Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara: The Private Lives of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier

by Darwin Porter, Roy Moseley

The scandalous love affair of “The Royal Family of the British Stage” was second in fame and notoriety only to that of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Co-authors Roy Moseley (the couple’s "honorary" godson and long-standing friend and personal assistant) and Darwin Porter tear away the velvet curtain previously draped over the reputations of this famous team, exposing with searing insights the depths of their sexual excess and interpersonal anguish. Some of the most iconic figures of the 20th century move through chapters that highlight a revelation on every page. This award-winning book has received accolades from the San Francisco Book Festival 2011, Honorable Mention for Biography Paris Book Festival 2011, Winner, BEST BIOGRAPHY New York Book Festival 2011, Honorable Mention for Biography Beach Book Festival 2011, Grand Prize Winner for BEST SUMMER READING of 2011

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Film

708 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2011

About the author

Darwin Porter (1937-) is an American travel writer, producing numerous titles, mostly for the Frommer guidebook series, over a 50-year career span.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm appalled I bought this. When I heard a new "biography" about Vivien Leigh and Larry Olivier was coming out, I immediately ordered it on Amazon. Big mistake. I started reading reviews about this author after I ordered my copy and realized what a trash factory he is. Apparently this author, Darwin Porter, has made a career out of crafting lies about dead movie stars, always exaggerating or creating stories about their sex lives. And he's able to get away with this because you can't libel the dead.

All in all, this book is utter trash. Do not read this book. If you want to learn about the Oliviers, read Larry's autobiography,
Confessions of an Actor: Laurence Olivier an Autobiography, or Alexander Walker's touching biography on Vivien, Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh. Hell, Anne Edward's biography is more accurate than this one! And that's saying something....

[Laurie V · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash. Clark Gable would have a slam dunk libel case against this author if he was still alive. A complete waste of time.

[Aubriana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seeing the cover I immediately picked up the book and purchased it. Within the week (it took me so long to mull through the heinous details of this book) I was back at the store and donating it to the give back bin.
This is distasteful and pure trash. I can't believe a publisher could ever this this was a book worthy of being read by people who would innocently pick it up looking for a biography of two of film's greatest contributors.
Though written well (no grammar or contextual problems) it was full of slander and unconvincing stories that would be a giant libel case were anyone in the book still alive.

[This Old Moe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel as though the fact of this couple being bisexual and not living the lives of saints has garnered negative reviews. Sadly judgemental concerning lifestyles and not fair. Mental illness is not pretty and definitely not properly understood during the mid century. Obviously still not understood. Really an outstanding biography which deals with Hollywood ,mental illness ,and two humans trying to cope.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was incredibly salacious. An extremely unflattering portrait of both Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. While Olivier may have been a bisexual, in this book every time he encountered another human being, male or female, he was having an affair. I don't know how the man would've had time to learn his lines with all the activities he was supposedly involved in. As far as Leigh goes, this book has gone into her lascivious behavior in excruciating and very unflattering detail. The biggest irony of this book is that at the end there is a page that says "In Loving Memory" and "With Respect, Admiration, and Affection"--and this book is anything but any of those things. I have read several biographies of Vivien Leigh and none have ever treated her so harshly. I am going to read both Olivier's own autobiography and a biography of him in order to compare to this horrid rendition of their lives.

I hope that none of their relatives ever read this book. I'm also glad that I borrowed this from the library and didn't buy it myself.

[Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose I set myself up not to like it a whole lot when I first ordered it because an early review said it totally ripped Vivien Leigh who I have always loved as an actress. A few months ago I read a very warm and compassionate bio about her knowing I would be reading this one. It was more like a who was sleeping with who in Hollywood in the 30's and 40's than anything else. The biggest shocker for me in the whole book was that Danny Kaye was a nasty and meanspirited jerk. Lots of great photos of so many of my favs.

[Leona Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of sex, a lot of cheating, and a whole lot of conversations that I really doubt took place. It was like reading a tabloid or today's news, just a bunch of gossip and right now, I need truth. I tried to force myself to finish but I was doubting the validity of anything written and I simply could not. If you don't mind the fact that most of the encounters written about are 90% improbable (unless the author went back in time and sat right there with the participants during), then it is a good sordid gossip about many of the actors/directors/authors of that time.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous reading, in each and every sense of the word.

[Erica Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very tabloidly. Enjoyable but got old fast.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can I give this a zero rating???

Trashy, disorganized, obviously not researched well.

How did this even get published?

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled through about a third of this book before I just had to quit. To that point there were a few hints and anecdotes about a possible interest in acting, hidden among very detailed accounts (often literally reading like a bookkeeper's account ledger) of sexual exploits-his and hers. The true focus seemed to be Olivier's homosexual proclivities from a very young age, with a bit of Leigh's promiscuity thrown in for...balance?
I realize many entertainers overcome difficult and even horrific childhoods, but given the detail apparently available to this author about their sexual activities, wasn't there anything else of interest in the backgrounds of these two disturbed and talented people to warrant 200 or 300 pages on their early years?

[Erin Mayfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's too bad all of the subjects are dead. This would be a huge libel suit. All of the sex stories seem incredibly far fetched. While I'm sure some are true, I can't see this but an old Hollywood trash and gossip mongers work to sell books.

[Barb Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow! This reads like a Hollywood Confidential magazine............If the events in this book are true, and everyone was having that much sex with everyone, I'm surprised any plays and movies were ever produced.

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 stars. Practically fiction. Complete rubbish, literally, I threw this in the bin when I was done because I couldn't bring myself to donate it anywhere hating the idea of anyone else actually reading it.

[Alexandra the Great · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is utter garbage. I'm just glad my copy is on my shelf where it can stay safe, away from anyone looking for an actual biography about these two who doesn't know any better than to avoid the hell out of this one. On the plus side, it does make a nice bathroom decoration.

[Selina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful gossipy tabloid book on the Oliviers. Don't believe a word of it.

[Mariah · Rating 1 out of 5]

did not like enough to finish