Actress: Postcards from the Road

by Elizabeth Ashley

Vintage hardcover

Genres: Memoir, Biography, Nonfiction

252 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1978

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of bios/autobios/memoirs of actors and actresses since this fucking pandemic began and this is easily my favorite of the bunch. Elizabeth Ashley's heydey was first in the early 60's and then again in the mid-70's (the trajectory of her career is complicated)—most folks under 45 would probably have no idea who she is. But man, she really brings it for this book, in genuine spill-your-guts fashion. She's fierce and no-nonsense, digging deep into issues of self-esteem and being true to oneself, no matter what. She also owns being impossible sometimes, and is unusually direct about sexual issues in her life (when she was in the midst of a smoking hot affair, she used that energy to fuel her triumphant performance of the voracious Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway). You also get a harrowing account what it was like to get a back alley abortion before it became legal (however long *that's* going to last in our current miserable political reality). Ashley is so engaging to spend time with that I burned through this in just a few days and really enjoyed it, big-time. Fans of this kind of book should def check this one out.

[Robert LoBiondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what I have seen of Ms Ashley in films and stage (mid 80's on) I never would have thought she was NOT all the time a Lion of an Actor. Here's the underside of being an actor, particularly a female actor and in a relationship with another actor during the non-feminist 60's-mid 70's.
Tony Award winner, a play written for her, Hollywood acclaim, on the Top...then thrown down to the bottom in an all star film--and you really learn that film is good or not because of the Director and Editor...deciding to quit acting and be a good Hollywood Wife but getting drawn back to acting...panic, drugs, never knowing if you're talented enough...then to ride high again because a theatre company Knew she could be Maggie The Cat. Don't read before bedtime or you will really get depressed. But this is such a "scars and all" book.

[Bradley Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1978, Ashley’s memoir presents a raw and unfiltered look into her dramatic life and career. An honest portrayal of the conflict between personal integrity and success in show business, Ashely traces her start on Broadway to becoming a promising young talent in Hollywood, only to trade it all in for a life of domesticity before realizing she only ever feels truly alive performing, then fighting her way back into Hollywood with a burning ambition to do truly good work. Tough and no-nonsense, this is the straight talk from one of the greats.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Ashley is quite a lady. Back in 1978 she wrote this frank memoir about her career and personal life in the 1960s and 70s, and she lays it all on the line. I thought she was very fair about her own experiences of the bad side of Tinseltown if you're a female actor, or married to a movie star who just wants a tradwife. She recognises her own dysfunctional side and her strengths, and we have to admire her for it.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hope she didn't intend to sound as whiny as she came off in this memoir. I guess the basic take-away was that she wanted to be an actress & taken seriously as such but she didn't want to be a grown up & didn't see any disconnect in that. Best part might have been when she was writing about her relationship with George Peppard

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Racy, upfront and in-your-face this is me biography. Not bad as these types of books go.

[Rose Bae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved how honest she is about how hard it is to be in an artistic field and try to balance having a personal life. She does not mince words and I literally read this in one sitting. It reminded me that no matter what decade we live in, some things never change.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't get much from this book. I feel sorry for her because she never really got the help she needed. It's sad that she identifies herself with her work. Her work makes her who she is. She led a really messed up life and never seemed to get any better.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made me really dislike the author. Intellectual snob, no gratitude for her own success. How disgraceful to be in a hit Broadway show! My heart bleeds. Too bad someone who would have appreciated it didn't get the chances she disdained so.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revealing autobiography.

[Elizabeth]

paperback pocketbook
ave condition