Hollywood Diary: Twelve Untold Tales

by Richard Lamparski

Book Overview

Twelve Untold Tales of Gary Cooper, Patsy Kelly, Pola Negri, Robert Taylor, Zeppo Marx, Quentin Crisp, The Grapes of Wrath, "Our Gang," Rock Hudson, Soupy Sales, and more. A Work of Non-Fiction by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593930526
• ISBN13: 9781593930523
• Release Date: April 2017
• Publisher: BearManor Media
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

fantastic!

Great book for anyone interested in the old Hollywood days, written by someone who was there.

Richard's Diary

I enjoyed reading this book and his experiences with the various stars that were covered. A facinating time in Hollywood history I fear we will never see again.

I ACTUALLY WANTED TO SEE ANOTHER RICHARD LAMPARSKI BOOK

I always enjoyed the WHATEVER BECAME OF ? series and got a kick out of HIDDEN HOLLYWOOD, Lamparski's guide to the seamier (in some instances) side of Hollywood. Over the years since the eleventh and final edition of WHATEVER BECAME OF? was published I have often wondered exactly where Lamparski disappeared to and why he stopped writing. I sensed there had to be some interesting stories behind some of the profiles that appeared in his book, but I think this book excedes the mere 'interesting'. I absolutely could not put the book down. The first reviewer covered a lot of the personalities discussed in this book. I'd love to discuss some equally compelling stories involving the erstwhile western star of the late 50's John Smith or Rock Hudson, but that would absolutely spoil this book for you. For a true fan of the old Hollywood, this is the ultimate treat. This book just left me begging for more like an old pitbull savoring a meaty bone. At first, the style in which this book was written is a little confusing as Lamparski tends to go off on tangents and creates mini-profiles of his 'supporting' players. However, there is a method to his madness because he uses a small brush to paint his very large picture. Alas, Lamparski is a raconteur who sucks in his reader by trapping him/her in his web from the first paragraph. Aside from wanting more, more, more I had this overwhelming desire to meet this guy and let him yak for hours while I just sucked it all in as he took me on a tour of his Hollywood. Frankly, as interesting as his stories were I think Lamparski is equally interesting. And I too am anxiously awaiting the publication of New York Diaries.

Move Over, Ned Rorem

I never hoped to see another book by Richard Lamparski, whose series of "Whatever Happened to" books were huge hits in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. I don't know, I guess I thought he had left us. But instead he has been writing and writing this "Hollywood Diary" in which he reveals some of the true gen he wound up finding out about the colorful Hollywood film stars (and demi-stars) he met while doing the radio show and the bestselling books. Some of the portraits are caustic, some pretty luridm but most are quite touching. He takes us backstage into the private life of scenarist Dwight Bodeen, the man behind CAT PEOPLE, as well as into the home of mysterious Hollywood legend Samson De Brier, only a name to most, but to Lamparski a living link to the old Hollywood of unabated money and sexual irreverence. Among the young people Lamparski met were Darla Hood, the heroine of the oldtime "Our Gang" comedies, and Tommy Rettig, the charismatic and height challenged star of the TV series LASSIE (from the 1950s). With both Hood and Rettig Lamparski developed a warm and intimate relationship, and two of the finest chapters of his HOLLYWOOD DIARY give us their lives in miniature. I don't think that Lytton Strachey, the Edwardian stylist, could have improved Lamparski's portraits of these great, underrated artists. We get to know them warts and all, and yet they are touched by the golden patina of love. On the seamier side Lamparski spills the beans on the rivalry between Hollywood he-men John Payne, Dennis O'Keefe and Robert Taylor that make all of them seem like overgrown and unappealing children. He goes to Mae West's funeral and speculates on her relationships with all the guys he sees there, quite comically. He remembers early on in his career of tracking down and securing an interview with the elusive Zeppo Marx, by pretending to be a hotel worker bringing him flowers. Marx, perhaps taken by surprise, allowed himself to be photographed in a bathrobe, and when the interview came out, people felt sorry for him, for he had also lost his wife, Barbara, to the more debonair and talented singing legend, Frank Sinatra. Lamparski also takes into account the greater freedom of the present era by peeling back the sex lives of some closeted or semi-closeted Hollywood personalities. His account of the making of THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER (1935) is hilarious in this regard; now that I know what I know, I can't wait to see that film again! On the back of HOLLYWOOD DIARY, like a "sneak preview" the jacket copy says that Lamparski has also written a MANHATTAN DIARY. If it's half as entertaining as HOLLYWOOD DIARY, it will be a classic for the ages. Move over Ned Rorem, there's a new and even more revealing diarist on hand!