsals.

An especially frustrating moment comes when a man named Randy Bennett, who was Stanley's downstairs neighbor when she lived in Los Angeles from 1983 to 1993, is quoted saying that Stanley used to tell him "stories about her early days on Broadway." Why does it seem that none of those stories is in the book?

I'm grateful to Krampner for having written this book, most of which is absorbing and informative as far as it goes. He's clearly done a lot of research and worked hard, and some of the book's problems surely have to do with Stanley's own vagaries. I do recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Stanley.

Still, I wish that it had been polished a bit more and that Krampner had covered some major aspects of Stanley's life in more detail.

A great actress you might not recognize.......2006-09-02

Many of these reviews of Jon Krampner's fine biography of Kim Stanley can speak authoritatively about details in this great actress' star-crossed life. Me? I didn't know much about Kim Stanley -- frankly, I confused her in my mind's eye with both Kim Hunter and Kim Novak, for what must now be apparent reasons. So my ignorance got me into this book ... and ironically, enhanced my appreciation of the provocative life story Krampner tells.

The genuine tragedy of Kim Stanley's life -- remember, everything I know about her I read in this book -- is that her extraordinary talent and promise was ultimately drowned by her self-destructive behavior ... and maybe that's why I and others don't readily recognize her name. Without the mortal anchor of her bad habits and off-stage manner, she might truly have become as god-like in the public's eyes as Brando, to whom she was often compared. For me personally, a book should contain a certain amount of discovery for the reader, and in "Female Brando" it was as simple as learning that Kim Stanley was the narrating adult voice of Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird." But there was much, much more.

Krampner writes without the breathlessness of many Hollywood biographers, and his story is chocked full of interviews, dates and facts, not innuendo and sensationalized surmise. He recounts a fabulous life that surpassed most common lives but fell far short of what it could have been.

Jon Krampner made me want to see Kim's work, and that's as fine a review as anyone can offer a biographer.

The Way It's Never Been Done Before: My Friendship with Marlon Brando

Average customer rating:

"A Friend, Indeed"............
Includes some interesting information if you're a fan of Brando's, but perhaps not what you'd expect from a friend
A fantastic read
Touching, but only a partial portrait
Intriguing, Enriching... but Sometimes Too Much

The Way It's Never Been Done Before: My Friendship with Marlon Brando
George Englund
Manufacturer: HarperEntertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060786302
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Book Description

Marlon Brando was the brightest, boldest, and most iconoclastic acting talent of our time. But while his courage and imagination as an artist brought applause and attention from around the world, Brando shunned nearly everything that goes with celebrity status. He was one of the most reclusive personalities in modern times and a legend beyond compare. He was also an equal opportunity provocateur -- a dazzling baffler -- be it on stage, on screen, or in his private life. Always true to his nature, he never failed to surprise. He did things his way -- The Way It's Never Been Done Before.

No one shared as much of Brando's private fields as his lifelong friend and business confidant, George Englund. For more than five decades, Brando and Englund were each other's most trusted ally and closest compadre. Even at their first meeting, at a Hollywood party in 1956 -- the kind of occasion where Brando was most on guard against any who would attempt to get close to him -- he and Englund forged close ties. From that initial meeting right up to the eve of the superstar's death in the summer of 2004, Brando and Englund were in nearly constant contact. They traveled together, worked together, and played together. They consoled and cajoled each other through their marriages and divorces, the births and tragic deaths of their children, good and bad business deals, and the onset of aging, concluding with Brando's death at the age of eighty.

"I remembered what Mark Twain wrote," Englund says, "'that everybody is a moon with a dark side he doesn't show anyone else.' I felt this was an appropriate hour for a book that looked at the other side of Marlon, that told of the man and friend and father he was. There has not been such a book in Marlon's lifetime, even including his autobiography, and I felt that after our long years of friendship, perhaps I should attempt to write it. I knew the difficulty I would encounter; to write about Marlon is to work with delicate glass, for he was, without question, the most complicated personality I ever met or knew about.

"I once thought what a grand time he and I would have writing the book about our friendship together. That possibility has passed away, for Marlon is gone now -- I must make the attempt to write of us alone. I summon to the task the sacredness, which, when we were at our best, Marlon and I laid upon our friendship."

Customer Reviews:

"A Friend, Indeed"...................2007-07-06

What is "friendship?"

