Edward Sorel

Edward Sorel’s illustrated biography of Mary Astor is clearly a work from the heart; the 87 year old (now soon to be 91) graphic artist filled these pages with his love for the actress, 50 original illustrations, and ruminations of the past. It’s as if you were sitting on the porch with the guy, listening to him weave the story based on a solid amount of research, and with anecdotes and tangents about his personal life thrown in. I think in general it’s a mistake for authors to slip show more their own stories into biographies of others and reflects a fair amount of ego besides, but in this case I gave Sorel a fair amount of latitude. You’ll also have to forgive him for not being politically correct when it comes to women (calling some bitches), as well as some pretty ugly passages where he ‘speaks’ to Astor and berates her for not standing up for herself – I hated this, as it was essentially blaming a victim of domestic abuse.

With all that said, I really enjoyed the work. The story is phenomenal - Astor’s awful parents, her seduction by John Barrymore when she was a teenager, her poor decisions in men, and her torrid affair with George Kaufman, which she made the mistake of recording in her diary is all here. The fact that she was a woman with a regal mien to match her chosen stage name, Astor, and yet had such a passionate side to her is compelling (apparently the sessions with Kaufman were of the all-through-the-night variety), and adds depth to seeing her in old movies. I loved how Sorel provides the larger context of her life both before and after the scandalous child custody trial, and added information from the filming of Beau Brummel, Don Juan, Red Dust, and Dodsworth, among many others. And despite all her flaws, I admire Astor for standing up to a gang of powerful studio execs to prioritize her child over possible damage to her career, at a time when publicity was so sensitive in Hollywood. This is an enjoyable, informative read, and in a format that’s both beautiful and easy to digest. I’d love to see more like it. show less

An engagingly quirky graphic memoir, Sorel tells the story of Mary Astor – her life and especially the lurid custody battle she engaged in – intertwined with snippets of his own life story. He explains that he and Mary “met cute” in 1965 when he came upon old newspapers featuring the 1936 trial while peeling off old layers of linoleum from his Manhattan kitchen floor. That chance meeting developed into a lifelong infatuation on his part, eventually leading him to meet Mary's daughter show more (by then a great-grandmother herself) and, finally, at the age of 87, to write and illustrate this book. He says, “After I read her memoirs and realized she had a gift for writing, I really fell for her. I decided to become her champion, just as – if you'll forgive my presumption – Felix Mendelssohn had become the champion of J.S. Bach and rescued the Baroque composer from relative obscurity.” The comparison between Bach and Astor is rather a mind-boggling stretch, but Sorel's chivalric sentiment is endearing anyway.

Before reading this I knew nothing of Mary Astor, though I'm sure I've seen her in quite a few old movies, or of Edward Sorel, though the style of his illustrations is certainly familiar. Neither one of them, individually, would have been likely keep my interest through a book, but their stories together have a synergy that, combined with Sorel's marvelous illustrations, make the tale of an obscure actress and her political cartoonist fan surprisingly compelling. Sorel never tries to cover Astor's faults – she was not just promiscuous but had truly abysmal taste in men – but he focuses on her pluck and impressive work ethic, and points out how dreadful her parents and early years were (her parents really were awful). Sorel's affection for and sympathy with this actress have only grown over the years, and deepened from prurient interest in a sordid celebrity sex scandal to a warm regard and admiration for a fellow artist which he conveys, tied together with stories of his own mistakes and redemptions, in a charmingly idiosyncratic book. show less

An unusual biography. Sorel, while working on his apartment finds some newspapers from the 30s with articles about a scandalous child custody trial involving the actress Mary Astor, and her diary of an affair with George S. Kaufman. Sorel becomes obsessed with Astor and the scandal, and this book details her life and the scandal, with nearly as much info about the author and his marriages as about Astor. That's an exaggeration, but there is a lot of personal stuff in the book.

I've seen show more Sorel's illustrations for decades but never thought about his name, and he has plenty of his drawings of the principals. It's a very lively book, with a good portrait of Astor, who was very good in some very good movies. His description of Astor's performance in The Maltese Falcon is great, where he notes that nothing Brigid says in that movie is honest.

A good book, if you are interested in Mary Astor. The scandal itself kind of ends anti-climactially so there's less there than you might hope. Astor's story isn't a pleasant one -- domineering parents who demanded she support them, lovers and husbands (including John Barrymore) who don't treat her well, and alcoholism. She became an Catholic and under its influence wrote an autobiography which doesn't sound very interesting. It's The Maltese Falcon we'll remember her for. show less

Pretty good. I was hoping for more meat from the diary itself, but turns out to be a very autobiographical, sympathetic portrait of Ms. