Ava Gardner (1) (1922–1990)

Let's get it straight folks. This is not the proverbial biography of Ava Gardner as some reviewers were complaining about, it states on the cover the book consists of CONVERSATIONS with her. Conversations with the author for the intended book they were co-writing.
After spending uncountable hours with her in person and on the phone at all hours, she nixed it. Why? Because she wanted to maintain a public image that reality did not fit.
Ava Gardner was a whole hell of a lot of woman. Strong, show more opinionated, intelligent she called it like she saw it. Vulgar, brash, stunningly beautiful and fiercely herself- like it or lump it, men were intrigued and she had her share.
This book was written from a unique standpoint in that 1) both Ava and the author died before it was published and 2)it's not a whitewashed cleaned up bio for the masses...it's real. show less

This is far, far better than one would expect from the cover and the title. It’s absolutely Nabokovian in how the book is about its own creation; at least half of it concerns the author trying to cajole his subject into talking. And what a subject! Ava Gardner was a self-described broad when such a term was still used and comes across as sharp, foolish, tough, vain, sexy, lonely, insecure, sensible, and someone you’d love to have a drink with. It’s a terrific study of celebrity and show more reads like the inspiration for Sunset Blvd, although not as depressing.

There’s a laugh-out-loud line one every other page—but don’t lend this to your maiden aunt. show less

This wickedly candid memoir that Ava Gardner dared not publish during her lifetime offers a revealing self-portrait of the film legend’s life and loves in Hollywood’s golden age. “I EITHER WRITE THE BOOK OR SELL THE JEWELS,” Ava Gardner told her coauthor, Peter Evans, “and I’m kinda sentimental about the jewels.” So began the collaboration that led to this remarkably candid, wickedly sardonic memoir. Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood’s great stars during the 1940s and 1950s, show more an Oscar-nominated lead­ing lady who co-starred with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, among others. Her films included Show Boat, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, The Barefoot Contessa, and On the Beach. But her life off the screen was every bit as fabulous as her film roles. Born poor in rural North Carolina, Gardner was given a Hollywood tryout thanks to a stunning photo of her displayed in a shop window. Not long after arriving in Hollywood, she caught the eye of Mickey Rooney, then America’s #1 box-office draw. Rooney was a womanizer so notorious that even his mother warned Gardner about him. They married, but the marriage lasted only a year (“my shortest husband and my biggest mistake”). Ava then married band leader and clarinetist Artie Shaw, who would eventually marry eight times, but that marriage, too, lasted only about a year (“he was a dominating son of a bitch . . . always putting me down”). She carried on a passionate affair with Howard Hughes but didn’t love him, she said. Her third marriage was a tempestuous one to Frank Sinatra (“We were fighting all the time. Fighting and boozing. It was madness. . . . But he was good in the feathers”). Faithfully recording Ava’s reminiscences in this book, Peter Evans describes their late-night conver­sations when Ava, having had something to drink and unable to sleep, was at her most candid. So candid, in fact, that when she read her own words, she backed out and halted the book. Only now, years after her death, could this frank and revealing memoir be published. “If I get into this stuff, oh, honey, have you got something coming,” Ava told Evans. Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations is the stunning story of a legendary star’s public and private lives. show less

What a wasted life. This books starts off well enough as Ava describes her childhood and family, but as soon as she gets her start in Hollywood, the book made a steady decline for me. I don't think Ava had a firm grasp on how she presented herself or who she truly was. She repetitively states that she was shy and did NOT have a drinking problem, and yet every story she shares portrays her as an abrasive loudmouth drunk. I find it funny that she was so paranoid about the men in her life show more cheating when she herself had no problem sleeping with married men. I guess what goes around, comes around. And she states that she desperately wanted children, and then procedes to abort 2 babies, back to back. She never did have any children.

I actually did enjoy the personalized writing style, but the stories (except a few), were really, really boring. Ava gives a summary of all the films she starred in (boring) and then describes how she mouthed off, drank, and antagonized the people around her. Then she starts talking about husband number (fill in the blank) and how they drank, mouthed off, and fought. Rinse and repeat. To clarify, I am not blaming her entirely for her failed marriages; from her description alone, most everyone in Hollywood were not faithful and got a new spouse every year. I think for her part, she could have been less impulsive with matrimonial decisions.

There were moments she was gracious toward someone, but for the most part, the book was one big repeat of drunken behavior (or rude and sober behavior), poor decisions, and colorful language. I honestly don't think many people could be around her long, because it does say that she did not have any female friends, and she didn't have any lasting relationships with men. She died alone with her dog and housekeeper. Overall, I didn't care for the book and I didn't care for Ava Gardner. show less