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Hollywood Window to the Stars, Volume 1: A Critical Look at 50 Hollywood Legends
Hollywood Window to the Stars Vol 1 takes a critical, no holds barred look at 50 legends of the movies, from Garbo to Depp, and re-examines them in light of the veritable mountain of new information available today. These are not detailed biographies as such, but envelopes of trivia, scandal, viewpoints, accomplishments, failings, character flaws etc. each one liberally sprinkled with quotes by and about the individuals examined. You will find your idols (in most cases) were far from perfect.
- GenresNonfiction
485 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2015
249 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 4, 2016
This is the third book I have read from this author and they begin to get a little repetitive. Some stories are new some you have read before. Most of the 'Legends' in this book are from the 'golden age of Hollywood, although several modern actors appear.
These books are not for the faint of heart who want to believe only good things about their heroes. Some people were spoiled, some were abused, some went mentally ill, others had substance abuse issues. But the Studio system covered all of this up and turned out a perfect, happy star for human consumption. Now the author knocks away all the fraud and exposes the real lives of these sad people.
These books are not for the faint of heart who want to believe only good things about their heroes. Some people were spoiled, some were abused, some went mentally ill, others had substance abuse issues. But the Studio system covered all of this up and turned out a perfect, happy star for human consumption. Now the author knocks away all the fraud and exposes the real lives of these sad people.
December 17, 2024
The book covers a lot of Hollywood characters but there is an underlying theme for the ones covered in the book and that is that their behavior was far from what is accepted as standard. There are numerous examples of Hollywood stars and starlets who were involved in cheating on their spouses, having sex with underage girls, alcholism, drug use and ot her related behaviors.
It's obvious that this type of behavior is not normal by any means. It's heavily influenced by the money they earn and the attention they get from the public and those in the profession. It's also evident that most of them never seem to learn from their mistakes which results in major problems for themselves and for others.
At the time the public adored them but they didn't have full knowledge of the kinds of behavior these stars and starlets had. Now that we know their behavior then how should history remember them?
Acknowledge their acting ability and overlook their behavior? Have kind of a double standard, one for their ability (which is usually rather high) and the other for their behavior (which is usually pretty bad)? The book leads to some rather interesting questions.
It's obvious that this type of behavior is not normal by any means. It's heavily influenced by the money they earn and the attention they get from the public and those in the profession. It's also evident that most of them never seem to learn from their mistakes which results in major problems for themselves and for others.
At the time the public adored them but they didn't have full knowledge of the kinds of behavior these stars and starlets had. Now that we know their behavior then how should history remember them?
Acknowledge their acting ability and overlook their behavior? Have kind of a double standard, one for their ability (which is usually rather high) and the other for their behavior (which is usually pretty bad)? The book leads to some rather interesting questions.
June 8, 2017
Another Fun Read For Summer
I enjoyed the book. Lots of interesting information on celebrities. May things were shocking but I guess in Hollywood, money and power usually corrupted most people. Some stars did survive and enjoyed life. Others were pieces of work who ran rampant over anyone to get what they wanted. Lots of arrogance, very little humility. That's for sure.
I enjoyed the book. Lots of interesting information on celebrities. May things were shocking but I guess in Hollywood, money and power usually corrupted most people. Some stars did survive and enjoyed life. Others were pieces of work who ran rampant over anyone to get what they wanted. Lots of arrogance, very little humility. That's for sure.
May 26, 2017
Inside Hollywood -- deep inside
The stories behind the rumors unfold in this no-holds-barred expose` of the Hollywood giants. Everything you wanted to know but didn't know who to ask. And a lot you didn't want to know.
The stories behind the rumors unfold in this no-holds-barred expose` of the Hollywood giants. Everything you wanted to know but didn't know who to ask. And a lot you didn't want to know.
October 1, 2017
Andy's Review
Another winner from Alan Royle - full of things I never knew. I also liked his vitriolic attack on Paris Hilton and I can't wait to read the 2nd volume!
Another winner from Alan Royle - full of things I never knew. I also liked his vitriolic attack on Paris Hilton and I can't wait to read the 2nd volume!
February 12, 2018
It was a very interesting book if you like celebrities
I chose 4 stars because it could of been more detailed
It was very interesting. Made me want to read more.
I chose 4 stars because it could of been more detailed
It was very interesting. Made me want to read more.
April 2, 2016
*SIGH* Where do I begin? *insert eyeroll*
The man who wrote this book comes across as a grade A jackass, very simply put. I found myself yelling out loud numerous times as I went through this book.
The premise is a good one: a brief look at the lives of 50 of the most popular stars of Hollywood, including past and present stars. This book should be titled The (Supposed) Sex Lives of 50 Hollywood Stars. It would be more fitting.
In probably 40 out of the 50 stars covered in this book, he completely glosses over their actual accomplishments as actors and instead focuses on their very seedy sex lives. According to him, everyone in Hollywood back in the day was bisexual or flat out homosexual. Now, I know in some instances this was very true. But honestly, who cares? He seemed to have a sick fascination with these people's sordid sex lives and much of what he wrote is just pure speculation.
