Did Not Finish

This wasn't what I expected -I thought it would be a gossipy treat about well known movie stars. The audience for this book is probably someone closer to Robert Wagner's age who remembers all these long-gone people and places he mentions. After a while I just flipped through it, reading a bit here and there when something caught my attention and looking at the photos.

This is a pleasant book of memories about Hollywood in its studio heyday. In fact, it's so pleasant it gets rather boring towards the end. Celebrity memoirs are always enlivened with a little malice. ( )

Robert Wagner takes us on a tour of the people and places of Hollywood's Golden Age (1930's-1950's). Obviously for some of the period discussed, Wagner was not in Hollywood at the time so these are more stories he heard from others. However, his stories of Jack Warner, Sam Goldwyn, James Cagney, Fred Astaire, and so many others were great. He describes some of the homes of folks like Harold Lloyd, Jack Warner, James Cagney, and Marion Davies famous beachhouse and you feel like you were there. He also discusses many of the places famous in the 40's such as Ciro's, the Trocadero, Romanoff's, and of course, The Hollywood Canteen. It is sad that these places are gone but I am glad Wagner wrote this book to tell us like it was. My only complaint about the book was the photos were too small. I also would have liked to have seen the menus from the different restaurants. I found it an interesting and enjoyable book. ( )

I have always been enamored with the Golden Age of Hollywood. The movies, the movie stars, the mystique that surrounded them all is something I adore learning about. So when I spied this book by Robert J. Wagner I didn't hesitate to buy it. And I was not disappointed.

Mr. Wagner takes his readers back to the early days of Hollywood - back when there were open fields between homes and back to a time before Beverly Hills. He shares his knowledge of everyone and everything in a laid back manner. The reader can imagine Mr. Wagner sitting in their parlor and telling his stories. He effortlessly mixes personal anecdotes with historical facts and all is interspersed with black and white photos. I was captivated from the first word straight through to the last.

The stories are presented in several groupings that make things easy to follow. The insights into the people who made Hollywood what it was and is are witty and informative. His recollections of the glitterati as they moved among themselves, attended each other's soirees, patronized their favorite eateries, as designed their homes makes the legends of the screen human and approachable - although some were quite eccentric.

This book kept my interest from the first page to the last and I was sad that it ended where it did for I would have liked to know even more. If you are an aficionado of Hollywood, the movie industry, or Robert Wagner you won't want to miss reading this book. ( )

I was expecting a Frank Langella personality parade, and feel a bit let down by the restaurant review I got instead. Of course, that isn't too fair to Wagner. He can't help it that I'm twenty years too young to resonate with the crowd he hung with. The names were familiar, but the old black & white films are museum fare.

A much better read for those familiar with the time and place than I. ( )