The Playboy Interviews: Larger Than Life

by Stephen Randall (editor)

Fame: It's a world unto itself. Only certain people -- the lucky few--are permitted entrance. Their notoriety and influence shape our views on politics, art, commerce, music, even the way we dress and speak. Our lives become defined by how we were before they existed and how we see ourselves after. Everyone remembers where they were the first time they heard the Beatles, watched Muhammad Ali step into the ring, or how they sat in amazement as Marlon Brando filled the big screen. For the last 40 years, Playboy magazine has gone into the living rooms and into the minds of America's glittering few, capturing in candid interviews the thoughts and emotions of these historic men and women at the height of their fame. Now, Playboy and M Press are honored to collect the interviews of 14 people who shaped the world, who can truly be called Larger Than Life.

400 pages, Hardcover

First published December 6, 2006

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good set of interviews with various Mr. and Ms. Bigs: Bette Davis, Mae West, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, Marlon Brando, etc.

There's not too much here that's terribly startling, but there are lots of interesting moments: Dylan babbles incoherently about...something (interviewer Nat Hentoff charitably characterizes Dylan's ramblings as "surrealistic," which is pretty funny); Sinatra rails against organized religion (which was probably pretty shocking in the mid-1960s); Howard Cosell is every bit as egocentric as you think he was; Mae West is even more egocentric than you thought she was; Ali, well, doesn't seem like a terribly nice person on a whole bunch of levels -- at the time of these interviews, at least, he was, not to put too fine a point on it, a racist and sexist asshole. And it turns out Bette Davis was a pretty rock solid feminist. No surprise, I suppose, but it's still pretty startling to read her say that she thinks every woman should read The Female Eunuch. Go Bette! Lawrence Grobel's interview of Brando is a standout, as Grobel's interviews so often are.

[David Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The usual lengthy, probing interviews, this time with icons of the '60s and '70s. The John Wayne interview is notorious. Howard Cosell is sharp, Bette Davis is candid, Frank Sinatra is philosophical. Marlon Brando, once he drops his guard, is clear-eyed, smart and funny. Muhammad Ali is full of himself and Bob Dylan gives one of his better interviews. The rest are OK.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another interesting group of classic interviews, this time with iconic figures from all aspects of the entertainment world. Bette Davis proves to be a likable (if obviously very difficult and iron-willed) proto-feminist; Marlon Brando reveals himself as a quite eccentric mass of contradictions with sharp, passionate political acumen; Frank Sinatra is surprisingly eloquent when speaking of war and peace and the early 60s political arena; John Wayne was of course a right wing, unrepentant racist; and Bob Hope proves to have been an almost transcendentally stupid Republican shill, parroting talking points of the time without the slightest amount of guile. There are also very interesting conversations with wacky Mae West and the great Walter Cronkite, as well as less interesting talks with The Beatles (who were just smart-assing their way through the whole thing), Bob Dylan (who is super-irritating in his mid-60's interview, but much more present and to the point in the late 70s talk). Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell are also included representing the sports world. The former's ego was never charming to me and the latter proves to be a somewhat nicer dude than you've been led to believe - he came across as quite the champion of the underdog. Overall, another mostly fascinating book.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to do justice to such a fine set of interviews without a longer review, so I'll just say they're wide-ranging, in-depth, sometimes surprising, and always illuminating. Mostly from the mid-1960s and early '70s.

Here's the collection: The Beatles (funny and coy) - Frank Sinatra (direct, philosophizing) - Marlon Brando (tremendous rare interview) - Bette Davis (independent) - Bob Dylan (evasive, absurd, then later thoughtful) - Mae West (self-centered and sexed) - Walter Cronkite (talking news, simply a pro) - Howard Cosell (incisive) - Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali (focus on Liston, Foreman, Islam, and race) - Bob Hope (sharp mind) - John Wayne (railing on dirty Commies)

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frank Sinatra and Howard Cosell are the highlights in this mediocre compendium. Bob Hope was pretty interesting too. The Beatles interview is basically worthless, and I still have no idea what Bob Dylan was talking about in 1966. I'd read the Ali interviews before, and they're decent.