The chapter that enraged me the most (as I knew it would before I even got to that section), is the one about Cary Grant. Cary happens to be one of my favorite old Hollywood actors and I own all 72 of his movies. I don't claim to be an expert on him, but I have learned a lot about him over the years. This author made it his mission to tell the reader that Cary was flat out homosexual, even while contradicting himself when he mentions that Cary was madly in love with Sophia Loren. This baffles me. Cary was married not once, but five times, and strongly denied being a homosexual. Now, please don't misunderstand me. If Cary actually were gay, it would not bother me a bit. But I don't understand this author's need to claim it as fact, when there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, and there has never been any real proof otherwise. He claims Cary was in love with Randolph Scott for 40 years. Heck, it could be true, I don't know! But that would still make him bisexual, not homosexual. Let's call a spade a spade here. I think the reason it bothers me so much is that Cary himself would get so angry about it, and he is no longer here to defend himself. *Rant over*.
There are other ones he dragged through the mud - he for some reason went off on Roman Polanski in the chapter about John Travolta, and got so many of the facts wrong that I was literally yelling as I was reading it.
There were also typos galore in the kindle edition.
The only reason I am giving it 2 stars instead of 1 is that there was some interesting stuff in the book and it was still a compelling read in a way - but just be warned, it reads more like a trashy tabloid magazine. I would not recommend it.
The man who wrote this book comes across as a grade A jackass, very simply put. I found myself yelling out loud numerous times as I went through this book.
The premise is a good one: a brief look at the lives of 50 of the most popular stars of Hollywood, including past and present stars. This book should be titled The (Supposed) Sex Lives of 50 Hollywood Stars. It would be more fitting.
In probably 40 out of the 50 stars covered in this book, he completely glosses over their actual accomplishments as actors and instead focuses on their very seedy sex lives. According to him, everyone in Hollywood back in the day was bisexual or flat out homosexual. Now, I know in some instances this was very true. But honestly, who cares? He seemed to have a sick fascination with these people's sordid sex lives and much of what he wrote is just pure speculation.
The chapter that enraged me the most (as I knew it would before I even got to that section), is the one about Cary Grant. Cary happens to be one of my favorite old Hollywood actors and I own all 72 of his movies. I don't claim to be an expert on him, but I have learned a lot about him over the years. This author made it his mission to tell the reader that Cary was flat out homosexual, even while contradicting himself when he mentions that Cary was madly in love with Sophia Loren. This baffles me. Cary was married not once, but five times, and strongly denied being a homosexual. Now, please don't misunderstand me. If Cary actually were gay, it would not bother me a bit. But I don't understand this author's need to claim it as fact, when there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, and there has never been any real proof otherwise. He claims Cary was in love with Randolph Scott for 40 years. Heck, it could be true, I don't know! But that would still make him bisexual, not homosexual. Let's call a spade a spade here. I think the reason it bothers me so much is that Cary himself would get so angry about it, and he is no longer here to defend himself. *Rant over*.
There are other ones he dragged through the mud - he for some reason went off on Roman Polanski in the chapter about John Travolta, and got so many of the facts wrong that I was literally yelling as I was reading it.
There were also typos galore in the kindle edition.
The only reason I am giving it 2 stars instead of 1 is that there was some interesting stuff in the book and it was still a compelling read in a way - but just be warned, it reads more like a trashy tabloid magazine. I would not recommend it.
May 6, 2016
I don't know why I bothered to read this. I was bored and it was free, so I said "why not?" but it was horrible. The writing was absolutely awful and the guy's grammar was a mess. I don't know how half of those mistakes were allowed to happen. Also, the guy was overly-opinionated and rude. I couldn't stand half the crap he was saying. This is probably the first and last time I'll read a free kindle book out of boredom, that's for sure.
June 6, 2016
Guilty pleasure?
I would give five stars if this was a good piece of literature, but it's not. However, it was just as satisfying. At least to me. It was like one of those supermarket tabloids at the checkout, but I didn't need to suffer neck strain trying to read it without hands. It was good!
I would give five stars if this was a good piece of literature, but it's not. However, it was just as satisfying. At least to me. It was like one of those supermarket tabloids at the checkout, but I didn't need to suffer neck strain trying to read it without hands. It was good!
March 6, 2017
GAK! Amazon Kindle Unlimited made this piece of garbage sound interesting. It is not. I could go on, but I choose only to steer others from this mess, not give it any further notice. I have an often vexing habit of not giving up on a book I start, and this one, to my great consternation, did not improve. AVOID!
November 30, 2015
Critical Indeed
For anyone who has an interest in the rich 'oldies but goodies', this book is an 'bars all' enlightenment. Enjoy!
For anyone who has an interest in the rich 'oldies but goodies', this book is an 'bars all' enlightenment. Enjoy!
May 4, 2016
It was okay, but a lot of unproven gossip. Found details of some of the people differ from their approved biographies. It was a quick read and overall enjoyable, something like the National Enquier.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews