Frank LangellaRecensioni

Fun book. I thought I would read a chapter or two at a time but it's just not possible--like trying to stop eating chocolates. Snapshot chapters of some really interesting characters and an actor's insight into their behaviour. Great bitchy gossip too!

Frank Langella, the lanky, dark actor known for Dracula and his shaking eyes, has written a fun, gossipy though respectful memoir dropping names from Marilyn Monroe to Jackie O. Sometimes there was a brief encounter, sometimes he met them working on a picture or play, sometimes they were a friend of a friend, sometimes he got to know their widow (Charles Laughton). He soaked in every detail of every encounter: some brief, some intense (he implies he climbed into bed with a few aging actresses), some scandalous. But only in a classy way. He didn't mind flirting with men either. And they flirted back. Be prepared for the tone to shift from witty to heartbreaking: the most touching sections regard his long friendship with the actor Raul Julia. The book is available through San Diego Public Library, call or order online. The ebook and audiobook are available via the library webpage in Cloud Library. Download the free app in your app store.

This was a compulsive read. Every mini portrait a gem. Witty, bitchy, kind, loving, and articulate.
I thoroughly enjoy every line.

I like reading about celebrities but not necessarily gossip. Langella threads the needle between outright gossip with his own memories of the "names" he drops. He has met each and every celebrity on his list and tells his own impression of each of them. Some are people who are universally loved and others a universally disliked. His take on each is not their public persona or a brief overview of their careers. He talks about what they said to him, what they did to him and how he reacted. He likes people I'm not fond of and dislikes some of my favorites. However, he met them in person and the only thing I can go on is their movies. Fascinating reading and gives an insiders view of life in and around Hollywood and theatre.

Not the usual memoir. Amusing anecdotes - very revealing some of them. We don't get much of a sense of Mr. Langella from the book.

The more I read of this, the less I enjoyed it. I liked the occasional juicy detail but Langella comes off as an arrogant starfucker.

Judging by Frank Langella's addictive collection of reminisces, three constants to be found in the acting world of Broadway and Hollywood are sex, ego, and sadness. No great reveal there, but as penned by Langella the sometimes gossipy, sometimes poignant passages make for a diverting summer read. His prose is just as enrapturing as his voice, making it easy to imagine you are hearing it straight from him. With an appreciation for the delivery, I have to admit I didn't particularly enjoy hearing all of the sordid details the book holds. Some of the eye-openers here include innuendo between the author and Raul Julia, some incestuous fun between 'mother' Yvonne De Carlo and 'son' Langella on his turn as Zorro, and a particularly poignant affair with an aging Rita Hayworth in 1972's The Wrath of God. In fact many of the stories are quite melancholy; of stars past their prime like Richard Burton, actors who never lived up to their full potential like Oliver Reed. Other stories take on a harsh edge, with Langella making some cruel assessments of the likes of Paul Newman and Charlton Heston. But who am I to criticize, after all, I wasn't there and he was. But after all the stories are done, I admit to seeing Skeletor in a different light

Interesting insider's thoughts on various actors and others in the theater world. Entertaining and well-written.

A pretty long book: often it seemed to be endlessly dishing the dirt on actors I haven't particularly liked, but then just as often finding the humanity lurking beneath the pancake. And sometimes, in a believe-it-or-not passage, showing Langella as a nice guy.

I chose to read the book because of Langella's entry on JFK--my goal being to read at least one book, biography or memoir, of each of our Presidents.½

Well-written, easy-to-read, entertaining, and insightful look at some of the folks actor Frank Langella has known or worked with through the years. Each portrait lasted just a few pages but each was fascinating – even the people I had never heard of before. Langella seemed to have a way of meeting some extraordinary people like Jackie Kennedy and JFK, among others. Many famous names are discussed including Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth, Richard Burton, Raul Julia, Paul Newman, and so many more. A fun read and hard to put down.

I thought this was so interesting. I disagree with those who say that it was vitriolic and gossipy. He is an excellent and sensitive writer and gave fascinating, personal portraits of the many celebrities he socialized with over the years. Several of the anecdotes were quite touching. I enjoyed the stories about Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Onassis and Rita Hayworth. He knew and met just about every famous theatre or movie actor, and describes his encounters with them with wit, kindness and passion. He is harsher with a couple of characters, but they deserved it. I highly recommend this book. I listened to it on audible where it was read by the author and I can't imagine "reading" it any other way. It was like having him sitting with me in my kitchen or living room, telling me his memories of his glory days. What a grand life for a Italian Kid from Jersey. What a handsome, wonderful actor.

An odd book. I began it with high expectations, since I find Langella to be an intelligent, highly skilled actor. What I've discovered by reading his memoir of now-dead famous friends and acquaintances, however, is that I don't think I like him very much; he's a little too cruel for my taste. Consider this about Roddy Mcdowell -- "I watched him work the room like a cordless vacuum cleaner, sucking up celebrity droppings."

Or perhaps that's not fair. More accurately stated, I feel somewhat sorry for him. Reading between the lines here, he comes off as a very smart, somewhat insecure man with a dodgy semi-transparent sex life (there is a lot of slap and tickle in the book with famous women of all ages and, one suspects, a few tumbles--or at least exploratory sessions--with men) and a longing to be seen as both attractive and important, who regardless of accomplishments is dissatisfied and snarky. True, he does not escape his own criticism, but there's something about this parade of elderly, mostly drunken, sad, sick and lonely actors that left me feeling little more than pity for the entire profession. Many creative people feel this way, of course -- God knows I've met my fair share of writers who fit the bill.

His prose his fine -- not brilliant writing, but it serves -- and he certainly does know a lot of famous folks, many of whom say clever, if unkind, things about each other. Still, I think I'll go back and watch his STUNNING performance in "Starting Our In The Evening." I prefer that Langella.

This book is an alluring look into the world of the theater and the privileged. Frank Langella has worked as an actor for five decades. He relates stories about the charismatic writers, directors and actors he has meet during his career. Mr. Langella has also been friends with some of the wealthiest people in America.

Each chapter is about a relationship with a different person. The author only writes about people who have passed away or people who have allowed him to write about there association. I don't know very much about theater actors and I had to google some of the names. It would have been nice to have pictures in the book to associate with the names. Other subjects were more well known. I wasn't surprised by Mr. Langella's description of the people I had already heard of. He wrote about divas, closeted homosexuals, narcissistic personalities, and lonely alcoholics as well as generous nobel people who profoundly altered his life. Some chapters were very poignant, particularly the one devoted to President Kennedy. This was an engaging quick read and I recommend it to fans of the New York theater and those interested in the lifestyles of the rich.

Langella is an actor I have long admired. Truth be told, I grew to truly appreciate the depth of his appreciation of his theatre world through comments he makes on the marvelous 2004 documentary by Rick McKay "Broadway The Golden Age" -- breezy, deeply felt reflections across the board. That documentary contains theatre folks in the early 2000s reflecting on the Broadway they knew in the 1940s and 1950s and 1960s. McKay is surprised (as he tells it) that so many of these informants mention two particular actresses as pivotal actors of their generations -- Laurette Taylor and Kim Stanley. And Langella on Kim Stanley in particular is a joy to behold.

He focuses in his own just-published memoirs on brief moments in time with people of note. In general the resulting compilation is joyous and articulate and loving about his craft and the people who practice it. And in this memoir of snippets, written as stories you can imagine he has "dined out on" for years, Langella is the observer with a subtle important role (e.g. the only nonfamily member at a Mellon compound event). He doesn't exactly tells swashbuckling stories out of school but you do know the basic facts of whether he bedded Rita Hayworth (yes) or Elizabeth Taylor (yes) but no details. He is quick to name the buffoons and poofdahs of his trade. And for the most part, this book is an entertaining read.

A key descriptive nuance: you know at the end of the book a number of his bedroom adventures but you aren't told how many times he has been married or how many children he has. Intriguing choice. Good story teller. Happy to know him ... on stage.

Witty,well written gossip of famous people½

A fun memoir to read. Langella is a laser-sharp observer, an enthusiastic gossip and an excellent and unsparing writer. We are the beneficiaries of his long acting career and active social life, since the people he encounters and writes about are mostly household names. While he sketches only the bare details of his own life, enough of his prickly personality comes through to give a sense of perspective.

The book is presented as short portraits of people Langella has met or worked with, from Rita Hayworth to Jack and Jackie Kennedy, making it great fun to pick up and leaf through. An excellent format.

One senses, through his own candid admissions and hints, that he would be a terrible husband or client, but a fun friend or dinner guest. Similarly this book is fun to read, but it doesn't leave you delighted with the author. A brave feat, really.½