I am sorry to say that I felt the book, "The Way It's Never Been Done Before: My Friendship With Marlon Brando," was a betrayal. The book's author, George Englund, was a "friend" to Marlon Brando for decades. When I purchased the book, I expected a poignant remembrance from a beloved friend of Marlon Brando. This book was anything but that, in my opinion. Then, I realized that George Englund's book was published in 2004. Marlon died in 2004. You do the math.

Sad...terribly sad...Marlon was right. He had reason to feel distrust of people, even of those who claimed to be his friends.

Marlon deserved better.

As for the details contained in the book, the "dish" had no juice. I thought that most of it was George Englund attempting to elevate himself and telling his OWN life story...which was VERY boring. I bought the book to read about Marlon, not to read about George Englund.

George Englund should have titled the book, "The Way It's Always Been Done Before: My Friendship With Myself...Oh, and Did I Mention Marlon Brando?"

Includes some interesting information if you're a fan of Brando's, but perhaps not what you'd expect from a friend.......2006-11-29

While their friendship lasted for nearly fifty years, from 1956 to Brando's death in 2004 (with a noticeable break in the 1990's), I can't help feeling that all George Englund wanted all these years was to get information about Marlon so he one day would be able to write a book like this one. He claims that they were very close, and he has a reason for saying so, inasmuch as the two talked about quite personal experiences and memories. But then, if a pair of friends really are so close, is it so natural of one of them to write an entire book about the other, making everybody able to know incidents the victim didn't want anybody else to know?

George Englund's book THE WAY IT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE: MY FRIENDSHIP WITH MARLON BRANDO opens with some reflections from the author, written a few months before the actor's death. "Marlon is an old man. I both laugh and weep as I write the sentence. Marlon Brando old? It can't be true. It is, though; he is eigthy. But it isn't the number of years that's significant, Brando could still be youthful. It's how the years have treated him and how he has treated them." The book eventually covers the first meeting between George and Marlon, the opening of their film-company Pennebaker and the filming of a movie Englund directed which Brando starred in, the lesser known THE UGLY AMERICAN from 1963. All this is interesting stuff to any Brando-fan like myself. But as the book goes on, I slowly begin to feel a certain disgust against Englund. Was he really a friend? He frequently describes Brando's relationships with women in a tasteless way. It might be possible that Brando was far from being a saint all the time, but even so, that's no excuse for a self-called "friend" to make the whole world aware of it more than already. Englund also takes the liberty to present an entire telephone conversation he once taped between him and Marlon shortly after the killing of the boyfriend of Marlon's daughter. Needless to say, the conversation includes plenty of intimate information about the tragedy.

Englund reaches the peak, however, when he talks about his friend's behavior in the court room after the murder. Englund admits that he didn't attend the court during the trial and never saw any clips of it on television or anywhere else, but when he read in the newspapers that Marlon began to cry in court, he knew Brando was lying, " he acted. But this wasn't the greatest actor of his time seizing everyone's imagination, this was a former champion, overweight, out of shape, sloppy with his technique." A somewhat nice friend.

Englund also uses the opportunity to largely tell about his own children's problems with drugs -- and he's even namegiving them.

The book also has flaws concerning its structure, in my opinion; although pretty well written word-wise, Englund moves from one time to another back and forward which I found to be very confusing at times. For example, he mentions one incident when he visited Marlon's house while the actor watched ON THE WATERFRONT on TV; it took me a while to figure out that this was at the end of his life.

Brando said, several times, "My friends don't write books about me." In a well-published interview with Laurence Grobel, he stated, "["Friends who write books about me] weren't friends from the beginning." The big irony here lays in that Englund in his book even admits this, and says that a friend doing a book about Brando was the biggest sin you could do towards him. I'm glad you realize what you are, George.

I recommend this book only to the biggest Brando-fans out there who've already read the actor's lovingly autobiography.

A fantastic read.......2006-05-29

The problem with biographies of Marlon Brando, and celebrities in general, is that they are often written by an outsider, someone who had little or no personal acquaintance with the subject and is sometimes just out to cash in on their celebrity. It is these problems with most biographies that makes George Englund's biography of Marlon Brando such a joy to read.

Englund's friendhip with Brando started in 1956 and his biography therefore thrusts us directly into the height of his fame and spares us the date and details of his birth and upbringing. These often constitute the more tedious parts of other biographies. Another common problem with biographies is that they have a tendency to simply list off the actions and professional achievements of their subjects, sometimes giving them the appearance of a prolonged C.V. This is another area where Englund's book comes into its own. His close relationship with Brando allows him to recount many very personal and revealing tales that allow the reader to feel a closeness to Marlon that is difficult considering how private a man he was. The difficulties of Brando's life are well documented, but the accounts offered here are far more vivid and moving. The writer is not pre-occupied with sensationalism or scandal, merely the real story and the emotion felt.

'The way it's never been done before' is a fascinating read and is a must have for anyone that is passionate about the work of Marlon Brando, surely the screen's greatest ever actor

Touching, but only a partial portrait.......2006-01-02

George Englund's memoir of Marlon Brando is that, a memoir and far from a full-scale biography. It is a touching remembrance, filled with genuine affection for its subject, but not so much as to make the author blind to the shortcomings and warts of the greatest of all our film actors. In its affection it is a welcome departure from some of the more vicious tabloid-like portrayals of Brando--Peter Manso's biography comes to mind. At its best Englund's work is distinguished by some really beautiful interludes and gripping passages--his description of visiting his own absentee father after decades is especially moving. One senses that Englund believed he was privy to the whole of Brando, the insider of all insiders. His graphic description of Brando's last night is almost an exercise in trying to prove to himself, and us, how close he was to Brando. And it is a rare occurrence of Englund going perhaps too far. But for all that he was allowed to see, it is also apparent to the reader, if not to Englund himself, that Georgie was kept at arms length from various facets and compartments of his famous subject. There are dramatic and notable gaps in the book, and one gets the feeling that Englund's import as a macho and intellectual sidekick grew once Wally Cox died. It is perhaps too much to ask any single book to cover the whole of Brando--the subject is simply too complex. But this is a useful glimpse inside at least some aspects of Brando's life.

Intriguing, Enriching... but Sometimes Too Much.......2005-07-30

Good book, but I have one major reservation:
In an interview, George Englund said he penned this account of Marlon Brando with, "Brando's dignity in my hand". So presumptively, Englund as a best friend wouldn't think to ever reveal personal information or details that Brando would have never wanted known, right? Isn't that what best friends are for?
Um, quite the contrary here: Englund's telling of Brando's last days were too dam detailed, at times vile and completely unnecessary. Surely, this is not what people want to remember of the revered legend.
I'm unafraid to say that I wept on the day Brando died like I had lost someone I knew and loved. For fans who really loved him a good portion of this thing -in excruciating pain from his disease and lying in helpless condition on a deathbed- you will find incredibly depressing. I'd recommend skipping some parts if you wanna keep the image of Brando the Almighty One intact.
Dark clouds away this was indeed a pure delight to pore through... when is the subject ever boring afterall? I was happy Mr.Englund released this very personal tale of his friendship with Brando I only wish the actor himself were still alive to admire even more.

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Brando: a Biography in Photographs
Christopher Nickens
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Marlon Brando: The Way It's Never Been Done Before

ASIN: 0385233086
Release Date: 1987-10-20

Average customer rating:

A Page Turner...
Yet Another Brando Bio
Bravo Brando!
Really helped me understand a creative genius better...
Excellent short biography

Marlon Brando
Patricia Bosworth
Manufacturer: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0753813793

Amazon.com

There have been many biographies of Marlon Brando, but Patricia Bosworth's succinct portrait, a worthy addition to the always cogent Penguin Lives series, will appeal to those more interested in the legendary performances that revolutionized American acting than in his offscreen shenanigans. A longtime member of the Actors Studio, Bosworth is especially well equipped to elucidate the introspective, emotionally charged acting style that electrified Broadway audiences in A Streetcar Named Desire, which opened in 1947 when Brando was only 23. Much of the material is familiar, but Bosworth often offers intriguing sidelights, such as the speculation that he modeled aspects of Stanley Kowalski on the play's driven, womanizing director, Elia Kazan. It's also interesting to learn that the actor he most admires is Paul Muni, who vanished into each characterization and had no "image" to plague him as Brando did after his star-making turns in The Wild One and On the Waterfront made him the quintessential 1950s rebel. (Bosworth suggests that The Godfather appealed to Brando because in the part of Don Corleone he could "hide completely" as Muni had done.) As in her biographies of Montgomery Clift and Diane Arbus, Bosworth examines with sympathy her subject's psychological difficulties, particularly his relationships with his alcoholic mother and brutal father; she skates lightly over later troubles like the murder trial of son Christian and suicide of daughter Cheyenne. The book essentially closes with Brando's early-'70s triumphs in The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris; the author frankly admits she's "still trying to figure out why this singular artist lost his way after [those] two great performances." Bosworth's appreciative account renews our dismay that this brilliant actor who so despises his profession couldn't be bothered to give more such performances. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

