One Helluva a Life

by Maureen Stapleton

This intimate, earthy, outrageously blunt memoir by one of the legendary stars of American theater and film is packed with anecdotes about many of Stapleton's associates, including Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Olivier, and Marlon Brando. Told in a voice so direct that it is startling, this compelling biography will be a revelation even to those who know this funny lady best. Photos.

Genres: Memoir, Biography

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 1995

Reviews

[Eden Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visit JetBlackDragonfly (The Man Who Read Too Much) at www.edenthompson.ca/blog
featuring a clean image of the hardcover book.

Maureen Stapleton was one of our finest actors, one of the few who won the acting 'triple crown' of Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Tony Award (twice) - as well as a BAFTA and Golden Globe over her career in theatre and films.
She grew up in Troy, New York, and saw everything the five movie theatres offered, falling in love with classic stars she was soon to meet. At 17, she left for New York where she saw everything Broadway has to offer. Her apartment was the crash pad for fellow actors she auditioned with - Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, and Marlon Brando, who became her close friends. Perseverance landed her the starring role in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo, winning her a Tony. Tennessee became a close friend, as did Neil Simon who cast her in several plays including Plaza Suite and The Gingerbread Lady (giving her a second Tony). Working with Lillian Hellman brought her a role in Toys In The Attic, and the 1981 revival of The Little Foxes with Elizabeth Taylor.

She made a career playing older women - at 25 offered roles playing a middle-aged mother with a teen-age daughter - which, unpretentious and easy-going, she accepts. There are long-time love affairs and two husbands, and she is very candid about her part in their demise. Renowned for swearing like a sailor, she was also a hard drinker (never while working) and was wise enough to check herself into rehab - Brando causing scenes when he would visit.
Although she had a varied film career, this is mainly about the stage. She gives a cursory glance at roles in Lonelyhearts with Monty Clift, The Fugitive Kind with Brando, her Oscar-nominated role in Airport, the film version of Plaza Suite, her second Oscar-nominated role in Woody Allen's Interiors (my favourite performance), even her Oscar-winning role as Emma Goldman in Reds. Although this was written in 1995, she chose to mention 1987's Nuts with Barbra Streisand instead of the 1985 box-office hit Cocoon.

Her world was acting, peopled with friends like Colleen Dewhurst, Eli Wallach, George C. Scott, George Abbott, Walter Matthau - for fans of theatre and playwrights, this is a treat. She had a storied career. And this is her story.

[Cynthia Bemis Abrams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maureen Stapleton lived a rich life and provides a wide-eyed fan's accounting of some of American 20th century's most celebrated talents. I appreciated her candor about substance abuse, both in real life and as a plot element. It feels like she was an undervalued force, but that may be due to, as she says, her self promotion wasn't up to entertainment's standard.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Stapleton has a great voice, and it is impossible not like or admire her for her guts, her generosity, and kindness. What a career she had. If you like memoirs by great broads, definitely read!

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked the references to Troy,NY and Siena College and HVCC

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because of Neil Simon's Rewrites (they worked together frequently.)

Wow, is she funny. She tells an interesting story about working with Marilyn Monroe in an actor's workshop.

Very absorbing read.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autobiography of a very gifted actress.