Forever Mame: The Life of Rosalind Russell

Hollywood Legends

by Bernard F. Dick

When it comes to living life to its fullest, Rosalind Russell's character Auntie Mame is still the silver screen's exemplar. And Mame, the role Russell (1907-1976) would always be remembered for, embodies the rich and rewarding life Bernard F. Dick reveals in the first biography of this Golden Age star, Forever The Life of Rosalind Russell . Drawing on personal interviews and information from the archives of Russell and her producer-husband Frederick Brisson, Dick begins with Russell's childhood in Waterbury, Connecticut, and chronicles her early attempts to achieve recognition after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Frustrated by her inability to land a lead in a Broadway show, she headed for Hollywood in 1934 and two years later played her first starring role, the title character in Craig's Wife . Dick discusses all of her films along with her triumphal return to Broadway, first in the musical Wonderful Town and later in Auntie Mame . Forever Mame details Russell's social circle of such stars as Loretta Young, Cary Grant, and Frank Sinatra. It traces an extraordinary career, ending with Russell's courageous battle against the two diseases that eventually caused her rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Russell devoted her last years to campaigning for arthritis research. So successful was she in her efforts to alert lawmakers to this crippling disease that a leading San Francisco research center is named after her.



When it comes to living life to its fullest, Rosalind Russell's character Auntie Mame is still the silver screen's exemplar. And Mame, the role Russell (1907-1976) would always be remembered for, embodies the rich and rewarding life Bernard F. Dick reveals in the first biography of this Golden Age star, Forever The Life of Rosalind Russell . Drawing on personal interviews and information from the archives of Russell and her producer-husband Frederick Brisson, Dick begins with Russell's childhood in Waterbury, Connecticut, and chronicles her early attempts to achieve recognition after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Frustrated by her inability to land a lead in a Broadway show, she headed for Hollywood in 1934 and two years later played her first starring role, the title character in Craig's Wife . Dick discusses all of her films along with her triumphal return to Broadway, first in the musical Wonderful Town and later in Auntie Mame . Forever Mame details Russell's social circle of such stars as Loretta Young, Cary Grant, and Frank Sinatra. It traces an extraordinary career, ending with Russell's courageous battle against the two diseases that eventually caused her rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Russell devoted her last years to campaigning for arthritis research. So successful was she in her efforts to alert lawmakers to this crippling disease that a leading San Francisco research center is named after her.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

289 pages, Hardcover

First published August 24, 2006

About the author

Bernard F. Dick is Professor of Communication and English and Co-Director of the School of Art and Media Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Teaneck, New Jersey, campus. He is the author of a number of books on film including The Star-Spangled Screen: The American World War II Film; Engulfed: The Death of Paramount Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Hollywood; Hal Wallis: Producer to the Stars; Forever Mame: Rosalind Russell; and She Walked in Beauty: Claudette Colbert. He has just completed a biography of Loretta Young, Hollywood Madonna.

Reviews

[Ricky · Rating 1 out of 5]

so boring. I spent hours of reading this and know next to nothing about Rosalind Russell. It's mostly just very basic and uninsightful rambling about her plays and films. a crashing bore. nobody expects to read a "biography" that consists largely of exhaustive synopses of her work. I guess I know how all of her movies end now, even the ones I've never seen.

[Mandy J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing read. Way too much information about each and every film & play she was in going into minute details on the characters & plots & not a huge amount of detail about the private Rosalind Russell. Ugh! Dull unfortunately.

[C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author seems to have written this like a 300-page critical essay on her body of work rather than a biography on her life as the book's title would imply. The research seems there, but the writing isn't and I came away knowing almost nothing new of Rosalind Russell after all that reading. Bulk of the text chronicles the synopses of Roz's work, which feels redundant especially if readers could very well watch her films and come to their own opinions of her work. This could work as "academic" text, but nothing more.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The three stars given are because the writer gave me insight into many films I’ve yet to see. Other than that, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book at all. I couldn’t stand how many tangents the author went off on, and at some point I just had to tell myself to press on through the book. There is a factual error in the book as well (at least the audiobook version). One of the songs from Gypsy, something EASILY researched, is misnamed. If that mistake was overlooked, what other assumptions might the author have made?