Cloris: My Autobiography

by Cloris Leachman, George Englund (Contributor)

She received two Emmy Awards as the irrepressible Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moor Show . . .she won an Oscar for her supporting role as a frustrated housewife in The Last Picture Show . . .she delighted audiences with her deliciously villainous turns as Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein and Nurse Diesel in High Anxiety . . .and she earned even more award nominations playing a hard-drinking grandmother in Spanglish.
But who, really, is Cloris Leachman? She's one of the most acclaimed, and unpredictable, actresses of our time. Transforming herself with every role, Cloris Leachman has been dazzling audiences for decades with her unusual gift for both comedy and drama. She's appeared in 11 Broadway plays, 57 films, and 137 television shows and has earned 16 awards and 23 nominations. Now, for the first time, the incomparable Cloris Leachman reflects on her amazing life and illustrious career. . . From her hometown in Des Moines, Iowa (where she first saw Katharine Hepburn perform on stage, never imagining they would one day do Shakespeare together) to the bright lights of Broadway (where she had to work up the nerve to sing for Rogers and Hammerstein to get the lead in South Pacific) to the television studios of L.A. (where she hopped on producer James Brooks's lap to land the role of Phyllis), Cloris's journey has been filled with laughter and tears, marriage and motherhood, tragedy and triumph.
With surprising candor, she talks about her experiences at the Actor's Studio, her "Peck s bad boy" behavior on the set of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, her work with Mel Brooks and other filmmakers, her return to sitcoms with The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Malcolm in the Middle, and her difficulty shaking off the roles she immerses herself in. She shares wonderfully revealing anecdotes about her co-stars and Marlon Brando, Meryl Streep, Dianne Keaton, Sissy Spacek, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and the Kennedy family. She reveals her source of inspiration behind High Anxiety (giant fake breasts) and The Last Picture Show (a disturbing childhood incident). Finally, she speaks frankly about being a celebrity icon, trying to balance her family, career, and boundless creativity energy. This is the real Cloris Leachman as you've never seen her before.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, Humor, Biography Memoir, Womens

281 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other female performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 1971 film The Last Picture Show. She is best known for playing the nosy, self-centered and manipulative landlady Phyllis Lindstrom on the 1970s TV series Mary Tyler Moore, and later on the spinoff series, Phyllis. She also appeared in three Mel Brooks films, including Young Frankenstein. In recent years, she became very popular for her recurring role as Lois's ruthless mother on Malcolm in the Middle.

Leachman was a contestant on Season 7 (2008) of Dancing With The Stars, paired with Corky Ballas. At the age of 82, she is the oldest contestant to dance on the series. She was voted off in the sixth round on October 28.

Leachman was the grand marshal for the 2009 New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California. She presided over the 120th parade, the theme being "Hats Off to Entertainment", and the 95th Rose Bowl game.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Welp, I was sadly disappointed in this book. Cloris would have been well-served to work with an actual biographer, rather than winging it with some help from her ex-husband. The book comes off scattered and self-indulgent, and it's a damn shame, because you KNOW this woman is an amazing talent who's lived a fascinating life! The right biographer could have asked her all the right questions and structured her story better. I guess this book is better than not having ANY of Cloris' story documented, but ultimately, it's a missed opportunity.

[Mom · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Cloris Leachman and admire her work. She is one of those actresses that you love and hate at the same time due to the types of roles that she's played. But, in an autobiography, you hope to learn what they are really like as a person. Sometimes you are just better off not knowing. In this case, you're left unsure because it's as if you've been let loose in her brain to catch random thoughts floating around everywhere, which doesn't make for an easy read. By the end of the book, I just couldn't wait for it to be over.

[Carla Peele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite the fact that Cloris seemed to be completely nonlinear in the telling of her life-story, so that you jumped around from time to place "Oh, I'm seven"/"Oh, my granddaughter is seven", it wasn't hard to follow. She "spoke" in a conversational style, rather like your grandmother remembering stories, and then one memory giving tangent to another...

George Englund, who co-authored the book with her, was not just her ex-husband, but the true love of her life, and she of his. Despite separations and eventual divorce, they remained best friends, like Lucy and Desi, which is wonderful, especially since they had five lovely children together, Adam, Bryan, Georgie Jr., Morgan and Dinah. Though, the two things that seemed to have pulled them apart, she mentions, were different and incompatible parenting styles and his close, brotherly kinship with Marlon Brando, a relationship which he seemed to put high above his own marriage, and Marlon his. (No, it wasn't anything BUT brotherly, though, Marlon told him shortly before dying, "George, I love you, man-- if you had a ****, I would've married you years ago!")

The saddest part of the book was not when she mentioned about her son, Bryan, dying-- but the time she had to spend away from her first three when they were little, following a miscarriage. When the small boys asked, "Where's Mama? Who's that?" when she came to the room, I was so choked up... But, clearly, they didn't get separated like that again, and she was able to regain a close relationship with them, and now she and George Sr. not only have several children, but grandchildren and one great grandson.

Her take on life is funny and soft, and a little bawdy at times, and I'm glad I read, and completely enjoyed.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

As auto-biographies go, this one is alright. Leachman does not write in a progession of a time-line as most do,and had trouble staying on a topic. She did touch on the death of her son Bryan to an overdose, and did it very well.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was such a disappointment. Cloris Leachman is one of the funniest ladies in showbiz to me and this book was just not funny. It seemed more about her bragging about her life and telling random stories with no connection or storyline at all. It was a huge letdown.

[Unclebill · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG what a life! I wish I could be a FRACTION as sociable as she is and have a fraction of her lifetime friends! I loved this book from start to finish.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely appalling. What horrible quality of writing. You know you're in deep mud the minute a title of a chapter almost quite literally begins: Here's a chapter listing all the famous men I slept with. Ms. Leachman may be a great actress and a woman of some piss and juice, but this book turns her into nothing more than another bragging psychopathic, Hollywoodian. As in, Here! Have more drek for your greed for the sensational shelf! And what's worst, the bio here commits the ultimate crime of being just plain BORING.

[Sheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not particularly well written. Still, a worthwhile glimpse into the life and career of a quite remarkable creative artist. People who only know her as "that funny old lady on Dancing With The Stars" should have a whole new appreciation and respect for someone who has had a really blessed, wonderful career.

[Victoria]

this bitch is wild

[Douglas Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Y’all- this is the type of over-the-top self-indulgent wack-a-do Hollywood memoir that I thought I was going to be getting when I read Faye Dunaway’s disappointingly normal autobiography, not Cloris Leachman’s. But oh boy!!
First of all, she tells you right out of the gate that this will not be a typical autobiography, nor will it be told in linear order. What she doesn’t tell you up front is that it’s batshit crazy.
The nonlinear disclaimer is a huge understatement. In a chapter entitled, “Daddy,” she does in fact talk about her father for a few pages, but quickly moves on to discuss her friendship with Paul Lynde, his drinking problem, gays, Charlotte Rae, how she won Miss WGN and then Miss Chicago, her move to NYC, her first agent, and wraps the chapter up with a story about her Daddy.
It's less a memoir, because spends most of the book discussing the craft of acting. She says early on, “Actors have to submerge themselves in their roles, lose their own identity, and actually become the character they’re playing. They must eat, think, drink, and go to the bathroom as the character does. That can bring confusion to life.” A few chapters later she describes 2 different times her Young Frankenstein character, Frau Blucher possessed her and just had to come out. She claims her husband was very understanding in these moments. You’ll also get a 3 page chapter on how she came up with her character of Grandma Moses for her one woman play about the artist. But blink and you’ll miss stories about being on The Mary Tyler Moore Show or her own spin-off Phyllis, and only two paragraphs on The Facts of Life.
Mrs Leachman lead a fascinating life and shares (mostly) wacky stories about Marlon Brandon (who was in love with her husband) Joan Collins (also in love with her husband) the Kennedy family, Judy Garland and Lorna Luft, among others. The few pages that describe her encounter with Nancy Reagan alone are worth reading this book! The only story that might top that is when she tells us about writing Hillary Clinton, whom she doesn't know, to give her advice on how to slim down Bill Clinton, whom she doesn't know. She has issues with overweight people.
I highly recommend this one because it has all the nuttiness I crave in a Hollywood bio. If you’re interested, but don’t want to commit to the book, just go read the reviews on Good Reads. They are brutal.

[Maurice Tougas · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Cloris Leachman died recently – and being in-between books – I thought I would give her biography a try. Turns out, it is a mixed bag, at times funny and revealing, other times self-indulgent and boastful.
In her defence, she does have a lot to brag about. An Oscar and multiple-Emmy winner, she appeared on every stage from Broadway musicals to Dancing with the Stars. And boy, did she know people. Brando! The Kennedys! Hepburn! Even Charlie Chaplin!
The problem with Cloris is that is it a mess, from a reader's viewpoint. She jumps around from topic to topic; at times, it sounds like whole chapters were dictated then transcribed with no editing. She devotes entire long chapters to not especially interesting interludes in her life, while giving short shrift (or no shrift at all) to the stuff that people want to read about: the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Malcolm in the Middle and especially Raising Hope, which goes unmentioned. (She does write with candor and pain about the loss of her son to drugs.) Overall, it's kind of a mess, but a mostly enjoyable mess.

[Mia Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Smooth Ride

I gave it a 5 star rating because it was open, honest a smooth ride to the end. She didn't go overboard on details, but shared enough to get an idea of her life. I finished it in a few hours and read right thru it. It was enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who's a Cloris Leachman fan.

[Barb Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved Cloris in her sitcoms, and movies...a very talented woman. Did not know much about her personal life....a little more flakey that I would have imagined. Well many artists are so should not have surprised me. Book typical of personal Bio..... me me me...but thats why i read it and name dropping a lot...3 stars .

[Carol Littlejohn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love celebrity biographies, but I don't like to waste my time on a book that the author has "phoned" or taped in. I feel like the author (who co-wrote this book with her ex-husband, George Englund) spent about a couple of hours taping her stories and her ex-husband filled in the blank spaces and organized the chapters. Most of the stories can be found in Marlon Brando's autobiography, Songs My Mother Taught Me, or in other books. By the way, her ex-husband was very close friends with Marlon Brando and the two of them philandered their way across the world. I guess it didn't bother Cloris that much because her career and children seemed to be her main priorities. But how honest is this book if her ex-husband is there beside her, making certain that she doesn't give away any important secrets? Don't waste your time with this celebrity biography.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

As this is a memoir and not a biography, I can understand how and why a book like this would end up in such a scatterbrained, non linear, seemingly haphazard collection of thoughts. Maybe it's just her personality and it comes out in her writing? My 3 star rating stems from the writing.

She does not tell her story from beginning to end so it was hard to piece together the timeline of her life. But what information I learned, i enjoyed.

I knew her as a comedian but didn't realize how accomplished a musician she was! She was in the original Rogers and Hammerstein's broadway production of South pacific as the female lead! And she played classical piano very well since taking lessons as a child.

She seemed like a versatile, easy going, gracious individual. And funny. (She personally created her Frau Blucher character from Young Frankenstein. That's genius.)

[Neil Schleifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cloris is a character, and she's certainly had an interesting life. But the book? Meh!

She alternates between anecdotes and advice to young actors. At times she seems to be aiming for the deliberately outrageous. The advice, however, seems pedantic; and the anecdotes aren't quite outrageous enough. I WANTED to like this book much more than I did. I mean the woman has won Oscars, Emmys, been featured in some of the funniest Mel Brooks films, starred on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis, The Facts of Life and Malcolm in the Middle. Her mother-in-law was the great character actress Mabel Albertson (Darren Stephens mother on BEWITCHED), and Cloris was even in the Miss America pageant. I don't know why, with a life so chock-full of amazing incidents, this book felt flat.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Leachman has long been a favorite actress, most notably for her amazing work in "Young Frankenstein", as well as her Oscar winning role as Ruth Popper in "The Last Picture Show".

Her autobiography is exactly as I imagined having a conversation with her; breezy, fun, loving, generous, and witty. She speaks to all aspects of her life, leaving nothing to chance. The amazing part of being let into her world, is realising the great variety of people she has known; the Kennedys, Brando, the Chaplins - just to name a few.

"Cloris" was co-written by George Englund, to who Ms. Leachman was married for many years.

[Kdevoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one in between several "heavy" books because I thought it would be light-hearted and entertaining, and for the most part it was, but I was struck by the brief mention of one of Cloris' children, a young man who died from his drug addiction. Once again I was taken back to Beautiful Boy, and fearing for Nic's ongoing safety. A parent never gets over that loss. This book was another reminder of that. Besides that, it was full of random antecdotes, and Cloris has an engaging way of frittering about and trying hard to stay on topic.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! I've always loved Cloris Leachman as Phyllis on the "Mary Tyler Moore" show, but it was amazing to read about all that she has been involved with over her long career. She's incredibly talented, not to mention hilarious. More than that, though, was that I felt uplifted by her positive and engaging approach to life. When I finished reading the book, I was smiling, and I feel encouraged to be more willing to take chances in life and be more fearless.

[Craig Leimkuehler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a light and frothy story of the rise of Cloris Leachman. Who is she? She's the little girl vieing for her father's attention. She is a woman who never had any doubts. She went to Northwestern and ran the theater dept, went to New York and immediately got a starring role. I had the opportunity to see her recently to speak and promote her book. At 81 she was a handful for the poor man trying unsuccessfully to conduct an interview.

[David Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book comes across much the same way that Cloris Leachman comes across--fun, scattered, wacky, enjoyable to spend some time with. I think she is an amazing actress but I was surprised at what a rich career she has had--Shakespeare on Broadway with Katharine Hepburn, more Emmys than any other actor in history, an Oscar. And her Hollywood status is equally impressive--neighbors with Judy Garland, friends with the Kennedys and Marlon Brando. The book is never less than interesting.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for a linear, chronologically organized book, this is no it. If you are looking for something that is fun and zany, this IS definitely it. From one of the funniest ladies of stage, film, and TV, Cloris Leachman takes her readers from her childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, to her work with Katherine Hepburn, and from her immortal Frau Blucher to her time on Dancing with the Stars. A great book by a funny and fascinating lady.

[Rebecca Aguilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cloris Leachman and her husband did a wonderful telling her story. Ok it wasn't in any kind of order. It was more like a conversation between Leachman and her readers.

I liked that every chapter was a nice surprise and a different slice of Leachman's life. That's what made this book unique. She was funny, entertaining and the little nuggets that she shared about other celebrities were "aha" moments.

Although I found it interesting that Leachman didn't write much about Mary Tyler Moore.

[Michele Brack]

#35 An autobiography

Oh my God. I always knew that I liked Cloris Leachman, but holy shit... I had no idea all the stuff she's done and the people she's hung out with!

Marlon Brando, Katherine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe... She was Miss Chicago in 1946 and was third runner up for Miss America that same year! She was a model and a radio star... I mean, wow...

Not to mention she's hilarious and plays the piano and dances and sings...

I want to be her when I grow up.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yet another autobiography that made me dislike someone that I had previously enjoyed. Bottom line is the actress appears to have not acted per say on the MTM show or The FOL. In both shows her character was self-centered, narcotic, wacky, and annoying and that is precisely how the actress comes off in her own book. Big bummer all around.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say I've ever read a biography like this. Cloris is some sort of magically impervious and permanently cheerful force of nature. La la la ... Daddy just beat me ... La la la ... I kinda got raped ...

But somehow it comes off as insane only in a perfectly charming and decent way. It gives you perspective in a way unlike anything I've ever read.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, finding out about the life of an actress who has known so many people. She has done many things in her life including working with a variety of stars and being a contestant on Dancing With The Stars. She brings her own spin on how things have run in the industry and what is new and to come.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviewed for ALA's "Booklist" magazine -- appears in the March 15, 2009 issue. If you have a subscription, you can read my review at BooklistOnline.com at:
http://www.booklistonline.com/Cloris-...

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few interesting stories--I loved her as Phyllis and Frau Blucher. I hadn't realized what a good and experienced actress she is. This book is a quick read, but is almost ADD in nature. Only for fans.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shat an eye opener. Cloris is very articulate and has a career which has spanded a great many years. I enjoyed her renditions of other actors and her sage advise to those choosing to pursue a career.