The definitive account of this elusive actor, MARLON BRANDO offers a penetrating look at Brando's evolving persona and legendary roles: the volcanic Stanley Kowalski of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, the sensitive rebel of THE WILD ONES, and the iconic Don Corleone of THE GODFATHER, achieving unparalleled critical acclaim for his many memorable characters. Bosworth probes the influence of Brando's alcoholic parents on his acting, his decades of psychoanalysis, and his tumultuous personal relationships. Here, from rebellious unknown to reluctant idol to falling star, is the complex, charismatic genius who changed the face of acting.

Customer Reviews:

A Page Turner..........2007-07-30

"Marlon Brando" by Patricia Bosworth is a well written and intriguing biography. I enjoyed reading it very much and I enjoyed that it was fairly nicely balanced and included details of Marlon's on-screen and off-screen life.

I think Marlon took some serious and unfair hits in his life - personally, with tragedies that befell him and his family and, professionally, as a result of other peoples' misjudgments regarding his having taken stands for important humanitarian causes and against social injustices. He was a human being that cared deeply for others and one who tried to put that caring into positive action. He was also the greatest actor ever to grace the stage or screen.

It is sad to me that Marlon was alone at the end of his life. He had his children who loved him and cared about him, but he reportedly lived alone. I have always wondered if the rejections he suffered throughout his life marked him so deeply that he felt unworthy and, thus, rejected the idea of having someone there loving him, caring for him, and supporting him physically, emotionally, and spiritually through his illness at a time in his life when things may not have been as "pretty" as they once were. He WAS worthy, despite his possibly not knowing that at the time.

I appreciate Marlon's statement that people who are deeply sensitive are more easily brutalized than most. I think this is very true. Pain is felt much more deeply and is more deeply internalized by those who are the most sensitive. It can leave one feeling unworthy and untrusting and all of the money and fame in the world cannot repair the damage. It is a spiritual thing, not a thing of earthly possessions or material accomplishments.

Marlon was a sensitive soul who needed to be cared for differently than he was during so many parts of his life.

Yet Another Brando Bio.......2002-07-14

Hey, I like Brando tremendously as an actor and have read his biographies for years. I particularly like his autobiography SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME. There is certainly nothing wrong with Ms. Bosworth as a writer. The book is an interesting, easy read. My objection is not to Ms. Bosworth but to the constraints of the format of Penguin LIVES. It appears to me that a writer cannot do an in-depth examination of someone's life in such a short book-- assuming that anyone will ever get much into the inner recesses of Mr. Brando's mind. Perhaps his private life should remain private. For instance, do I need to know that he has taken the drug librium for years? I think not. Additionally I would have liked to see footnotes. Ms. Bosworth makes a lot of statements about Brando with not the slightest hint of where shes got such information. Granted, she does list other biographies she consulted as well as the people she interviewed for writing this bio. I assume that extensive footnotes would have make the book too long. Having said all that, I am now in need of a Brando film festival, having finished the book. Ms. Bosworth made me want to revisit the Brando movies I've seen and see others for the first time.

Bravo Brando!.......2002-06-02

A vivid portrait of the man and his acting genius. Bosworth does a bang up job depicting his life and the development of his enormous talent. He is one of the world's greatest artists and we get a clear unencumbered picture of the man and his life in clear, practical, prose. Really fascinating.

Really helped me understand a creative genius better..........2001-11-14

This was a revelation - a wonderful, wonderful biography
for which I am extremely grateful. It's touching, deft, and
I liked the fact that she focused on Brando the artist. I'm
sure he would like this book - I would, if I were him. It is
not at all condescending nor overly fawning.

I really felt for the man and the brilliant communicator of emotions, whose movies have always taught me about being an artist myself. Now I want to go and see all his films again. especially Mutiny on the Bounty. And my heart goes out to Marlon Brando, the neglected child of alcoholics, the big-hearted giver, the best friend of some very special people, including Wally Cox and Stella Adler,
the co-dependent son and father, the compulsive overeater who really should join O.A.

The book zips along, thanks to Bosworth's fine writing. And I'd like to say that it's a lesson in the efficacy of the brief biography. I'm so sick of trying to wade through tomes that tell you about everything from the kindergarten teacher who inspired the star to his toenail clipping habits. This little
book synthesized a complex life in a very dignified way.
Hats off to Patricia Bosworth.

Excellent short biography.......2001-10-24

This was a very quick and engrossing read. If, like myself, you know very little about Brando's life, this book will be a revelation. Brando is one of the most fascinating personalities of our time. This book does a good job of shedding light on the forces that helped shape his personality. His alcoholic mother and philandering and bullying father created a depressing family environment. It seems that he could never quite break free from their destructive influence despite years of psychotherapy. A sad story.

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A Hollywood legend under the spotlight

Marlon Brando: Larger Than Life
Nellie Bly
Manufacturer: Pinnacle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786000864

Customer Reviews:

A Hollywood legend under the spotlight.......1999-12-23

Nellie Bly has done a superb job in documenting the incredible life of excess of one of the greatest actors ever. Brando is presented objectively throughout the book and the movie information, Dag Drollet murder case, sexual/marital escapades, battles with obesity, make for a hugely (pardon the pun) entertaining read. Alot of the content will shock the reader, but like most Hollywood icons, what we see on the screen is totally different than what they really are. 5 stars well deserved.

Average customer rating:

A Phenomenal Read!!!
Interesting
As complicated & brilliant as its subject

Conversations with Brando
Lawrence Grobel
Manufacturer: Cooper Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 081541014X

Book Description

Brando discusses many topics including acting, women, Native Americans and corporate America.

Customer Reviews:

A Phenomenal Read!!!.......2007-07-09

I could not put the book, "Conversations With Brando," down once I began reading it. As a Marlon Brando devotee, I was so very pleased to open the book and find that the largest part of the book is composed of Marlon Brando's own words. I could have listened to this man talk all day long, every day of every week. And, in this book, he is at his incredible best -interesting, intelligent, witty, sensitive, idealistic, real, wise, inspirational, poignant, reflective, philosophical, poetic; humanitarian. I love his eccentric ways and I respect his principles of character - standing up for the causes of the voiceless in the world. I appreciate that he bowed to no one when the convictions of his heart and his conscience were at stake.

Most of all, when Marlon's children were in trouble, he made the kinds of sacrifices and suffered in ways that only a father whose children are his whole heart would have done.

What a beautiful man Marlon was and what an exemplary, praiseworthy piece of work Lawrence Grobel has done with "Conversations With Brando."

Interesting.......2001-04-27

This expanded on the PLAYBOY interview it's adapted from. Brando is a good storyteller, and tells some good stories in here. Grobel does preface the interview with phone call transcripts of him talking to Brando, and his secretary. And I know someone close to Brando, and some in the Brando camp felt some annoyance that Grobel taped the phone conversations without saying they were being taped. A bit presumptuous. But an interesting interview nonetheless.

As complicated & brilliant as its subject.......2000-08-23

The interview that this book is based on was conducted before Brando filmed "Superman" but I can't imagine that Brando has changed much since. Grobel shows his skills as an interviewer by originally agreeing to only talk about the Native American cause with Brando but eventually teasing out anecdotes about acting, sex, stalkers, Brando's upbringing and much more. Grobel does not try to outsmart Brando, even while he is trying to sneak in forbidden acting/movie questions. He faces his subject head-on and when Brando chooses to speak about his hated profession, he is extremely entertaining. He shows Brando as a very complicated man who is hard to dislike - even if you don't agree with his politics, you come away from the book thinking that Brando is a charming, intelligent, thoughtful and super-talented individual who deserves all the praise for his acting skills. This interview could be considered his greatest performance - it comes from the same honesty that he invested his early screen and stage characters with.

