Have you read any "celebrity" bios? Which ones?

[bertha katzenengel]

I've read One More Time by Carol Burnett. It's actually a memoir. I highly recommend it to you.

Your reads?

[mitchum]

1. "The Peter Lawford Story" is an incredibly lurid celebrity bio...

I highly recommend it. Trash and depravity.

Sterling Hayden's memoir "Wanderer" is fascinating and very well-written. As are David Niven's memoirs.

[XemaSab]

2. Courtney Love

:popcorn:

[philosophie_en_rose]

3. I read Mommy Dearest a long time ago.

I know I was supposed to pity the daughter (and I did), but I also felt sorry for Joan Crawford and thought the daughter was a bit racist.

[Miss Carly]

8. I read the book and saw the movie

I got the feeling she was very bitter about not getting any of her mother's estate, so she got even in the end. I did feel sorry for both of them, what a tragedy all around.
Carly

[Jade Fox]

14. Read this....

"One of Hollywood’s greatest stars, Joan Crawford, was redefined as a sadistic control freak by Mommie Dearest, her daughter’s 1978 tell-all. In an excerpt from the author’s new Crawford biography, based in part on interviews with another Crawford daughter, a very different story emerges."


http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/03/crawford200803

[Bullwinkle925]

4. Yuppers . . .

"Yes I Can" - bio of Sammy Davis, Jr.

First one that came to my mind - I know I've read more - but I'm a *Sammy* lover!!

[Cabcere]

20. "You know what that book should've been called?"

"'Yes I Can, If Frank Sinatra Says It's OK.' Frank called all the shots, man..."

/Spinal Tap ;) :hi:

[Bullwinkle925]

49. heh heh heh! n/t

[auntAgonist]

5. Probably not really a 'bio' as such but "Shake Hands With The Devil"

by Romeo D'allaire.

His time and life as a peacekeeper in Rwanda. It consumed him and will shock anyone who reads it.
I've also seen the movie with the same title. There is a documentary too.

As I said, not really a bio, but as close to one as there is at the moment.

aA

[IzaSparrow]

6. Cosbyology

it's the funniest book i've ever read

[terrya]

7. Yes...the last one was "Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn" by William J. Mann

First rate biography of one of the greats in film.

[UTUSN]

9. Kitty KELLEY's, of Nancy RAYGUN, SINATRA, the BUSHes

She went easy on the BUSHes. Her opening for the brilliant opus on "Nancy" RAYGUN is classic, almost like "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times": (paraphrasing: ) "Nothing on her birth certificate is true ---not her name, not her date of birth, not her father's name... "

[WritingIsMyReligion]

10. I've read just bios of jazz musicians--Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, etc.

Best so far was either the Miles one by Ian Carr or the Billy Strayhorn bio by David Hajdu (Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn). All are fascinating.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

30. The Miles autobiography is the best, heathen.

:P

[WritingIsMyReligion]

39. I haven't gotten there yet, elitist.

:P

:rofl:

[Miss Carly]

11. I have read several lately:

Breathing out-Peggy Lipton
I'm Still Hungry-Carnie Wilson
Jim Morrison-Stephen Davis-not really a personal bio, but a good read anyway
Heroes and Villains-Gaines....The story of the 60's band, the Beach Boys...this one was very shocking because I had no idea the Beach Boys were such bad boys during their career.

Carly

[auntAgonist]

16. welcome to DU Miss Carly.

I've not read any of those books you listed. The Carnie Wilson one sounds interesting though. thanks.

aA

[BlueIris]

12. "Call Me Crazy" (Anne Heche). Scary shit.

I highly recommend it for its entertainment value. HORRIFYING.

[hobbit709]

13. My fave is "The Moon's A Balloon" by David Niven

Great book, has one of the most hilarious descriptions of a funeral I've ever read.

[mitchum]

22. I really enjoyed both volumes of Niven's memoirs

So often his screen persona was that of an uptight English prig, but the man himself was a warm and hilarious person.

[Jade Fox]

15. I read the Burnett one too.....

What an amazing and bizarre childhood she had!

[cordelia]

17. Maureen Stapleton

One Helluva Life

Very witty and charming. Very candid.

[Richardo]

18. Years ago I read 'No One Here Gets Out Alive' re: Morrison, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

[nuxvomica]

19. I read a few many years ago:

"Memoirs of a Mangy Lover" by Groucho Marx. Funny and captivating reminiscence of his childhood and the wonderful, lost world of Vaudeville.
"Harpo Speaks" by Harpo Marx. Highly recommended especially if your interested in the Algonquin Round Table scene.
"Run-Through" by John Houseman. Beautifully written chronicle of Houseman's childhood and his days in the Mercury Theatre, which he co-founded with Orson Welles.

[Cabcere]

21. I don't know if this counts, but

I read Anderson Cooper's "Dispatches from the Edge" a few years ago and was very impressed. I told my mom after reading it that I can't say I really "enjoyed" it, because a lot of it is very intense (I had to stop reading a couple of times, especially in the Hurricane Katrina parts), but I would highly recommend it. It's a fascinating read, IMO.

[CBGLuthier]

23. Where Have I Been

Sid Caesar's autobiography that talks about his life and in particular his presription pill addiction.

Good read, especially for those with their own addictions.

[Connonym]

24. Lauren Bacall's two autobios/memoirs

I've always found her to be very compelling and really enjoyed reading the stories. First time I was in NYC, maybe 5 years ago, imagine my thrill when I was walking past the Dakota and there she was waiting for her car, holding her little dog. I was so gobsmacked that I wanted to hurry and get the hell away so that I wouldn't act like a spaz. I was with a friend who was a native and when we got down a block or so I finally exploded "did you see that?! Lauren Bacall!!" Like a total moron.

[latebloomer]

26. My dad used to pride himself

on "ignoring" famous people he'd run into in New York.

[last_texas_dem]

25. Mostly a bunch of Beatles bios

I've read a half-dozen or so biographies of The Beatles, including The Love You Make (probably the most sensationalistic one) and that huge one from a few years ago. I've also read Bob Dylan's Chronicles; I kind of found its haphazard style in terms of the order of events a little off-putting but it was still pretty interesting, and No One Here Gets Out Alive- about Jim Morrison.

[darkstar]

27. Rock and roll stuff. The Neil Young bio "Shakey"

and the Jerry Garcia one called "Garcia."

[BuelahWitch]

28. Several of them

Right now I'm reading "Great Balls of Fire," supposedly written by Jerry Lee Lewis' ex-wife Myra.

[Skittles]

29. I want to get Kathleen Turner's book

yes INDEED!!!

[Connonym]

31. I started reading it

I got it from the library. I didn't get too far into it before it was due but what I read didn't make me feel compelled to try to renew it. I didn't think it was that thrilling and good lord does that woman have an ego.

[Skittles]

38. huh

I'll check it out from the library then - I was interested in reading about her arthritis

[stuntcat]

32. I'm going to, Nina Simone's

I have two bios of her but I haven't been in the mood to read one just yet.
I read two bios of Dorothy Parker but I don't know if a writer is a celebrity. "What Fresh Hell Is This?" was a good book about her but it was years ago when I read it and I'm not one who's critiques oughta be trusted.

[MorningGlow]

33. Most recent--Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd

Mainly because I am always ravenous for insider info on the Beatles. It didn't disappoint! (Although I was a bit dismayed that my darling George could be quite the asshole at times.) The one thing I got from it was that while Pattie was most likely very sweet and of course was a legendary muse for both George and Eric Clapton, ye gods, she just isn't all that bright. I think that was the first book that I had to "ride along" with a protagonist who was just kind of...dim. Bothered me a bit.

[av8rdave]

34. Several

I. Asimov, (Isaac Asimov), I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This (Bob Newhart), My Life (Bill Clinton), On Writing (Stephen King), Fates Worse Than Death (Kurt Vonnegut), and probably more than I can't remember. Oh yeah, I'm working on Clapton's right now.

[begin_within]

35. J. Randy Taraborrelli has done 3 books on Diana Ross so far,

and I've only read the first one ("Call Me Miss Ross") which has lots of good dirt on what a prima donna she was (and may well still be). I think his most recent one covers the drunk driving arrest in Arizona, but may have been published before the recent incident after she won her Kennedy Center Honors award. At the dinner after the awards, she and her kids left the table after the salad course - leaving Vanessa Williams alone at the table.

[Flying Dream Blues]

42. Wow. That is incredibly rude! nt

[Tikki]

36. That is pretty much the genre I read now...

I have read many, many musician/singer type bios and the
best and I mean really interesting is this:

The Bee Gees...Tales of The Brothers Gibb
Even if you don't cotton to their music much...their story is fascinating.
Over 700 pages long...


Tikki

[abq e streeter]

37. Mostly musicians--Jim Morrison, Brian Wilson, Janis Joplin, Willie Dixon,Dylan

Chuck Berry, Bruce Springsteen, Bill Wyman ... some baseball players too---Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax...

[YankeyMCC]

40. Isaac Asimov

John Lennon

[Enrique]

41. Joe Klein's book on Woody Guthrie

a great book and a really interesting life to read about. Interesting is too weak a word actually, unbelievable would be better.

[LibertyLover]

43. I read David Niven's autobiographies

and really enjoyed them, especially The Moon's a Balloon. I also read one on Errol Flynn. Those are about the only ones. I do enjoy biographies, but of historical figures, not celebrities. I'm currently reading one called The Four Queens, about 4 sisters from the county of Provence in the 13th century who married the kings of France and England and their 2 younger brothers who became kings of Sicily and one of the German kingdoms. Very interesting reading.

[Oeditpus Rex]

44. Patty Duke ('Call Me Anna'), Brett Butler ('Knee Deep in Paradise')

and several baseball players. :)

[suninvited]

46. I read that one, too

the Brett Butler one.

I thought it was pretty good, but that is the only one I have ever read that I can think of. I just happened to pick it up at a yard sale.

[logosoco]

45. bios are one of my guilty pleasures!!!

i've read quite a few...willie nelson, clark gable, cynthia lennon, janis joplin. I read the Carol burnette one a long time ago, she did lead an interesting life. Patty Dukes bio was good too.

[SKKY]

47. The one on Emeril was pretty good...

...he's a very interesting cat.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

48. "What Falls Away" by Mia Farrow

Actually am in the process of reading it now

It's a good read

[Kitty Herder]

50. I Am Spock--Leonard Nimoy.

Yes, I'm a total geek.

[Kat45]

51. Started Patty Boyd's a while back.

But I haven't had the time to get back to it lately.