Pieces of My Heart: A Life
by Robert J. Wagner, Scott Eyman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert J. Wagner, Scott EymanEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-23
ISBN: 0061373311
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Book Reviews of Pieces of My Heart: A Life
Book Review: Pieces of his publicy releases
Summary: 2 Stars
I was very interested in RJ Wagner's life story, as he certainly was around a lot of interesting people at an interesting time, and of course was on the spot for one of the great Hollywood tragedies. He played mostly supporting roles in movies, and found his feet as a leading man on television, and starred on several popular series. This book was disappointing though, as it failed to give more than superficial observations and rather mushy sentiments. He starts by describing his early life growing up, and admits to wealth and privilege, but claims his father was abusive (spanking him when he misbehaved) and both parents neglectful. Because he doesn't care to go into too much detail, it's hard to sympathise- when he says that after school he only wanted to try and get into the movies, and that his father finally offered him a deal- to buy him a convertible car and pay him an allowance for a year- and that this "Wasn't a great deal" but he accepted it, it comes off as pretty spoilt & ungrateful. He tells of his early struggles to make it- commenting often on how handsome he was at that time, and rather unpleasantly, on some of the girls who "chased" him and saying that he didn't find them attractive. He starts here on what becomes the main page-fillers of the book- gushing over older, more successful men in the film industry, and describing their friendships. He makes no response or comment at all in regard to the rumours of his being secretly bisexual, although tends to comment on the sexuality of the men he comes into contact with, and always reports if they made a pass at him or not. As you read the book, it starts to get quite tiresome to hear what fabulous guys these men all were, especially as he describes their friendships with so much more enthusiasm than his romances with his wives. The only female he really seems to get excited about is Barbara Stanwyck, who he had a romance with when he was first starting in films.
As the book progresses, he casts no light on the dramatic big argument which broke up his first marriage to Natalie Wood. Several biographies agree that she became so upset that night that she crushed a glass in her hand and ran from the house they shared to her parents house in hysterics. He doesn't deny this, but just describes it as "they got into an argument". As far as her death goes- he pretty much reiterates the statement he made to the police at the time, and doesn't add much other detail. He admits they had been drinking and arguing- even to smashing a wine bottle on the table during the argument, but his fallback position is: "I wasn't there; I don't know what happened; no one will ever know." This is frustrating, because of course he was there- he was RIGHT there on the spot. But he's certainly not adding any more information now. He doesn't say much about not wanting to call the Coast Guard immediately after he found Natalie missing from their boat- just says they looked around themselves and didn't call the Coast Guard until later. Apparently his family lawyer "made him promise" never ever to make any press statements about the incident and that he agreed, and is glad he did. After the whole thing happened, he returned home- instead of going straight home he visited his psychiatrist to "ask him how to break the news to the children". He got some good advice on this, apparently, but by the time he got home the children had already heard the news from the television. He prefers to dwell, not on the incident itself, but on the terrible depression and grieving time he went through afterwards. I thought it was strange that he speaks bitterly of "famous women" who came to visit him when he was grieving- "uninvited" and bringing gifts of food. He suggests they were trying to snap him up now that he was single again, and that it was a "disconcerting display" and "so disrespectful". He didn't seem to bear this in mind when he hooked up with Jill St. John soon afterwards, though. I know this seems like a very negative review of the book, but it's a frustrating read- no new information about his marriage, although there are still unanswered questions there. Over the top gushing about the big stars and discussion of what good friends they are- he has a tendency to dislike the wives of his good male buddies, and is rather waspish about them. Moments of sickly sentimentality- references to things "filling his soul" or "souls rushing by him" the "beautiful confirmation of life" - he describes a favourite dog as being "the blood of my heart, embodying joy as well as a nobility of spirit and form". In fact, he has bought four plots in a cemetery in Aspen for him, his wife, his dog, and "any of the children who'd like to be buried there". How would that work? His daughters packed into one grave together while the dog has it's own? I didn't think you were allowed to have dogs and people buried in graveyards together, but maybe it's different in America. He WILL make sure to repeat every single compliment that anyone famous has paid him, and uses the book as a platform to be critical of various people he feels have let him down. It comes off as if he never put pen to paper for a second, and that he just taped a series of anecdotes and sent them off to the ghost writer, then expanded on request. Most of the really interesting stuff he has already talked about in interviews, so there's nothing mind-blowing here. For the dedicated RJ Wagner fans only.
Summary of Pieces of My Heart: A Life
A moving, candid, and deeply personal look at the triumphs and tragedies, lovesand heartbreaks of one of Hollywood's most popular and enduring stars.
Handsome, suave, and sophisticated, Robert J. Wagner has starred in more than one hundred films and television series over the past fifty years. In this deeply personal story, he recalls his rise to stardom. He talks candidly about his relationships with some of the greatest stars of the 20th century, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, and, for the first time, he shares the details of his two marriages to Natalie Wood. Wagner also offers a fascinating look at Hollywood during the last half of the 20th century.
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