Book picks similar to
Paul Newman by Eric Lax


biography
nonfiction
biographies
cinema

Dear Cary: My Life with Cary Grant


Dyan Cannon - 2011
    When they began living together, she was 25; he was 58. Three years later, they married, but within a year and a half, she left him, amidst reports of loud arguments and spanking episodes. Their divorce, finalized in 1968, was a major news splash even in that pre-TMZ, pre-internet era. Grant died in 1986, but Cannon has continued to wrestle with the details, the rights, and the wrongs of their relationship. Dear Cary is a memoir that celebrates and scrutinizes the great love of her life.

Monkey Business: The Lives and Legends of The Marx Brothers


Simon Louvish - 2000
    From Groucho Marx's first warblings with the singing Leroy Trio, this book brings to life the vanished world of America's wild and boisterous variety circuits, leading to the Marx Brothers' Broadway successes, and their alliance with New York's theatrical lions, George S. Kaufman and the 'Algonquin Round Table'.Never-before-published scripts, well-minted Marxian dialogue, and much madness and mayham feature in this tale of the Brothers' battles with Hollywood, their films, their loves and marriages, and the story of the forgotten brother Gummo.

Hank & Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart


Scott Eyman - 2017
    They became friends and then roommates as stage actors in New York, and when they began making films in Hollywood, they roomed together again. Between them they made such memorable films as The Grapes of Wrath, Mister Roberts, Twelve Angry Men, and On Golden Pond; and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Destry Rides Again, The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, and Rear Window.They got along famously, with a shared interest in elaborate practical jokes and model airplanes, among other things. Fonda was a liberal Democrat, Stewart a conservative Republican, but after one memorable blow-up over politics, they agreed never to discuss that subject again. Fonda was a ladies’ man who was married five times; Stewart remained married to the same woman for forty-five years. Both men volunteered during World War II and were decorated for their service. When Stewart returned home, still unmarried, he once again moved in with Fonda, his wife, and his two children, Jane and Peter, who knew him as Uncle Jimmy.For Hank and Jim, biographer and film historian Scott Eyman spoke with Fonda’s widow and children as well as three of Stewart’s children, plus actors and directors who had worked with the men—in addition to doing extensive archival research to get the full details of their time together. This is not another Hollywood story, but a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary friendship that lasted through war, marriages, children, careers, and everything else.

Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland


Gerald Clarke - 2000
    The girl with the pigtails, the symbol of innocence in The Wizard of Oz. The brightest star of the Hollywood musical and an entertainer of almost magical power. The woman of a half-dozen comebacks, a hundred heartbreaks, and thousands of headlines. Yet much of what has been written about her is either inaccurate or incomplete, and the Garland the world thought it knew was merely a sketch for the astonishing woman Gerald Clarke portrays in Get Happy. Here, more than thirty years after her death, is the real Judy.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends


Rob Lowe - 2011
    During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety.Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.

My Life In Pictures


Charlie Chaplin - 1974
    However, only once in a while does a genius emerge whose work is of such brilliance and magnitude that it surpasses all existing levels. Charles Chaplin was such an artist and his extraordinary career is a stunning testament to both his own genius and to the development of that unique popular art form--the cinema.

The Ride of a Lifetime: Doing Business the Orange County Choppers Way


Paul Teutul - 2009
    and Orange County Choppers a household name. Paul's smart, commonsense business wisdom works for businesses both big and small in any industry. Here, he shows you firsthand how he built a uniquely successful business by working hard and demanding it from others; encouraging and embracing unfettered creativity; establishing well-defined roles for every team member and demanding they support each other; and using honest conflict and confrontation to solve problems and constantly innovate.Paul and his sons build the best one-of-a-kind choppers in the world with unrivaled passion, creativity, and honesty. The Ride of a Lifetime shows you how they do it.Offers an inside look at the business practices that built Orange County Choppers into a massively successful business Reveals a different side to the OCC family patriarch Full of practical, real world business principles that lead to unlimited success for any business The Ride of a Lifetime is a smart, tough-as-nails guide to business success that every entrepreneur should read.

No Quarter: The Three Lives of Jimmy Page


Martin J. Power - 2015
    Starting with the early Sixties session scene when the teenage Page contributed to recordings by The Who, The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones and many more, the author goes on to explore Page's time in The Yardbirds, the band that would metamorphose into the legendary Led Zeppelin.Supported by album reviews, rare photographs, a full discography and candid conversations with Page's friends, managers and musical collaborators, author Martin Power's No Quarter: The Three Lives Of Jimmy Page represents the most comprehensive and up-to-date biography yet written about Jimmy Page—a "one man guitar army" and true music legend.

Aaliyah: More Than a Woman


Christopher John Farley - 2001
    Following her impressive debut at age 14 with the album Age Ain't Nothin' but a Number, Aaliyah raised the bar with her hugely influential and bestselling follow-up, One in a Million. She then took her talents to Hollywood, starring in the action thriller Romeo Must Die and the highly anticipated horror film The Queen of the Damned. But soon after the release of her third album in the summer of 2001, Aaliyah's life was cut short in a tragic plane crash. Here is the inspirational story of the star The Washington Post dubbed "Hip-Hop's Lady Di" -- a woman who, by the time of her death at age twenty-two, touched legions of fans around the world with her haunting voice and gentle spirit.

Hindsight: And All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me


Justin Timberlake - 2018
    He talks about his songwriting process, offering the back story to many of his hits. He muses on his collaborations with other artists and directors, sharing the details of performances in concert, TV comedy, and film. He also reflects on who he is, examining what makes him tick, speaking candidly about fatherhood, family, close relationships, struggles, and his search to find an inner calm and strength. Living a creative life, observing and finding inspiration in the world, taking risks, and listening to an inner voice—this is Justin Timberlake.

Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives


Marie Clayton - 2003
    In her movies she projected a unique and fascinating persona — a child-woman who was both innocent and full of sexuality, someone men desired, but women found unthreatening. In real life, she was a beautiful and complex woman with deep insecurities, and who just wanted to be loved.Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives charts Marilyn's fascinating life, from her unhappy childhood, through her years as a superstar, to her tragic and untimely death in 1962. The collection of photographs documents the important events in her life: her early years, her movies, her marriages to baseball star Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller, her battles with the studio and her decline in health. They not only include movie stills and portraits, but also many other less well known pictures taken during her career. The photographs are accompanied by detailed and informative captions, which give a rounded portrait of one of the world's greatest movie stars.

If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor


Bruce Campbell - 2001
    I think you and I are going to get along just fine.Life is full of choices. Right now, yours is whether or not to buy the autobiography of a mid-grade, kind of hammy actor.Am I supposed to know this guy? you think to yourself.No, and that's exactly the point. Bookstores are chock full of household name actors and their high stakes shenanigans. I don't want to be a spoilsport, but we've all been down that road before.Case in point: look to your left - see that Judy Garland book? You don't need that, you know plenty about her already - great voice, crappy life. Now look to your right at the Charlton Heston book. You don't need to cough up hard-earned dough for that either. You know his story too - great voice, crappy toupee.The truth is that though you might not have a clue who I am, there are countless working stiffs like me out there, grinding away every day at the wheel of fortune.If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor is my first book, and I invite you to ride with me through the choppy waters of blue collar Hollywood.Okay, so buy the damned book already and read like the wind!Best, Bruce CampbellP.S. If the book sucks, at least there are gobs of pictures, and they're not crammed in the middle like all those other actor books.

Tammy: Telling It My Way


Tammy Faye Messner - 1996
    16 pages of photos.

Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life


Ray Harryhausen - 2004
    In the animator's own words, accompanied by hundreds of previously unpublished photographs, sketches, and storyboards from his personal archive, this book details Harryhausen's entire film career, from 20 Million Miles to Earth and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers to Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts. In words and images, this book explains the basics of special effects and stop-motion animation, along the way telling entertaining tales of working with the film stars of the day, such as Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, and Lionel Jeffries. Film buffs will relish such revelations as how Raquel Welch was picked up by a flying dinosaur in One Million Years B.C., why the octopus in Mysterious Island was really only a sixtopus, and what Medusa's blood was made from in Clash of the Titans.

Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins: The Autobiography


Rupert Everett - 2006
    Revealing himself to be a consummate storyteller, stage and screen star Everett ("My Best Friend's Wedding") pens a delightfully witty memoir in which he reveals his life experiences as an up-and-coming actor, detailing everything from the eccentricities of the British upper class to the madness of Hollywood.