Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

NOT YOUNG, STILL RESTLESS Jeanne Cooper

NOT YOUNG, STILL RESTLESS A Memoir. Jeanne Cooper with Lindsay Harrison. Harper Luxe; 2012.

Jeanne Cooper has appeared in films and many television programs [including Highway Patrol, Thriller, Perry Mason, and a very notable turn on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.] but has become most famous for her very long stint on the popular CBS soap The Young and the Restless as matriarch Katherine Chancellor. Naturally, most of her memoir focuses on the show and her cast-mates [as well as her children and grandchildren], so if you're hoping for anecdotes about Cooper working on Black Zoo with Michael Gough you'll be disappointed. [Similarly, while she mentions her friendship with Barbara Hale -- and Raymond Burr -- of Perry Mason, you won't find any notes about her working on The Houston Story with Hale, Gene Barry and William Castle.] However, there is a lot about her upbringing in a liberal household, her lovers and some co-stars, and a lot about her marriage to her handsome but otherwise unsatisfactory husband. Cooper allows herself a few diva moments, and in some of her write ups about her Y&R co-stars seems to be offering as much a slap as a hug, but why not? Cooper is a very talented actress, and in this book emerges as a likable lady as well. Great title!

Verdict: A good read about an interesting woman. ***.

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