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June 8, 2009 12:38 AM

What are the best Old Hollywood (auto)biographies?

I've recently become fascinated by a number of old movies (1930s to 1950s) and the actors in them. I'm having trouble sorting through the bajillions of biographies out there - what are the best, juiciest and most interesting biographies of the stars of this time period? The actors I'm particularly interested in are James Stewart, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Marilyn Monroe and Katherine Hepburn, but I'm open to others.

posted by brittanyq to writing & language (28 comments total)

How about Brando?
posted by Artw at 1:00 AM on June 8

I liked reading Jack Lemmon's when my mom brought it home from the library.
posted by @troy at 1:02 AM on June 8

I read Gloria Swanson's autobiography at a house we rented in the mountains last year. She's totally candid, really fascinating and, of course, a little loopy.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 3:09 AM on June 8

David Niven's books are easy to read and fun.

However, quoting from wikipedia, "...Bring On the Empty Horses in 1975, a collection of highly entertaining reminiscences from Hollywood's "Golden Age" in the 1940s. However, it now appears that Niven recounted in first person many incidents which happened to other people, and which he borrowed and embroidered."

If I remember right Errol Flynn's sexual escapades feature heavily in that book, but it's been 25yrs since I read it so my memory maybe wrong.
posted by selton at 3:55 AM on June 8 [1 favorite]

It might be from a slightly earlier period than you're looking for but Lulu In Hollywood by Louise Brooks is a great memoir about the late silent era written by one of its most fascinating actresses.
posted by Del Chimney at 4:30 AM on June 8 [1 favorite]

Harpo Marx's autobiography is an excellent read and focuses a lot on the 30s to 50s.
posted by minifigs at 4:53 AM on June 8

Seconding Selton's suggestion of David Niven. The Moon's A Balloon is loads of fun.
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 5:03 AM on June 8

Thirding. It's been 30 years since I read them, but I still remember them vividly. Niven is a born raconteur and the stories he tells are delicious.
posted by CunningLinguist at 5:23 AM on June 8

Also Lauren Bacall's autobiography is pretty interesting - she and Bogey had a big circle of famous friends.
posted by CunningLinguist at 5:25 AM on June 8

Not really a biography of any specific star but Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon is certainly juicy - maybe especially on the dark side.
posted by JJ86 at 5:43 AM on June 8

Nthing Niven and seconding Bacall. Shelley Winters' first book is pretty good, but I haven't read the second.
posted by maudlin at 6:06 AM on June 8

W C Fields by James Curtis
posted by R. Mutt at 6:11 AM on June 8

Seconding Harpo's book, Harpo Speaks. Very good. You can read some here at Google Books.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 6:35 AM on June 8

Del Chimney: "Lulu In Hollywood by Louise Brooks is a great memoir about the late silent era written by one of its most fascinating actresses."

It's literature. Updike reviewed it warmly in The New Yorker.
posted by Joe Beese at 7:02 AM on June 8

If you are feeling like reading a scandal-filled semi-trashy book (total summer beach read): Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger. Most material is a little bit earlier than your list above but those stars do make appearances in it.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:18 AM on June 8

Both of Shelley Winters's books are excellent--fast-paced, full of anecdotes about the biggest stars of the 40s, 50s, and 60s (she was close friends with both Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe).

Evelyn Keyes's autobiography, Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister, is a great read. Again, Keyes wasn't so well known (apart from the role from which her book takes its title), but she was good friends with many mega-stars.

The Million Dollar Mermaid, Esther Williams's autobiography, is quite charming.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:54 AM on June 8

I loved reading Lillian Gish's The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me.

It's a fascinating look at the earliest days of film, and one of the most influential directors ever.

One caveat though. Gish blindly defends Griffith's groundbreaking film Birth of a Nation without any recognition of how sickeningly racist it is.
posted by marsha56 at 8:17 AM on June 8

Thirding Harpo Speaks! and adding Simon Callow's two (so far) biographies of Orson Welles.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:23 AM on June 8

One of the best, most purely enjoyable books on Hollywood history I've read is City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s by Otto Friedrich. It doesn't go in-depth on any single personality from the era, but Friedrich has assembled one hell of a crazy-quilt portrait of the town, its moguls, and its movie stars. It will also give you a lot of background on the union movements and the McCarthy hearings that had a big impact on how movie stars behaved. Highly recommended, and may suggest some directions for more detailed reading.
posted by Joey Bagels at 8:52 AM on June 8

Cary Grant: A Class Apart is excellent.

What Happens Next? is a recent book on the history of screenwriting and screenwriters from the start of cinema to contemporary times.

Pictures at a Revolution is a book about the 5 films nominated for best picture in 1967. That's later than you're looking for but it a fascinating read as it's about the changes that took place when the Old Hollywood became the New Hollywood. (The films were The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and Dr. Doolittle.) Great book!
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 9:35 AM on June 8

I highly recommend Tallulah Bankhead's most impressive and fun autobiography. She's one of my top icons and role models :)
posted by jacquilinala at 10:05 AM on June 8

Tatum O'Neal's book "A Paper Life" will give you a whole new way to look at Ryan O'Neal. Not favorable. Interesting, though.
posted by naplesyellow at 10:17 AM on June 8

OOPS just realized you asked for a different era. Apologies!
posted by naplesyellow at 10:19 AM on June 8

Fourthing Harpo Speaks! But beware of Hollywood Babylon -- it's been described as "error-ridden."
posted by pmurray63 at 12:47 PM on June 8

Seconding 'Tallulah' as a fun read, but with the caveat that a lot of it covers her time on the stage, not so much her time in Hollywood.
posted by Asparagirl at 3:45 PM on June 8

Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx.
posted by holdenjordahl at 7:38 PM on June 8

Frances Farmer's autobiography, Will There Really Be A Morning?, is one of the most horrible, fascinating Hollywood stories I've read. It wasn't remotely light-hearted and dishy, but it was thoroughly engrossing.
posted by Mael Oui at 9:41 PM on June 8

Kate Remembered by A. Scott Berg, it's a passionate and insightful look at Katharine Hepburn, and much of her own voice shines through.
posted by so much modern time at 3:45 AM on June 9