What do you think?
Rate this book
TV Babylon
Vintage TV tie-in paperback
- GenresNonfiction
1 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 6, 1984
1 person is currently reading
17 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 11, 2017
Decades ago, Kenneth Anger wrote an extremely popular gossip book of scandals among the stars called HOLLYWOOD BABYLON. Unfortunately, he also perpetuated many inaccuracies and spurious tales in its pages.
In TV BABYLON, writer Jeff Rovin places the elite of the television industry firmly in the gossip spotlight. The main difference between his book and Anger's is that Rovin seems to have researched his sources rather than blindly publishing what he had been told or that appeared in the tabloids.
This was written in 1984, so many of these executives and performers may be completely unknown to younger, modern viewers. For instance, I vividly remember the war of Suzanne Somers with her co-stars and the producers of the hit series, THREE'S COMPANY. However, after reading that story in here, I mentioned the show to several of the younger folks in our company and none of them had ever heard of it.
Most of the stories belong to the "breathless retelling around the water cooler" category ... illicit romances, notable melt-downs, monstrous egos, and self-destructive behavior. He does rehash the very famous death of George Reeves and doesn't come down on one side or the other of the murder or suicide camps. And there are incidents of extremely questionable taste (that almost caused me to delete the book from my list) such as the picture of Ernie Kovacs' body sprawled through the open door of his car after his fatal accident.
In one of his concluding paragraphs, Rovin writes:
"The TV industry will continue to make people stars and then 'eat 'em up and spit 'em out.' Meanwhile, the citizens of TV Babylon will remain far more frightened and full of paranoia than the average man or woman. They will grow wealthy, but they probably won't grow healthy or wise."
If such a peek behind the curtain is intriguing, this book delivers the goods.
In TV BABYLON, writer Jeff Rovin places the elite of the television industry firmly in the gossip spotlight. The main difference between his book and Anger's is that Rovin seems to have researched his sources rather than blindly publishing what he had been told or that appeared in the tabloids.
This was written in 1984, so many of these executives and performers may be completely unknown to younger, modern viewers. For instance, I vividly remember the war of Suzanne Somers with her co-stars and the producers of the hit series, THREE'S COMPANY. However, after reading that story in here, I mentioned the show to several of the younger folks in our company and none of them had ever heard of it.
Most of the stories belong to the "breathless retelling around the water cooler" category ... illicit romances, notable melt-downs, monstrous egos, and self-destructive behavior. He does rehash the very famous death of George Reeves and doesn't come down on one side or the other of the murder or suicide camps. And there are incidents of extremely questionable taste (that almost caused me to delete the book from my list) such as the picture of Ernie Kovacs' body sprawled through the open door of his car after his fatal accident.
In one of his concluding paragraphs, Rovin writes:
"The TV industry will continue to make people stars and then 'eat 'em up and spit 'em out.' Meanwhile, the citizens of TV Babylon will remain far more frightened and full of paranoia than the average man or woman. They will grow wealthy, but they probably won't grow healthy or wise."
If such a peek behind the curtain is intriguing, this book delivers the goods.
April 23, 2022
While at a conference at Destin, Florida, I found myself “bookless.” So, I found an old copy of TV Babylon at Goodwill for a quarter. It was just what the doctor ordered - simple reading on an always-intriguing topic - the travails of those who seem to have everything.
TV Babylon is a mixed bag. It reports on the biggest TV scandals up through the mid-1980s. Some of the stories receive good coverage (Freddie Prinze, George Reeves, Susanne Somers). But the coverage of other stories (Richard Pryor’s short-lived TV show, Lynda Carter’s divorce, Herve Villachaize’s departure from Fantasy Island) is very slight.
But if you’re reading TV Babylon, you’re not looking for the eternal truths about the human condition. You just want entertainment. And this book delivers the goods.
TV Babylon is a mixed bag. It reports on the biggest TV scandals up through the mid-1980s. Some of the stories receive good coverage (Freddie Prinze, George Reeves, Susanne Somers). But the coverage of other stories (Richard Pryor’s short-lived TV show, Lynda Carter’s divorce, Herve Villachaize’s departure from Fantasy Island) is very slight.
But if you’re reading TV Babylon, you’re not looking for the eternal truths about the human condition. You just want entertainment. And this book delivers the goods.
December 30, 2021
Jeff does his best to act like an Upright Citizen throughout all of this...but I suspect that he's really just as cheesy as the rest of us. ;)
December 26, 2022
Not as good as Hollywood babylon
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews