Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel

by Nick Dawson

Hal Ashby (1929–1988) was always an outsider, and as a director he brought an outsider's perspective to Hollywood cinema. After moving to California from a Mormon household in Utah, he created eccentric films that reflected the uncertain social climate of the 1970s. Whether it is his enduring cult classic Harold and Maude (1971) or the iconic Being There (1979), Ashby's artistry is unmistakable. His skill for blending intense drama with off-kilter comedy attracted A-list actors and elicited powerful performances from Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail (1973), Warren Beatty and Julie Christie in Shampoo (1975), and Jon Voight and Jane Fonda in Coming Home (1979). Yet the man behind these films is still something of a mystery.In Being Hal Life of a Hollywood Rebel, author Nick Dawson for the first time tells the story of a man whose thoughtful and challenging body of work continues to influence modern filmmakers and whose life was as dramatic and unconventional as his films. Ashby began his career as an editor, and it did not take long for his talents to be recognized. He won an Academy Award in 1967 for editing In the Heat of the Night and leveraged his success as an editor to pursue his true directing. Crafting seminal films that steered clear of mainstream conventions yet attracted both popular and critical praise, Ashby became one of the quintessential directors of the 1970s New Hollywood movement.No matter how much success Ashby achieved, he was never able to escape the ghosts of his troubled childhood. The divorce of his parents, his father's suicide, and his own marriage and divorce―all before the age of nineteen―led to a lifelong struggle with drugs for which he became infamous in Hollywood. And yet, contrary to mythology, it was not Ashby's drug abuse that destroyed his career but a fundamental mismatch between the director and the stifling climate of 1980s studio filmmaking. Although his name may not be recognized by many of today's filmgoers, Hal Ashby is certainly familiar to filmmakers. Despite his untimely death in 1988, his legacy of innovation and individuality continues to influence a generation of independent directors, including Wes Anderson, Sean Penn, and the Coen brothers, who place substance and style above the pursuit of box-office success.In this groundbreaking and exhaustively researched biography, Nick Dawson draws on firsthand interviews and personal papers from Ashby's estate to offer an intimate look at the tumultuous life of an artist unwilling to conform or compromise.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Biography

440 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a weird blind spot with Ashby for the longest time until last year I finally took the journey through all his films and discovered that he was absolutely one of my favorite directors. Dawson's book is meticulously researched and organized, providing some incredible insights into Ashby the man and Ashby the filmmaker -- intertwined fascinating characters who, at times, seem like thoroughly different people. His inability to sustain meaningful personal relationships with his family -- particularly his daughter -- contrasts completely with the warmth and generosity reported from so many of the friends and colleagues who were part of his life.

As a cinefile, it is quite sad that Ashby's body of work is so relatively limited. Dawson especially places his last four films into valuable context as it's nearly impossible to call any of them "Hal Ashby films" since Ashby's skill came from his vision and his editing, and the latter was torn from him, in some cases completely.

Dawson definitely doesn't hide his own admiration for Ashby, but he seems to back up the character he presents with a wide variety of testimonials from the people who knew, worked with and loved Ashby. The final chapter -- depicting Ashby's relatively quick decline and death due to pancreatic cancer -- is probably the strongest of the book because even more than any other section, we see and learn about this complicated man: A recluse with so many friends; his life was brilliant and tragic; he was able to have the people who loved him around him as he declined, and after spending most of his adult life holed up in editing rooms with just one or two companions -- if any -- it's amazing the dedication and love he still received from people, including some of the biggest names in the film industry at that time.

The characterization Dawson provides of Ashby's complicated feelings about his father, longing but disconnected relationship with his mother and complete inability to deal with his daughter make his incredible generosity to his colleagues even more fascinating. Here was a man who kept creating his own family (or families), and aside from making meaningful work, he seemed to want nothing more than to pass on his experiences and knowledge to others, acting as a mentor -- a dedicated, caring mentor, at that -- to numerous people. Does that kind of one-no-one dedication to mentoring -- which seems to have existed a great deal during the early Hollywood studio system and even through the rise of the independents in the '70s -- exist anymore?

The writing itself isn't perfect, and there are moments where the style is too straightforward and dry. But Dawson's book is a must read for any true film lover.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perceptive, detailed bio of the shining yet troubled 70s cinema icon Ashby balances its gossipy personal life reporting with superb on-set (and in the editing room) elements. The ascent of Ashby from genius editor working on such diverse films as "In the Heat of the Night", "The Big Country", "The Cincinnati Kid", and Tony Richardson's "The Loved One", or apprenticing under people like William Wyler, is covered excellently. The reader is witness to the man's startling, fascinating education. The pantheon of great actors who benefited from their time served throughout Ashby's work is immense, and their anecdotes are some of the best reading. On its own, a stupendo book that portrays 60s, 70s--and even some dismal 80s--cinema with plenty of depth, even detailing Ashby's nightmarish downfall, particularly the evisceration of his gambling comedy "Looking to Get Out."

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and valuable look into the life and work of a thoroughly underrated filmmaker. While I would have liked more insight into why his films are so effective, this gave me a better portrait of the brilliant, dysfunctional personality behind them, and inspired me to rewatch his work -- in fact, I taught a short course at a continuing education program where this was a big help with the syllabus. A great read.

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite films of all time is 8 Million Ways To Die, which I discovered in this book is a film that Hal Ashby was actually removed from by crass producers and didn't edit or do the soundtrack for, so I'm left wondering how much even better it would have been if he had. That's just one tiny tidbit in a book filled with facts and stories about the legendary rebel director of films like Harold and Maude, The Last Detail, Shampoo, Being There, the Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend The Night Together and Coming Home. Before becoming a director, he'd been a master editor on films like The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, The Cincinnati Kid, The Loved One, and In The Heat Of The Night (for which he won the Academy Award). An unconventional, well-loved, and difficult artist is captured here in all his complexity by Nick Dawson, who had full access to Ashby's archives and to the friends and professional companions of his life's work. A great tribute to a great artist of the cinema. - BH.

[Burt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being Hal Ashby is a solid, workmanlike biography of the acclaimed 1970s filmmaker. Author Nick Dawson heavily relies on Ashby’s archives to tell his life story. Readers will find the stories of Ashby’s early years in Utah to be particularly illuminating. Hal’s father committed suicide and Hal subsequently abandoned a daughter he fathered as a teenager.

The account of Hal’s career is only pretty good. Dawson paints Ashby as a workaholic perfectionist who saw no difference in his movies and himself. Unfortunately, I think that Dawson is a bit too much of an Ashby fan to assess Hal’s film career with any objectivity. Dawson (almost) completely buys the notion that Ashby was a great artist who was cruelly abused by the studios. The accounts of Ashby’s many films can be somewhat redundant - the material is good, but Dawson’s prose doesn’t do it justice.

In the end, I was glad that I read Being Hal Ashby. But it’s one of the many “pretty-good” books that I’ve read.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Barry's 4-star review of Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel by Nick Dawson
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

My public library system holds a themed film series each year. This year’s has been Hal Ashby in the Seventies, wrapping up tomorrow with “Being There,” which, according to the book, was arguably Ashby’s highest achievement. Even though so many of his films were familiar to me, until this series I hadn’t seen any of them straight through. They are remarkable works, and Ashby has become one of my favorite directors. Dawson includes loads of behind-the-scenes details from the movies as well as analysis of their artistry or failures, the box office tallies, and critics’ thoughts. There is no better guide to read before and after seeing Ashby’s movies.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know, man. Kind of a hagiography, but I love these behind the scenes accounts of people making movies, or really any form of art. The one thing you see repeatedly is that there is a very fine line between being protective of your vision and being harmfully intractable. The second thing is that if you act like an asshole you better be successful -- and be that way in perpetuity. Because as soon as you have a miss the industry will be quick to say, "It's not worth it. Life's too short," when deciding whether or not to hire you. The third thing is don't do cocaine on set. And if you have a daughter spend time with her before you're a corpse at a funeral.

[David Parson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once it gets past the obligatory "early days", which is written with very little spark, the biography blooms from film to film, as Ashley's filmography and life are chronicled with the aplomb that his work is famous for.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half.

[Kit Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brisk yet informative glimpse into the life (and influences) of one of my favorite directors who, in addition to having a train wreck of a personal life (he was married five—or six?—times, and at least twice before he was 21), also managed to direct a solid string of some of the best movies of the 1970s (thus making them some of the best movies in the history of film). I appreciated reading about the supportive, loving relationships he had with mentor figures Robert Swink and Norman Jewison, and all the behind-the-scenes antics that helped mold the development of Coming Home, Being There, Shampoo, Bound for Glory, The Last Detail, and Harold and Maude. Also a good reminder that some of the antecedents of his unique zeitgeist can be found in the films of William Wyler and George Stevens. Think the one movie that I really wish he had succeeded in getting off the ground was his version of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

[Nathan Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

The soulfulness of Being There and The Last Detail, as well as the mysterious and sad decline he suffered in the ’80s, has made Hal Ashby a figure of interest to me for a long time; starting out as a film editor — an unusual path he shares with Robert Wise, David Lean and almost no one else — and taking on directing fairly late in his life, never abandoning his nomadic hippie lifestyle, he had a unique story that’s told well enough in this serviceable biography. Ashby’s life was short, confused and at times depressing; he seems to have had few extended periods of contentment before it was all over. The book gives a lot of new information gleaned from recent interviews, and — with a good, critical eye and nice clean prose — helps explain the business and production problems that led to the disastrously received movies of Ashby’s final decade. There’s not a thing wrong with this book; it just doesn’t offer as much insight as I’d hoped, but Dawson probably did what he could with a fairly impenetrable figure.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched and told with an obvious love for the subject that meant that I was largely persuaded by the apportioning of blame for the decline in the quality of Ashby's later films lying almost entirely with other people. That Dawson's affection for Ashby mirrors that of seemingly almost everybody who knew him re-enforces this sense.

I'm tempted to say that the even-handed way in which all of his films are given equal attention left me wanting more about the making of Harold and Maude and The Last Detail in particular, but that would be to fault what is ultimately one of the book's great strengths. The biggest criticism I can make is to say that it left me wanting a greater degree of critical analysis at times.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and articulate look into one of the most under-appreciated filmmakers of the Seventies. Dawson debunks the tragic antihero that Ashby has been portrayed in other books and managed to dig deep into his life and his creative strokes of genius; starting from his conflicted upbringing, to his unfortunate death in 1988.

[Jason Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dawson's analyses, both of the films and of the subject himself, could have gone a little farther, but this decade-in-the making biography is an invaluable first step in reappraising Ashby, whose remarkable run in the '70s can hold its own with the work of Coppola, Altman, and Scorsese.

[Wiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needful book, amateurish writing style. Glad I got it.

[Anna Jhanssn · Rating 3 out of 5]

good anecdotes, interesting character, but unbalanced writing.