Costly Performances: Tennessee Williams : The Last Stage

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The Kindness of a Stranger...Who Became a Friend
This is a valuable theatrical memoir

Costly Performances: Tennessee Williams : The Last Stage
Bruce Smith
Manufacturer: Authors Choice Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Tennessee Williams Film Collection (A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 Two-Disc Special Edition / Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958 Deluxe Edition / Sweet Bird of Youth / The Night of the Iguana / Baby Doll / The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone)

ASIN: 0595137571

Book Description

In his last years, America's leading playwright,Tennessee Williams, often threatened to publish a 'black book' describing the darker side of show business as he experienced it. Knowing he would not have time to complete it in his lifetime, he asked author Bruce Smith to write his personal memoirs of his years as Mr. Williams media and personal manager. That book is COSTLY PERFORMANCES/ Tennessee Williams: The Last Stage. It is now scheduled as a major motion picture release in 2005, starring Derek Jacobi as Tennessee Williams and Kevin Anderson as the author.

Customer Reviews:

The Kindness of a Stranger...Who Became a Friend.......2007-02-06

What is most striking about this book is its lack of sentimentality and incisive, sharp language. There has, indeed, been much written about Tennessee Williams, perhaps too much; the endless nonsense of his being a self-hating homosexual, the lurid tales of his promiscuity, the alleged Oedipal complexes, the temper tantrums and paranoia, and other such twaddle have all obfuscated many essential things about the genius who was Tennessee Williams. This excellent book stands out because it reminds us of Mr. Williams' power -as a person and a playwright- and at the same time it is not sycophantic nor is it cleverly bitchy. Smith, the author, meets Williams rather by accident and the unlikely friendship blossoms. I found the writing to be rather enthralling, evocative, and extremely well-crafted, which allows it to stand apart from many of the other (lesser) books on Williams. It is a memoir and does not purport to be anything but that, which allows the reader a keen insight into the life and work and humanity of the great Tennessee Williams. Because it is told from Smith's eyes the recounting of these stories is deeply personal and often effervescent with images and ideas; a far cry from the mawkish, self-consumed memoirs that pass as literature these days. I also liked the fact that Smith names some names and makes clear the case that the critics, PR people, and the various 'powers that be' in the theater and film worlds (i.e. agents, lawyers, producers) all played their part in Williams' miserable and protracted demise as much as the alcohol and pills did. And while Smith does not exculpate Williams from his vices he carefully explains why, he in fact, had them, and elucidates the nefarious forces constantly in conflict with the artist and his creative process.

Make no mistake this is Mr. Smith's story of his friendship with Tennessee, and thank goodness for its uniqueness, honesty, and edge. I think to truly appreciate this book one has to be familiar with serious writing (Eliot, Shaw) and not the Pop pap that sadly passes for publishable literature today. COSTLY PERFORMANCES and its author are both class acts and any writer or artist or person with a soul or fan of Tennessee Williams will love this book.

PS
The comment about grammatical errors is totally wrong and unfounded. And the Braun woman; who is she? "The author needed distance"? If she works in a library, how does she not know what a memoir is, and what the first person POV narrative offers the reader? These types of hit jobs are precisely the type of aforementioned `nefarious forces' to which I referred.

This is a valuable theatrical memoir.......2003-11-12

I am a young actor living in London where the plays of Tennesssee Williams are experiencing a great deal of interest within the entire theatre community: schools and universities; theatre companies; theatre media. All fans of his work are turning to background material on Williams and one of the most discussed -- and admired -- is Costly Performances/Tennessee Williams: The Last Stage by Bruce Smith. Mr Smith has, since writing this memoir, become actively involved in London's theatre world, saying he learned "at the master's hand" many enduring and valuable lessons re dramaturgy, play production and, more importantly, playwriting. His play 'Papal Gore' is scheduled for a West End staging. As well, his book about Mr. Williams is now being made into a major motion picture here in England. Real theatre people understand the sensitivity Mr. Smith brought to his portrayal of Mr Williams in his last, very difficult years and value it as a real contribution to 20th Century theatre history. It is highly literate but -- above all -- a very good read. This book, with Lyle Leverich's
The Unknown Tennessee Williams and the gossipy The Kindness of Strangers by Donald Spoto provide an indepth look at the author's life and times.

Average customer rating:

Marlon Brando: The Only Contender
Gary Carey
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 031251543X

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