A bio of one of my favorite actors. After Bates' death in 2003, his son, brother and many friends handed over to Spoto a lifetime of paperwork kept by Bates. Using his personal and professional letters and contracts, along with interviews, Spoto put together a biography that was much more personal than Bates would allow during his lifetime.
At the heart of this book is Bates' need to keep his homosexuality a secret, both to ensure his ability to get the big leading man roles and to be comfortable with himself, as he saw himself in many of his roles. Spoto provides information about Bates' roles, where and when they were filmed, how much he was paid (surprisingly little until the 70's) and how Bates felt about his films. But the focus of the book is Bates' personal life. He was a devoted son who did everything he could to make his aging parents comfortable and had strong bonds with his brothers, yet was so determined to distance himself from his marriage that for many years he allowed his own twin boys to live in squalor and be starved by their unbalanced mother. This is a fast-paced and sometimes sad story about someone who seemed to be constantly running. ( )