IniciGrupsConversesMésTendències
Cerca al lloc
Aquest lloc utilitza galetes per a oferir els nostres serveis, millorar el desenvolupament, per a anàlisis i (si no has iniciat la sessió) per a publicitat. Utilitzant LibraryThing acceptes que has llegit i entès els nostres Termes de servei i política de privacitat. L'ús que facis del lloc i dels seus serveis està subjecte a aquestes polítiques i termes.

Resultats de Google Books

Clica una miniatura per anar a Google Books.

S'està carregant…

My West Side Story: A Memoir (2021)

de George Chakiris

MembresRessenyesPopularitatValoració mitjanaConverses
1121,711,848 (3.67)Cap
"George Chakiris famously played the angry gang leader Bernardo in the film version of West Side Story (1961), for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor. My West Side Story is an insider's look at how this theatrical and cinematic landmark evolved from a conversation in Jerome Robbins's Manhattan apartment between him, Arthur Laurents, and Leonard Bernstein to ten Oscars, three Golden Globes, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy. While also a memoir of Chakiris's long and distinguished career, the emphasis is on West Side Story, which will be revived on Broadway. Here are profiles of the film's stars and directors, from the "wonderful" Natalie Wood and "lovely" Richard Beymer, to the mercurial Jerome Robbins and "passionate" Rita Moreno, with whom Chakiris remains friends. "I know exactly where my gratitude belongs," Chakiris writes, "and I still marvel at how, unbeknownst to me at the time, the joyful path of my life was paved one night in 1949 when Jerome Robbins sat Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents down in his apartment and announced, 'I have an idea.'"--… (més)
Cap
S'està carregant…

Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar.

No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra.

Es mostren totes 2
I found the book very readable and had a hard time putting it down. I was familiar with Chakiris' work in West Side Story (who isn't) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, I did not realize he has an extensive film career working with many greats like Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston, Dirk Bogarde, and so many others and it was interesting to hear what they were like. Additionally, he also met many others such as Phyllis Diller, Brigitte Bardot, Marlene Dietrich, and Frank Sinatra and again, most interesting to hear of those encounters. However, what I did not understand is he had purchased a house for his mom and siblings after his father's death and then several years later his manager (who he did not seem to trust but stayed with) told him he had to sell it. I assume it was for money reasons but he never explained nor did he tell us how his family reacted. He is not the first actor to be fleeced by his manager and if he was, he should have come out and told us what happened since he brought it up. It would not be held against him. He seemed to feel that his management did not always have his best interested in mind but yet stayed with them but you never knew if he did eventually drop them or not.. While he might not have wanted to share these details, it may help others to have the strength to stick up for themselves in similar circumstances. ( )
  knahs | Aug 11, 2021 |
Without a doubt George Chakiris is an unbelievably handsome man and an incredibly talented singer/dancer/actor who has lived an exciting and fascinating life. Sadly, while there are hints dished out here and there, you don’t really get a full-blown sense of that excitement and fascination from this book.

Mr. Chakiris admits he is an extremely private person. He is also clearly a class act who loathes to say anything negative about anything or anyone. These are immensely admirable qualities. Unfortunately, they have the unintended consequence of creating a rather dull book. My West Side Story is a worthwhile read, but it must be said that it is a very superficial, professional biography written with rose-colored glasses and a superb level of restraint.

This is first and foremost an account of George Chakiris’ professional life. There is a brief overview of his childhood and his early training as a performer, but the rest of the book is dedicated to outlining his professional activities and some of the social life that resulted from those professional activities. He mentions most, though not all, of his movie & stage roles to varying degrees; but—as the title indicates—most of his comprehensive commentary is reserved for West Side Story (both theatrical and cinematic). Those readers expecting a salacious tell-all full of wild details about Mr. Chakiris’ private life, as well as his no-holds-barred opinions about his co-stars will be sorely disappointed.

This book was clearly written through the rose-colored veil of nostalgia from the perspective of someone who was taught to never speak ill of anyone. That is ok, but it does render the book very one-dimensional and very unrealistic. Mr. Chakiris does express some negative feelings within his narrative: the firing of Jerome Robbins, the controlling behavior of his manager Ruth Aarons, and the unjust lawsuit brought against him by theatrical producer Hal Prince are all discussed with unhappiness, but remarkable civility. However, there is so much positivity in the book, it is downright syrupy. Almost every experience he ever had or everyone he ever met or worked with is always described as beautiful, charming, wonderful, or delightful. Frankly, I don’t buy it, and I don’t think most other readers will either. A more balanced
assessment of the trials and tribulations of the theatrical life, as well as a more honest evaluation of the personalities he encountered along the way (good, bad, and indifferent) would have made this a more engaging and authentic read. I’m a firm believer in integrity, but I don’t think it would have dented Mr. Chakiris’ self-respect to have injected a little more unfettered frankness into this work.

At one point Mr. Chakiris tells the story of crashing a party at Julie Andrews’ house. Chita Rivera and quite a few other notables were there. He had a great time, and he still can’t believe he got up the nerve to ring the doorbell and crash a Julie Andrews house party. The End.
That one anecdote is analogous to the entire narrative of the book. He describes what he did, who was there, and what his general impressions were of the event, and that’s all. He provides a lot of the broad substance, but virtually no compelling details; he never reveals the funny jokes people were telling, the silly gossip that was circulating the room, who was the life of the party, who was obnoxious, who was charming, who got drunk and insulted everybody, what amazing food was on the buffet, the weird cocktails that were invented, who was wearing the craziest dress, what he personally liked or didn’t like about the whole soiree…nothing in the way of intimate details at all. Even if he didn’t remember specific details, he could have made some silly stuff up. Isn’t it the law that all memoirs have to contain funny, outlandish fabrications in them? If it’s not, it should be; that is what makes them enjoyable.

This book proved to be a bit of a quandary for me. On one hand, I found it interesting & liked it; at the same time, I found it boring and couldn’t wait to get it over with. I think it depended on what chapter I was in as to which opinion dominated at any given moment. It’s not a bad book, but it’s not really that good either. Either way, it is a very quick afternoon read and should definitely be of interest to George Chakiris fans, as well as film buffs and fans of West Side Story. ( )
  BrierleaHall | Jul 29, 2021 |
Es mostren totes 2
Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
Has d'iniciar sessió per poder modificar les dades del coneixement compartit.
Si et cal més ajuda, mira la pàgina d'ajuda del coneixement compartit.
Títol normalitzat
Títol original
Títols alternatius
Data original de publicació
Gent/Personatges
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès. Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
Llocs importants
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès. Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
Esdeveniments importants
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès. Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
Pel·lícules relacionades
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès. Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
Epígraf
Dedicatòria
Primeres paraules
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès. Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
An editor named Ellery Sedgwick once said, "Autobiographies ought to begin with Chapter Two."
Citacions
Darreres paraules
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès. Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
(Clica-hi per mostrar-ho. Compte: pot anticipar-te quin és el desenllaç de l'obra.)
Nota de desambiguació
Editor de l'editorial
Creadors de notes promocionals a la coberta
Llengua original
CDD/SMD canònics
LCC canònic

Referències a aquesta obra en fonts externes.

Wikipedia en anglès

Cap

"George Chakiris famously played the angry gang leader Bernardo in the film version of West Side Story (1961), for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor. My West Side Story is an insider's look at how this theatrical and cinematic landmark evolved from a conversation in Jerome Robbins's Manhattan apartment between him, Arthur Laurents, and Leonard Bernstein to ten Oscars, three Golden Globes, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy. While also a memoir of Chakiris's long and distinguished career, the emphasis is on West Side Story, which will be revived on Broadway. Here are profiles of the film's stars and directors, from the "wonderful" Natalie Wood and "lovely" Richard Beymer, to the mercurial Jerome Robbins and "passionate" Rita Moreno, with whom Chakiris remains friends. "I know exactly where my gratitude belongs," Chakiris writes, "and I still marvel at how, unbeknownst to me at the time, the joyful path of my life was paved one night in 1949 when Jerome Robbins sat Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents down in his apartment and announced, 'I have an idea.'"--

No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca.

Descripció del llibre
Sumari haiku

Debats actuals

Cap

Cobertes populars

Dreceres

Valoració

Mitjana: (3.67)
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3 1
3.5
4 2
4.5
5

Ets tu?

Fes-te Autor del LibraryThing.

 

Quant a | Contacte | LibraryThing.com | Privadesa/Condicions | Ajuda/PMF | Blog | Botiga | APIs | TinyCat | Biblioteques llegades | Crítics Matiners | Coneixement comú | 203,193,241 llibres! | Barra superior: Sempre visible