What do you think?
Rate this book
Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges: His Life in His Words
Preston Sturges was the great writer and director of Hollywood screwball comedies of the thirties and forties. At the height of his career, Sturges had not only won an Academy Award but was also one of the most highly paid executives in the country.
The only account of his life in his own words, Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges unveils the source of his extraordinary a life that was every bit as antic and unconventional as his movies.
The only account of his life in his own words, Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges unveils the source of his extraordinary a life that was every bit as antic and unconventional as his movies.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
12 people are currently reading
273 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 10, 2011
Preston Sturges wrote several of my favorite movies, "The Lady Eve" and "Sullivan's Travels" among others. His dialogue on the screen is topnotch, his screenplays deeply warm and funny. This book is compiled from Sturges' work by his wife, Sandy at the recommendation of Sturges' son. It covers in great detail his early life, traveling in the company of a cast of characters that would fit nicely in a Sturges' film, and in fact, probably did. There are scenes he lived through that wound up on the screen. It's an everyman tale, if every man grew up in a private boarding school, was confused about which father was his own, was dressed in a Grecian gown and a laurel wreath for his toddler years, was in love with Isadora Duncan's daughter at 4 years old, and moved so often I lost track of where in the world he was, and where his mother was while he was there. Glad he mostly kept his bearings, and when he couldn't, wrote great stories about the experience.
January 9, 2016
Fascinating self-told account of the life of writer-director Preston Sturges. His childhood was virtually picaresque as his adventuresome mother, a close friend of Isadora Duncan, carted him between New York and various European locations while she bounced between relationships and various business entanglements. Scathingly funny for the most part, but also touching. That it's probably infected by more than a touch of exaggeration bothers me not: one certainly can understand upon reading this where the madcap energy of The Palm Beach Story and The Lady Eve came from. Sturges's later years (he died of a heart attack in August, 1959, just shy of his 61st birthday) are covered quickly and rather cursorily, but the work he did in those years speaks for itself. Looking forward to seeing more of his movies now.
October 23, 2020
A book can be disappointing and lovely at the same time, and this is exactly the case with Preston Sturges' autobiography.
"Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges: His Life in His Words" was assembled posthumously by Sturges' son, and you can't help but wonder if would feel a little more balanced if Sturges had lived to edit the work. While the book spends a hundred pages detailing his childhood living in Europe, dealing with various prep schools and various husbands of his eccentric mother, we only get one page on "Sullivan's Travels."
But rather than complain about a lack of material about Sturges directing career, I will compliment the late director's wit and humor, his wisdom about the challenges of growing up and finding a direction, and his self-deprecating look at gaining and losing several fortunes in his lifetime.
While I could be picky about certain aspects of Sturges' personality, such as his reactionary views on taxes or his strange love life, he is too sharp and too charming for that to be the primary takeaway from this book. Though you don't get much insight about the directorial process, the book contains plenty of sharp and witty observations about growing up, navigating high society, and enjoying yourself along the way.
Sturges' coming of age story reads like a character in a Wes Anderson film or Salinger novel, and the man is probably funnier than either of those guys. And rather than think about what I thought I was getting, I'll choose to appreciate stumbling on a charming, quirky coming of age story with a little bit of industry advice and old-age regret tossed in for good measure.
The man was fucking funny, and his ability for self-deprecation, from his failed family cosmetics business as a young man to his ill-advised marriage to a much younger woman late in life, is worth the price of admission.
"Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges: His Life in His Words" was assembled posthumously by Sturges' son, and you can't help but wonder if would feel a little more balanced if Sturges had lived to edit the work. While the book spends a hundred pages detailing his childhood living in Europe, dealing with various prep schools and various husbands of his eccentric mother, we only get one page on "Sullivan's Travels."
But rather than complain about a lack of material about Sturges directing career, I will compliment the late director's wit and humor, his wisdom about the challenges of growing up and finding a direction, and his self-deprecating look at gaining and losing several fortunes in his lifetime.
While I could be picky about certain aspects of Sturges' personality, such as his reactionary views on taxes or his strange love life, he is too sharp and too charming for that to be the primary takeaway from this book. Though you don't get much insight about the directorial process, the book contains plenty of sharp and witty observations about growing up, navigating high society, and enjoying yourself along the way.
Sturges' coming of age story reads like a character in a Wes Anderson film or Salinger novel, and the man is probably funnier than either of those guys. And rather than think about what I thought I was getting, I'll choose to appreciate stumbling on a charming, quirky coming of age story with a little bit of industry advice and old-age regret tossed in for good measure.
The man was fucking funny, and his ability for self-deprecation, from his failed family cosmetics business as a young man to his ill-advised marriage to a much younger woman late in life, is worth the price of admission.
April 2, 2007
This is one of the best autobiographies I've ever read by and about a great writer and filmmaker. If you haven't seen any of his films, I recommend them highly but this book will be just as entertaining if you have not seen them. A lot of boring people have written about Sturges life, perhaps more accurately (I don't know) but this is far better than anything they've come up with. Perhaps the most awful and funny thing in it is the ending: SPOILER ALERT- he dies as he's writing the final chapter and the book abruptly comes to an end. I hope to meet someone else who has read this book someday.
March 25, 2008
One of the best, most interesting, and fun autobiographies I have ever read.
June 5, 2009
Long a member of my personal Pantheon of those who make me feel proud to be an American, Preston Sturges had one of the most meteoric of all Hollywood careers; arriving in California after a brief spell of success as a Broadway playwright, Sturges more than anyone else was responsible for liberating screenwriting from a system of committees, bringing an authoral sensibilty to Hollywood which had been absent since the advent of sound. Not contented, he finageled his way into the ranks of Hollywood directors, creating a string of half a dozen of the greatest comedies ever put on film. He made a fortune, and he made a lot of powerful enemies; when the hits stoppped happening, his career ground to a halt.
This book was cobbled together by his wife, Sandy, from an abortive autobiography, supplemented by journal entries and letters. It focuses on Sturges' shambolic childhood, as he was dragged around the European Beau Monde by his mother, Mary Desti (nee Dempsey), founder of a French cosmetic company and confidant of the great Isadora Duncan; it was Mary Desti who gave Duncan the scarf which so freakishly ended her life (google it). While occasionally given to misogynistic expression, a profound reverence for extraordinary women permeates this work, and one can see templates for the wonderful roles played by Barbara Stanwyck, Veronica Lake, Claudette Colbert, and Mary Astor in the women who were formative influences on him. It is telling that Sturges really has nothing bad to say about any of his ex-wives (I lost count of how many). This book also provides an entertaining view of Manhattan in the '20's, and Broadway in the early '30's; indeed, I was shocked that Sturges' path failed to cross with those of Damon Runyon and P.G. Wodehouse.
This book was cobbled together by his wife, Sandy, from an abortive autobiography, supplemented by journal entries and letters. It focuses on Sturges' shambolic childhood, as he was dragged around the European Beau Monde by his mother, Mary Desti (nee Dempsey), founder of a French cosmetic company and confidant of the great Isadora Duncan; it was Mary Desti who gave Duncan the scarf which so freakishly ended her life (google it). While occasionally given to misogynistic expression, a profound reverence for extraordinary women permeates this work, and one can see templates for the wonderful roles played by Barbara Stanwyck, Veronica Lake, Claudette Colbert, and Mary Astor in the women who were formative influences on him. It is telling that Sturges really has nothing bad to say about any of his ex-wives (I lost count of how many). This book also provides an entertaining view of Manhattan in the '20's, and Broadway in the early '30's; indeed, I was shocked that Sturges' path failed to cross with those of Damon Runyon and P.G. Wodehouse.
January 11, 2021
An autobiography of one of my favourite filmmakers, the first 230 odd pages are all about his life prior to working in the theatre / Hollywood, and only the last 100 are when he's writing and / or directing for a living. Normally I'd have an issue with this, but the stories are so much fun that I don't and his life is a truly unusual and fascinating one, featuring a number of unusual individuals. That said I wish the book was 200 odd pages longer as his tales from the world of theatre and Hollywood are a little lacking - Sturges died before finishing it though, with the manuscript he was working on edited together with letters and journal entries that he'd written by his wife Sandy, so that was probably why, and despite this it's one of the best autobiographies I've ever read, and a world I loved spending time in. 4.5/5
June 27, 2007
Good stuff, but only for we geeks who have already seen the movies. Just typing about it makes me want to go watch "Hail the Conquering Hero."
November 18, 2007
A book as good as his movies, I recommend for lovers of his films and cinephiles everywhere.
July 9, 2018
The strange title and author attribution of this (auto)biography of movie writer/director Sturges is revealed in the last paragraph, and I won’t give it away here. Trust me to say that this is a fascinating look into Preston Sturges’ life as it is revealed by the man himself. Revealing? For example, the time spent by Sturges working on his six Hollywood classics (starting with “The Great McGinty” and ending with “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek”) are briefly covered in approximately 50 pages. Instead of concentrating his life into the three years that made him famous, Sturges spreads his story out equally to all years of his life, spending an equal amount of time on his toddlership. Fortunately, Sturges’ life is interesting and by the time you arrive with him in Hollywood, you may agree with him that it’s not necessarily as high a pinnacle as it may seem.
What you discover here is that Sturges, while a gifted writer and director, was something of a strange chap. His early life, while providing him many of the anecdotes that he would later incorporate into his movies, weren’t necessarily guiding him to the silver screen. By tricks of simple fate, Sturges avoided a career as a perfumer, a broker, and an inventor. And, before Hollywood, there was a chance that he would have stayed a playwright on Broadway. For a man with the drive for success and money, though, no place but Hollywood in those years had quite the means to deliver the goods.
There’s a few pictures to round out the book and a nice bibliography. As a starting point to discovering more about Sturges’ work, this is a great book. About that work, though, one must look elsewhere.
What you discover here is that Sturges, while a gifted writer and director, was something of a strange chap. His early life, while providing him many of the anecdotes that he would later incorporate into his movies, weren’t necessarily guiding him to the silver screen. By tricks of simple fate, Sturges avoided a career as a perfumer, a broker, and an inventor. And, before Hollywood, there was a chance that he would have stayed a playwright on Broadway. For a man with the drive for success and money, though, no place but Hollywood in those years had quite the means to deliver the goods.
There’s a few pictures to round out the book and a nice bibliography. As a starting point to discovering more about Sturges’ work, this is a great book. About that work, though, one must look elsewhere.
November 10, 2021
Truly one of the most delightful and beautifully written autobiographies I have ever read. I think it cured it my depression.
Read
May 22, 2023One of the great Hollywood autobiographies. More evidence that the most significant contributors to American movies had important lives before and outside of Hollywood.
July 15, 2011
This is an autobiography finished by Sturges' fourth and last (much younger) wife after he dropped dead of a heart attack at 60. She did an admirable job with his unfinished manuscript, necessitated because he couldn't handle money and had lost the fortune amassed from his brilliant but brief movie career in the early 1940s. In writing, as in moviemaking, Sturges was a great storyteller.
The writing style is enjoyable, flowing like some of his best scripts. But more often than not it sounds like diary entries, involving scads of people who are little remembered more than 50 years after Sturges' death. Much of the copy focuses on his childhood as the son of an eccentric and privileged mother in Paris. Some of the characters and incidents of his formative years became the best parts of his films. Sadly, precious little in the book is about the motion pictures he made, including my all-time favorite, "Sullivan's Travels."
The writing style is enjoyable, flowing like some of his best scripts. But more often than not it sounds like diary entries, involving scads of people who are little remembered more than 50 years after Sturges' death. Much of the copy focuses on his childhood as the son of an eccentric and privileged mother in Paris. Some of the characters and incidents of his formative years became the best parts of his films. Sadly, precious little in the book is about the motion pictures he made, including my all-time favorite, "Sullivan's Travels."
December 3, 2007
At first I was hoping that he'd talk more about his film work, but then it turned out to be more about his childhood, which was pretty interesting and wacky too. Aleister Crowley totally found him to be an annoying little brat of a child. Guess he just didn't get Preston’s sophisticated sense of humor.
August 15, 2007
I'm not a movie buff so I rated it lower than you guys did.
April 27, 2017
Would've made a great movie.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews