How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood

by William J. Mann

Elizabeth Taylor has never been short on star power, but in this unprecedented biography, the spotlight is entirely on herâ a spirited beauty full of magic, professional daring, and wit. Â Acclaimed biographer William Mann follows Elizabeth Taylor publicly as she makes her ascent at MGM, falls into (and out of) marriages, wins Oscars, fights studio feuds, and combats America's conservative values with her decidedly modern love affairs. But he also shines a light on Elizabeth's rich private life, revealing a love for her craft and a loyalty to the underdog that fueled her lifelong battle against the studio system. Swathed in mink, disposing of husbands but keeping the diamondsâ this is Elizabeth Taylor as she lived and loved, breaking and making the rules in the game of supreme celebrity.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Film, Media Tie In, Memoir

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

William J. Mann is a New York Times bestselling author of The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando, for which he was granted access to Brando’s private estate archive, as well as Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn (named a Notable Book of the Year by the Times); Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand (praised by USA Today for its “meticulous research and insightful analysis”); Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger, for which he worked closely with the Oscar-winning director; and The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury America. His book Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood won the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Mann is a professor of film and popular culture at Central Connecticut State University.

source: Amazon

Also writes children's books under the pseudonym Geoffrey Huntington.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't find many movie stars interesting. Quite the reverse. The desperate attempts for publicity of people like Angelina Jolie from her vampire routine to her present reinvention as mother earth, or Tom Cruise's fake madness I know it's fake, I had lunch with him, his mother and sister some years ago and he was a nice, unassuming person, not at all like his public persona neither interest nor impress me. Anything their agents can concoct for celebrity, for branding their goods is just to add monetary value, to suck people in to spending more money on seeing and reading about these phenomenally interesting people who live life larger than they do. But Liz was different.

The first anecdote in the book proves just how different. Age 74 and in a wheelchair, the spin machine had her dying of her physical ailments and gaga from Alzheimer's. So what does she do to counteract this? Issue a press release? Be seen on the red carpet? What she does is get a little boat out into the Pacific and wearing a white swimming costume, a snorkel and mask, climb into a shark cage and go swimming with sharks. She said it was the most exciting thing she'd done in her life. It also stopped the gossip.

This is going to be good!

[judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relax. This is not some sappy tale about the inner Elizabeth Taylor and her feelings on her life and loves. With the exception of the end, where Elizabeth really isn't performing anymore, its a fascinating study of how Hollywood operated back in the day. Elizabeth might be at the center but what you're really seeing is the people around her. I'd compare it to pulling back the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. Where Elizabeth, who had every advantage even before she became a child star, comes in is how she makes her way through the swamp and becomes a Hollywood icon. That may give her too much credit. She wants what she wants when she wants it and she won't give in--ever. I'm not sure she thinks or strategizes--she just does. I have to admit that when I'm reading GWTW, it's Elizabeth I see not Vivien Leigh. Turns out there's some justification for that. She operates just like Scarlett. Husbands can be picked for being useful. If they happen to belong to someone else--oh fiddle-de-de. The exception, of course, is Rhett Butler. A case of mutual but wonderful insanity. Richard like Rhett just wants to give his love everything she could possibly want. But that's not the real story. The real story is that with her single-minded determination to have everything her way--she ends up smashing the Hollywood rules one by one. She's a pivotal figure. This is a well-written, fun and fascinating read!

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, wished it covered more of her life instead of stopping after 'Little Foxes'. But it was an interesting take on the years it did cover, showing Liz in a unique light for sure. Feel the last of an era is really gone with her passing. I grew up reading about these Studio system stars, how many of their lives were managed...and what they lived like, and it was certainly a far different time for them.

[Lynn Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly engaging trash.

[Sarah Battersby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite fascinating, and a bit of breath of fresh air after reading the snarky Kitty Kelley bio of Liz.

[Richard Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOW TO BE A MOVIE STAR is William J Mann’s miracle of a book that is both about Elizabeth Taylor and not about her, too. Its actual subject is how Taylor, who began as a pretty piece of MGM chattel, managed to author the story of her stardom over the twenty-five-plus crucial years that Mann investigates, from NATIONAL VELVET to VIRGINIA WOOLF, with an agreeable epilogue for her successful stage turn in THE LITTLE FOXES, (Re WOOLF ... it’s hard to believe she made the film when she was 33. Albee wanted Bette Davis and James Mason; I happen to have a “secret” DVD collection of movies that were never made with the actors originally envisioned for the roles, or whom the author would have preferred. Claudette Colbert in ALL ABOUT EVE brings colors to Margo that Davis didn’t, although, in the end, Davis wins. Judy Garland’s ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, Jane Fonda’s CHINATOWN, Marilyn Monroe’s BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S … Anyone who wants to borrow one of these dvds, just cover the postage and let me know.)

Anyway — Mann’s book isn’t a biography of an actress, but a biography of the world’s (and Hedda Hopper’s) RESPONSE to an actress who either was, or wasn’t, one of the most brilliant manipulators of her own image in human history, and who challenged, consciously or unconsciously, the ruling totems of discourse about what you could, or couldn’t do, and got away with everything. What makes Mann unique as a biographer, I think, is that he’s both a fan and a sophisticated analyst of what fandom is; Taylor gives him plenty to work with, as did Hepburn in his book KATE, and Streisand, in HELLO, GORGEOUS. They’re all books about need, I think, and how three brilliantly gifted women met (or didn’t meet) their needs through their manipulation of strangers’ ideas of them . This is a subject; this is worth writing books about. Mann — equally skilled as writer, fan, un-earther, and historian — meets the challenge he sets for himself, here as in his other work.And, in the end, I found the book both elegant and emotionally generous. He deconstructs the Taylor legend and, in his love and respect for it, and for the inspired effort that went into its creation, leaves it glowing brighter than ever.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mann's writing style when it comes to biographies could be seen as manipulative and even fictional at times; I certainly understand the negative reviews on Amazon saying as much about this book and his Katharine Hepburn bio, which I'm also currently reading. But leaving aside his tendency to re-enact conversations he could not possibly have witnessed, Mann paints a thorough and excellently-documented picture of his subjects. He doesn't make up any facts. The theme examined in this portrait of Elizabeth Taylor's life, namely, the actress's ambitious pursuit of an existence that one could argue she could not possibly have avoided, is at once fascinating and extremely well-evidenced. Even more interesting is the broad look at the massive upheaval of Hollywood's studio system in the 60s, in no small part due to Elizabeth's actions and influence. We get behind-the-scenes drama between agents, Louis B. Mayer, gossip columnists, actors, Jack Warner, and writers and directors from Ernest Lehman to Mike Nichols, from the days of Gone with the Wind in 1939 to Night Watch in 1973. We understand through her experiences, like her first marriage, a studio-manufactured disaster designed to sell a film, why the studio system was one that was always destined to implode, as soon as the products it sold--the actors--realized they were worth more as free agents than as live studio puppetry. Elizabeth was everywhere in Hollywood, and did everything and worked with everyone, so this book is essentially as good a look at Hollywood as it is a look at what might be the most fascinating person--most fascinating, perhaps, because, in spite of a life and studio-created career focused on anything but the craft of acting, she was in fact an excellent actress and a consummate professional--ever to inhabit it.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to Be a Movie Star by William J. Mann
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009
406 pages
Biography
3/5 stars

Summary: Not a traditional biography, How to Be a Movie Star examines Elizabeth's life in the star system taking particular interest in how she became a movie star while also touching on her infamous love affairs.

Thoughts: I just reviewed Furious Love about Elizabeth and Richard but I wanted to read this too because I've always been fascinated by her. In fact my favorite Barbie as a child was named Elizabeth Taylor (because I thought it was the most beautiful name in the world) and I desperately wanted violet eyes like her (or rather like she allegedly had; also Meg in Hercules fueled that desire).

I appreciate Mann's mission but I didn't think he did a very good job. The biographic parts were good but he didn't tie it back to how she was a movie star very well. She had "it" and that's not easily quantifiable. I also think it may have suffered in not being as interesting as "Furious Love" since I read them so close together.

There was also an awful lot about Hedda Hopper who declined as Liz rose. I understand that she was influential for a time and Mann had access to her archives but she was probably the second most mentioned person in the book and I don't see that she's important enough.

Overall: Interesting for those who didn't live through Liz's life.

Cover: Um, gorgeous? Liz is SOOOOOO beautiful.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looks at Taylor's career in terms of how she was promoted during the studio era, and how she made the transition into the celebrity culture we recognise today. Interesting material on Hedda Hopper, her shifting relationship with Taylor and her impact on public opinion during the more scandalous moments in the star's many marriages. I liked how the author focussed on the highlights (and lowlights) of Taylor's very public life, though I was a bit disappointed that he stopped at The Little Foxes. Although the book is about her film career, I felt he could have written more about her stint in rehab and work for AIDS victims, which brought her fame a new dimension. I felt the book could have been shorter, as a lot of it had been covered before, and for all his claims to be a different take on Taylor, it did come across as a fairly conventional celeb biography and he seemed somewhat in awe of his subject.

[Shanyn Money · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, juicy unauthorized bio.

[Bear52 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable.

[Tara Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Taylor might be my soul mate.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book offered an interesting take on the story of Elizabeth Taylor. The author focused on the business of Hollywood and the way that Taylor seemed to blaze the path from the tightly controlled studio system of press manipulation to modern media saturation and the art of spin so ubiquitous today. Frankly, I got the impression that Ms. Taylor was not much of a spin master, but the people around her truly worked the system to her advantage. So I'm not sure how much of a trailblazer she was in that respect, but Taylor sure set the bar for movie stardom and diva-ness! I enjoyed reading about the movie-making mythos and the husbands and the rise of Taylor to Hollywood royalty. However, the author really beat a dead horse with his whole trail-blazing business conceit. Lots and lots of repetition, and despite the lengthy array of footnotes and attributions at the back of the book, I felt like he was taking a fair amount liberty in his storytelling and his supposed understanding of the inner workings of the mind of Elizabeth Taylor... I just couldn't buy in.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fascinating for those who are over about 50-55 or those who are in the film industry and interested in the history of the studios and the old movie stars, or... those who are transfixed by Elizabeth Taylor and her life and loves. She basically grew up on the studio lot, never out of the limelight, a la Michael Jackson or Jody Foster. She loved food, expensive things, living a life of extreme consumption, and having her own way. She also understood the relationship between her public persona and her success at the box office. The shift in control over stars' lives and in the publicity machine that fueled the movie business is very interesting and "Liz" was at the center of those changes. Really enjoyed this.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rich and wonderfully well-written book on the iconic Elizabeth Taylor. It doesn't have a year by year timeline of her life, but it hits all the important parts and made me feel like I had gotten to know her. I loved reading this book and highly recommend it to Liz fans or for anyone who has an interest in how Old Hollywood morphed into New Hollywood.

[W. Frazier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with glamorous fluff, this book is a whirlwind biography of Elizabeth Taylor, movie star. It’s light, full of adoration, and delivered with a fun flair. It covers her movies, directors, co-stars...and husbands. It also tracks the transition from studio-controlled publicity to the frenzy of paparazzi and self-promotion. It’s best enjoyed in casual chunks as the writing voice stays quite linear. Also, since the book’s target is movies and stardom, it comes to an abrupt end with Taylor’s Broadway run of Little Foxes so misses her AIDS work and her last marriage. I was having fun with the frolic, so the full-brake ending was amusing, but somehow fitting. The Kindle format is less than perfect. It needs formatting and and proofreading.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It isn't a definitive biography her entire life. It just focused on the circumstances and events that make Elizabeth Taylor a STAR. Well worth the read if you want to get a sense of what it's like to live such a rarified existence as she did.

[Christie Pardee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need a Hedda Hopper bio now.

[E.H. Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Taylor was an actress hailed and remembered for many qualities. Her beauty, talent, iconic films, many and memorable marriages, and activism. She was also the first movie star to create a perfume line. The most incredible and lasting legacy of Elizabeth Taylor is the subject of William J. Mann’s fantastic biography: She was the first modern movie star.

Movie stars, as we know them today, are involved in romantic scandals, act wild at parties, represent several perfume labels, and are followed by paparazzi constantly. Before Elizabeth Taylor’s heyday, Hollywood studios did everything they could to cover up any hint of scandal involving their stars. If someone had an extramarital affair, homosexual preferences, a bar brawl, or a drunken scene at a nightclub, studios paid the press to cover it up. They wanted the public to think stars were “stars”, without imperfections. Elizabeth Taylor changed everything. Her homewrecking affairs were announced across the world; her marriages were full of drama, and the public learned the details. When she traveled abroad, the paparazzi followed her and climbed up the walls of her hotel to take and sell photographs of her. This isn’t shocking at all nowadays, but it certainly was back in the 1950s and 1960s.

I absolutely loved this book, and I continually recommend it to all my friends who are Liz Taylor fans. Her journey to stardom was so fascinating. Depending on your point of view when you read the book, she can seem like an innocent bystander or a calculating woman who knew how to gain and keep fame. No matter which stance or shade of gray you take, it’s easy to appreciate her lively and vivacious personality. Mann includes colorful anecdotes from film sets and writes romances that belong in a novel. It’s a wonderfully fun read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone who likes dramatic movie star biographies. I actually wasn’t the biggest Elizabeth Taylor fan before I read the book; I grew to love her as I read her life story.

The only downside some might find with the book is the ending. Mann doesn’t chronicle her later years. There’s virtually no mention of her AIDS activism, or her journey through the 1980s and 1990s. I didn’t mind the large omission because it reflected Mann’s theme. The book chronicles her journey in becoming the first modern movie star. Once the title has been achieved, Mann stops writing. If you’re looking for a book about Liz’s later life, look elsewhere. But if you want to read the ups and downs, passion, charm, and intelligence of Liz from the 1940s-1970s, this is probably the best book out there.

http://hottoastyrag.weebly.com/how-to...

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third biography of Elizabeth Taylor that I have read. She life and career are so multifaceted (see the jewelry reference I made?) that any good biography can take a different angle. “The Accidental Feminist” by M.G. Lord was an okay biography focusing on her roles and her work in film and activism. “Furious Love” by Sam Kashnere was an excellent biography just about her and Richard Burton which gets into interesting details about their lives together and apart, and looks at their financial deals that helped explain why her 1970s film became strange or just bad. The angle of this book is how Taylor used the press to her advantage, and follows her relationship with Hedda Hopper as the through-line.

Hopper was part of the myth-making machine that trumpeted the new arrivals to Hollywood, helped trending stars achieve greatness, and drew a line in the sand regarding morality. In the beginning of this story, she seems enchanted by Taylor’s mother, Sarah, who was an actress who never made it, but who was determined to not let the same happen to her daughter. Sarah and Hedda were able to flatter each other’s narcissism by giving each other access to their respective worlds. MGM understood that a child star’s transition to adulthood required the transformation to be in public, with press agents, publicists and someone like Hopper to report on Taylor’s initial forays into dating, going out on the town, and whirlwind romances. Elizabeth, however, quickly developed a mind of her own after discerning that she was two people, an independent young woman, and a commodity. She was able to play MGM’s game to some degree, including marrying the abusive Nicky Hilton to coincide with “Father of the Bride”, but she also stood up to Louis B. Mayer while still a teenager, slapping his face and walking out of his office, never to return, even while under contract for many more years.

The marriage to Hilton was an MGM production with Taylor’s screen parents sitting at tables fanning out from her actual parents. Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett (of her most recent “Father of the Bride”) sat closest, then Donald Crisp & Anne Revere (“National Velvet”), then Greer Garson & Walter Pidgeon (“Julia Misbehaves”). When the marriage broke up, Hedda Hopper was able to spin this as the consequence of a confused teenager marrying too young. Hopper also began to see the negative influence that Sarah may have been in Taylor’s life and was supportive of Taylor’s independence, up to a point. And by the time, Elizabeth had come to realize that going over the top in love or in material extravagance was the easiest way to assert herself. And this did not sit well with Hedda, who began to criticize Taylor’s moves, including the marriage to Michael Wilding, 20 years her senior, about whom there have always been rumors of homosexuality. The marriage did, however, produce two children. This also became a middling period for Taylor’s films as well. She did nothing spectacular between “A Place in the Sun” (1951) and “Giant” (1956) although she was good in “Last Time I Saw Paris”. Scandal mags were sniffing around Wilding, and Taylor decided she wanted out. I love that Liz used Shirley MacLaine’s house as a place to begin seeing Mike Todd, as MacLaine later famously quipped that she lost her projected Oscar win for “The Apartment” to Taylor’s tracheotomy (resulting in a win for “Butterfield 8”).

Her relationship with Mike Todd was complete tabloid fodder. They acted very combustible in public, photographed fighting at airports, and he may have been the one to teach her how to use any kind of press, not just good press, to her advantage. How to elicit sympathy, how to build box office, how to negotiate contracts…this started to rankle the old guard like Hedda Hopper, who felt her relevance slipping and was aware when she was being used. She began to fight back against the public’s fascination with Taylor in the aftermath of Todd’s plane crash when Elizabeth started to date the married Eddie Fisher, who had also found himself in a studio arranged marriage. Remarkably, Debbie Reynolds proved the master at manipulation through the press by staying in good standing with MGM and never passing up an opportunity to look like an aggrieved wife; she reached greater stardom that might not have occurred otherwise. I’ve often wondered what about Eddie Fisher caused her to convert to Judaism when she hadn’t for Mike Todd (she seemed to like Jewish men, having dated Stanley Donen post-Hilton) and when Debbie hadn’t converted for Fisher. I would like to joke that with Eddie, the sex was too good not to, which it was, but really I think it was Elizabeth telling Hollywood and the public to fuck off and stop telling her what to do. Although I don’t think she did as much study as one would have to today, she identified as Jewish for the rest of her life, including all death/burial services in line with Jewish custom.

And now Hedda Hopper was done with Elizabeth. She published letters from enraged readers complaining that Taylor was spoiled or didn’t think rules applied to her. Of course, it is unknown how many letters Hopper received in support of Taylor and Fisher. Fisher’s popularity declined, his show was canceled, and he tried to become something of a manager for Taylor. She was not about to be poor or unsuccessful and started looking around for another ship to jump to. I don’t need to go into the Burton-Taylor-Cleopatra affair. Suffice it to say, in their early films together they managed to turn headlines into box office. She managed to turn a tracheotomy into an Oscar, and looking old and bitter into another Oscar. Over the course of her relationship with Burton, she became more famous than anyone could ever have imagined, living life in such a big way that it was hard to see her later roles as containing performances—one only watched her as a star and judged the film according to whether it satisfied one’s expectations of her persona.

The movies got bad, though almost always interesting, and she had to devise a new enterprise for herself. First it was jewelry, then perfume. And then theatre, receiving great notices for “The Little Foxes” and “Private Lives”. She made money with these shows but it also helped polish up her brand again. And of course, she used her talent with the press to raise awareness and sympathy for victims of the AIDS epidemic. Unfortunately, that part is not included in this book. It mostly trails off after “Taming of the Shrew”, her last true box office smash. I would love to find a book that examines her life in the 1970s and 1980s, the odd films, the TV movies, the plays, and business deals, and of course her activism. This book discusses her marriage to John Warner a little, saying that she’d hoped to find a simpler life with a companion who wanted to raise horses in the country, but Warner used her star power to further his career. She converted part of the house to a disco, trying to draw some of her NYC friends like Warhol and Liza Minelli, but who wants to fly to Virginia to for a DIY disco when they could just take a cab to Studio 54? What I learned from this book about Taylor’s life in the 1970s was her relationship with her publicist Chen Sam, an Egyptian woman who was very shrewd and dedicated to her client. She helped Taylor make the transition to business outside of the movies. It is a fitting relationship to examine, given the press angle of this biography. While Hedda Hopper died a relic of a collapsing industry in 1966, Chen Sam died in Elizabeth Taylor’s home in 1996.

[Moppet · Rating 4 out of 5]

William J. Mann's book is less a biography, more a study of Taylor's public image over the decades. As such, he chooses to focus on key moments in her career and has space to devote to the workings of the publicity machine which made her a star.

MGM trained Taylor from childhood to play a sanitised, glamorised version of herself. Mann describes her first wedding to hotel heir Nicky Hilton as "more like an extended photo opportunity for a picture that needed to be promoted." The trousseau was provided by the studio, from a wedding dress designed by Helen Rose to bedroom slippers stored in a box covered with white satin studded with seed pearls. Unfortunately the carefully staged marriage rapidly fell apart. Taylor later saw her decision to divorce as the beginning of independence. Ultimately, she would choose to live her life to please herself, not her public. The paradox was that, far from killing her career, the scandal attached to her serial marriages sent it into the stratosphere.

While Mann explores the changes in press coverage and in mindset that ensured a turbulent private life would not exile Elizabeth Taylor from Hollywood as it had Ingrid Bergman, he gives Taylor herself full credit for her choices. I was slightly disappointed that the book ends in the 1980s, before some of Taylor's greatest achievements - her building up of a multi-million-dollar cosmetics business, and her work for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. But I would highly recommend this intelligent analysis of the nature of celebrity, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the life of a woman who has had to deal with a level of fame most of us are fortunate enough never to achieve.

[Kat Hagedorn · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://tinyurl.com/474hbab

I actually agree with this author's thesis: that the studio system, the actress's own proclivities, and the public created the star we know as Elizabeth Taylor. I just found it difficult to wade through the gossip to get there.

Normally I would never pick up a book like this because of all its dish, but my book club foisted it on me. (Don't kill me, TS!) I wasn't all that interested in it for the same reason I'm not all that interested in Us Weekly. Actually I loathe Us Weekly, and thankfully this book is not loathsome. Just somewhat boring.

One of my biggest problems was the repetition. On nearly every page, he pushes the importance of understanding that Taylor grew up in the star-making system, and consequently knew no other way to live. First: I don't need to hear this ad nauseum, I got it the first couple times. Second: it's a little hard to believe that we were in awe of a woman who didn't know how to cook her own breakfast. I should appreciate this for what reason? I understand that movie stars = royalty in this country, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with how we treat them.

I also understand that he missed certain large aspects of Taylor's life. He tells us up front that he's going to do this. But when he tells us off-the-cuff that Burton re-married and that Taylor and Burton starred in something together long after their divorce, it just makes our antennae stand on end. If he's going to give us the play-by-play of their marriage, for what reason does he withhold more juicy gossip? I, for one, am not dying to know, but I can imagine others feeling exasperated.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
I am plodding through this; I find Elizabeth Taylor fascinating and I am loving the anecdotes, so I am not sure what I am finding troublesome about this writer's style. It may be that the chapters are a little too long, or it could be that he skips around chronologically. I don't usually have trouble with fiction that jumps around in a timeline, but keeping up with all the people that surrounded Liz and the ones that are being quoted is somewhat difficult. Overall, though, very interesting; this book makes me want to have a Liz movie marathon.

Update...the last two chapters were disappointing. As much detail as the author gave in previous chapters to people around Liz and even the foods that she ate throughout, I couldn't believe that the book ended in the 1980s. It didn't go into her work with AIDS, or her fragrance line, or even name her last husband. I get that she wasn't a "movie star" anymore....but she was still a star, and still used her fame and influence for herself and others. I also wanted to know more about her children.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me Hedda Hopper is a stone cold ugly chapeaux'd bitch!

My mom surprised me on Xmas with this book. Surprising because I knew nothing about it, even though it combines many of my interests - namely, knowing the correct order of all Elizabeth Taylor's husbands, bombshell behavior, and feminism through the lens of the Hollywood star machine. This book has plenty of gossip anecdotes, but the truly phenomenal part of this book is that it doesn't presume to be a full biography, just a contextual peek at the way Elizabeth Taylor took her career by the reins while high on Demerol or faking pneumonia.

This book made me rewatch Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and made me regret selling my DVD of National Velvet for beer money. I mostly read this book in the nude, in the tub or under the duvet.

BTW - Nicky Hilton, Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton, Richard Burton, John Warner, Larry Fortensky.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

William J Mann is one of the best Hollywood historians, if not the best. This is not a biography in the traditional sense, but rather focusses on important passages in Elizabeth Taylor's career to examine her ascendance to becoming one of the most famous movie stars and celebrities in the world. Mann vividly presents how Taylor's stardom evolved and bridged the transition from the old studio system to a more contemporary form of celebrity, which she has defined like no other. He also argues that Taylor's main goal in life was to achieve a certain, exclusive lifestyle, to which fame and movies where a means, rather than an end in themselves, as it is so often nowadays.
Always a consummate professional in every aspect of her (very public) private life, Elizabeth Taylor is a fascinating subject, making this book a fantastic look behind the scenes of the machinations of fame.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a how-to book. Rather, it is a fascinating business-oriented (but still, deliciously entertaining) look at Elizabeth Taylor's life.

SPOILERS:

My favorite part was the author's account of Debbie Reynold's reaction to Eddie Fischer leaving her for Liz. Apparently, Debbie called Eddie from Los Angeles (he was in New York City) and he told her that yes, he was in love with Liz and he wouldn't be returning to LA the next day as he had planned. In a master move, Debbie showed up, the paparazzi following, at the airport, all cute and spiffy. She waited and waited. After it was shockingly (to everyone but her) apparent that Eddie wasn't coming, she left the airport alone.

Like I said - MASTER MOVE.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early on, Mann writes that this isn't going to be a traditional birth-to-death biography with everything in between; there were plenty of those about Elizabeth Taylor. This was -- and indeed and gloriously is - the biography of Elizabeth Taylor's stardom. It's handbook really - on how to court publicity, cut movie deals, conduct various affairs, seduce the paparazzi, keep the public alternately in love and in hate with you, and maintain your glamor. When we think of today's celebrities, most of what we (and they) take for granted Elizabeth Taylor pioneered. Mann really proves that there was a time before Liz and after Liz, and the two eras couldn't be any more different. An absolute pleasure to read from beginning to end.

[Daniel Freedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there is such a thing as a superstar Liz was it. This biography goes into all the graphic details of the making of a child star who was fully mature by age fourteen. She was one of those people that the Studio was always challenged how to market. Almost too beautiful to play some parts, and even when she was three inches too short for National Velvet she went on a growing campaign to get her the added height. Nothing stopped her. The first chapter with Elizabeth, Eddie Fisher and Burton is hilarious. The picture of Debbie Reynolds starring off into space is really hilarious, as if she knew exactly where Eddie was going. Sure Liz set the mold, but I doubt if anyone will ever fill it.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is on my show-biz bio shelf, it's less a bio than a critical-historical analysis of Elizabeth Taylor's stardom. That was one of the most intriguing aspects of Mann's earlier KATE, a biography of Katharine Hepburn. Here, Mann focuses on Taylor's life from NATIONAL VELVET in 1944 through her Broadway debut in THE LITTLE FOXES. Although there are biographical elements to the writing, he mostly shows how her public image was shaped, first as MGM's improbably beautiful child woman, then as the home wrecker who allegedly stole Eddie Fisher from Debbie Reynolds and finally as the survivor who weathered health problems, multiple divorces and the decline of her film career without losing her fasciantion.

[Brenda Mannino · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is mostly a rehashing of information about Liz Taylor previously written up in the movie magazines of yesterday, which I read as a very young teeenager thanks to a friend's older sister who passed her old magazines on to me. I grew up reading celebrity news that was 5 years old by the time I read it. It gave me a head start on understanding some of the issues discussed in this book. Living so close to the Canadian border , I was also able to read more detailed accounts of the lives of "movie stars' in the Canadian newspapers that my father often brought home. I enjoyed reading this book to see how it approached the "news" that I had read about decades ago.