American Prince: A Memoir
by Peter Golenbock, Tony Curtis
Book Summary Information
Author: Peter Golenbock, Tony CurtisEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Format: Deckle Edge
Published: 2008-10-14
ISBN: 0307408493
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Harmony
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780307408495
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Book Reviews of American Prince: A Memoir
Book Review: It's all about him, him, him, him, him, him, ad infinitum
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm not a big fan of Hollywood biographies, but once in a while, I'll read one out of idle curiosity. My last excursion was William Shatner's autobiography and it was a delight. The man has had a far richer life than I would have imagined. Marlon Brando and Bob Dylan also penned interesting biographies describing their very interesting lives, both outer and inner.
I remember Tony Curtis from my youth as being a "pretty boy" who appeared mostly silly, forgettable movies, but also appeared in great films such as "Some Like It Hot", "The Defiant Ones" and "Spartacus".
So why not, I figured, and spent the very few hours this book requires to read.
It is, in a single word, awful. Or perhaps more to the point, Tony Curtis presents himself as a rather vapid person whose overriding interest was having sex with virtually every woman he met (even during the course of three marriages), essentially ignoring the children he fathered in each of those marriages (and then complaining that most of these children have strained relationships with him), who his "close" friends were and are (Sinatra, Brando and Hefner, of course, and oh so many others), what cars he drove and so on and forth till the cows come on.
Curtis is "oh, woe is me" from the first page on. His mom and dad were mean to him. He didn't have a lot of friends when he was a kid. He was sensitive to slights, real or imagined, because he was a (non-practicing) Jew. His wives didn't understand him. His children don't like him. When he was in his sixties, he no longer got movie parts. And on and on and on.
It is all about Tony Curtis, which would be fine if there was some depth of any kind to it, but there isn't.
The book is a chronological catalog of his sexual dalliances, his movies, his various marriages, his trips here and there, throwing barbs at mostly dead enemies and people who he feels didn't treat him right.
Overall, my conclusion is that Tony Curtis is a very shallow person who has spent his life feeling sorry for himself, still does, and used that as an excuse for the way he treated people, including his wives and children. Not a very nice person - and it is surprising to see that Curtis is arrogant and self-centered enough to believe people will want to read about his life.
About all that can be said in praise of this book is that co-author Peter Golenbock records this egotistical ramble in a readable style.
Jerry
Summary of American Prince: A Memoir
"All my life I had one dream and that was to be in the movies."He was the Golden Boy of the Golden Age. A prince of the silver screen. Dashing and debonair, Tony Curtis arrived on the scene in a blaze of bright lights and celluloid. His good looks, smooth charm, and natural talent earned him fame, women, and adulation-Elvis copied his look and the Beatles put him on their Sgt. Pepper album cover. But the Hollywood life of his dreams brought both invincible highs and debilitating lows. Now, in his captivating, no-holds-barred autobiography, Tony Curtis shares the agony and ecstasy of a private life in the public eye.
No simple tell-all, American Prince chronicles Hollywood during its heyday. Curtis revisits his immense body of work-including the unforgettable classics Houdini, Spartacus, and Some Like It Hot-and regales readers with stories of his associations with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Olivier, director Billy Wilder, and film industry heavyweight Lew Wasserman, as well as paramours Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe, among others.
As forthright as he is enthralling, Tony Curtis offers intimate glimpses into his succession of failed marriages (and the one that has endured), his destructive drug addiction, and his passion as a painter. Written with humor and grace, American Prince is a testament to the power of living the life of one's dreams.
Actors & Actresses Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Actors & Actresses Books
Life's That Wayby Jim Beaver
Berkley Trade; Published: 2010-04-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.20
Price in other shops:
Little Girl Lostby Drew Barrymore, Todd Gold
Unknown Binding; Book
The Time of My Lifeby Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi
Atria; Published: 2010-08-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.00
Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss And the Musical Rent Libray Edition (Library Edition)Blackstone Audiobooks; Published: 2006-04; MP3 CD; Book
Best price: $18.87
Price in other shops:
I Am Jackie Chanby Jackie Chan
Topeka Bindery; Published: 1999-09; School & Library Binding; Book
Price in other shops:
Love, Lucyby Lucille Ball
Berkley Publishing Group; Published: 1997-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.35
Price in other shops:
Wake Up, I'm Fatby Camryn Manheim
Soundelux Audio Publishing; Published: 1999-05; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
Dancing Barefootby Wil Wheaton
O'Reilly Media, Inc.; Published: 2004-02-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.50
Price in other shops:
If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actorby Bruce Campbell
L.A. Weekly Books; Published: 2001-06-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $44.66
LUCKY MANby MICHAEL J. FOX
BANTAM; Published: 2003; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
LANA: The Memories, the Myths, the Moviesby Cheryl Crane, Cindy De La Hoz
Running Press; Published: 2008-10-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Cloris: My Autobiographyby Cloris Leachman
Kensington Publishing Corporation; Published: 2009-03-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.87
Price in other shops:
Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Doorby David Kaufman
Virgin Books; Published: 2009-06-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.19
Price in other shops:
Dean and Me: (A Love Story)by Jerry Lewis, James Kaplan
Broadway; Published: 2006-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.84
Price in other shops:
The Legs Are the Last to Go: Aging, Acting, Marrying, and Other Things I Learned the Hard Wayby Diahann Carroll
Amistad; Published: 2008-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.72
Price in other shops:
The Making of Some Like It Hot: My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Classic American Movieby Tony Curtis
Wiley; Published: 2009-09-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.93
Price in other shops:
A Fortunate Lifeby Robert Vaughn
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2009-11-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.80
Price in other shops:
Ernie: The Autobiographyby Ernest Borgnine
Citadel; Published: 2009-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.91
Price in other shops:
Pieces of My Heart: A Lifeby Robert J. Wagner, Scott Eyman
It Books; Published: 2009-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.21
Price in other shops:
Don't Mind If I Doby George Hamilton, William Stadiem
Touchstone; Published: 2009-05-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.39
Price in other shops: