tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212867859094085036.post5809981317126601115..comments2024-03-27T10:44:12.502-04:00Comments on GREAT OLD MOVIES: JUDY & LIZA & ROBERT & FREDDIE & DAVID & SUE & MEWilliamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03053290865549099074noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212867859094085036.post-79995974089696438302015-08-10T17:21:34.830-04:002015-08-10T17:21:34.830-04:00My pleasure! As you can tell I get a kick out of t...My pleasure! As you can tell I get a kick out of these books, too! I think you're right about the jaundiced view of many of these show biz tomes. It's as if the author never quite got their due and wants to make everybody pay for it. I've no doubt Garland could be difficult to manage at times, like most stars, but the book makes her into some kind of living "grotesque" -- I'm not a big, big Garland fan (although I have friends who refuse to read the book!) but even I thought it was all overdone and even unnecessary. Garland was talented. Garland had issues. End of story. The dirt about her has been dug up only to puff her the author's own ego. Sad. Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03053290865549099074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8212867859094085036.post-76008079772340044912015-08-10T16:09:47.062-04:002015-08-10T16:09:47.062-04:00Hi Bill, I too read this book and I feel very simi...Hi Bill, I too read this book and I feel very similarly to the way you do about it. The author lived through an interesting time in showbiz history and there are a lot of entertaining stories...how true or embellished they are is anybody's guess. <br /><br />She really does a terrible hack job on Garland especially, though...could Judy have really been such a total monster and inebriated wreck? My mother, who worked on the Ed Sullivan Show in the mid-1960s (she met the Beatles!), confirms that when Judy was scheduled to appear, they had to sit vigil and babysit Garland in her hotel room the entire day to make sure she didn't overimbibe before showtime. <br /><br />And my mom always made me laugh when she told me that Liza's costumes smelled like body odor because she never washed them...lo and behold, I find the same Liza anecdote in this very mean-spirited book.<br /><br />Maybe it's not the stories themselves, but the attitude this book takes toward everyone in it...that all these creative types may have talent but are horribly selfish, indulgent and downright evil...a jaundiced view! <br /><br />In defense of John Carlyle's book...though that too told some Judy horror stories, it was written from a place of love and affection...it was obvious Carlyle adored Garland, despite her neediness and drama. <br /><br />I can't resist these types of books, though, Bill - I'm obsessed! Thank you for covering it!<br />-Chrisangelman66https://www.blogger.com/profile/16471674180789592940noreply@blogger.com