Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Well finally someone wrote a book, a collection of tales and anecdotes about Hollywood and the people who work and dwell there that is actually readable and believable. I must admit that when I first received this work I was terribly skeptical and actually put if off for a awhile. I am a bit old, a bit jaded and the normal Hollywood "tell all" type of book bores me to tears...well actually, not to tears so much, due to the fact that I normally fall asleep before I finish the first few pages.
Not so this wonderful collection! These stories about our acting "nobility" are quite down to earth. Some (actually many) are extremely funny, others rather whimsical and a few sort of down right sad. The author, Stephen Schochet has a wonderful no nonsense writing style that is absolutely refreshing in this genre. No lurid and off color stories which usually come from the mind and pen of `wishful thinking' so called authors wanting to sell books; no, these are bits of history; pieces of lore taken from what has been and is a strong and influential institution in our country. Like it or not, our entire society has to one extent or another, been influenced by the actors, directors, producers, writers and other workers in Hollywood or film industry.
Each story is smartly written and a delight to read. The author covers the entire gambit of our film industry from the old silent films right up to current times. While not every actor that ever made a film is featured here, literally hundreds upon hundreds are, along with many producers, directors and film makers. There is a bit of something is this work for everyone. There are even stories from T.V. land and its stars to pick from. These little anecdotes are for the most part brief. Many are about a paragraph long...a few extend past a page. Each story though shines in that it is quite obviously being told by a master story teller and a very fine writer. All in all, this is a very impressive bit of work.
For myself, I enjoyed the historical aspect of the work. I must admit that I learned much in that the writer takes us behind the scenes time and again to reveal little quirks, bright remarks, banter between actors and in many cases, why a film was made and how. All of these little tidbits add so much the enjoyment of a movie; both of those you have seen in the past, and those you will in the future.
This work can easily be read from cover to cover; non stop, or it can be picked up at random, a few stories read and set aside to savor another time. The problem I had though; like my title above indicates, this book and these stories were like a bowl of pistachios setting in front of me. I am one of those people who simply cannot eat just one of the darn things, no, no, no...I will eat until each shell is cracked and each nut gobbled. I simply cannot stop. That was the way of this book! Once I started reading the thing, I simply had to go on and on and on.
If you enjoy films, or are interested in film history, or just want a good belly laugh here and there, then you certainly will want to add this one to your reading list soon.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
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Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes about the Stars and Legends of the MoviesAt high noon on a cold November day in 1974, sixty-seven-year-old John Wayne faced off with the staff of the Harvard Lampoon on the famous campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The students had issued their challenge by calling the beloved American icon a fraud. Wayne, who had his new movie McQ to promote, responded by saying he would be happy to show his film in the pseudo-intellectual swamps of Harvard Square. After the screening, without writers, the former USC footballer delivered a classic performance. When one smart young man asked where he got his phony toupee, Wayne insisted the hair was real. It wasn t his, but it was real. The appreciative underclassmen loved him and after the Q and A session, they all sat down to dinner. Later Wayne, who was suffering greatly from both gout and the after effects of lung cancer (sadly the Duke only had five years to live), said that day at Harvard was the best time he ever had.Just when you thought you've heard everything about Hollywood comes a totally original new book. Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes About the Stars and Legends of the Movies! by Stephen Schochet contains a timeless treasure trove of colorful vignettes featuring an amazing all-star cast of icons including John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, Jack Nicholson, Johnny Depp, Shirley Temple, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Errol Flynn and many others both past and contemporary.A special blend of biography, history and lore Hollywood Stories is full of humorous tales often with unexpected endings. What makes the book unique is that the reader can go to any page and find a completely engaging and illuminating yarn. Sometimes people won't realize that they are reading about The Three Stooges or Popeye the Sailor until they come to the end of the story.A professional tour guide in Hollywood, Stephen Schochet has researched and told thousands of entertaining anecdotes for over twenty years. He is also the author and narrator of two audiobooks Tales of Hollywood and Fascinating Walt Disney. Tim Sika, host of the radio show Celluloid Dreams on KSJS in San Jose has called Stephen, "The best storyteller about Hollywood we have ever heard."
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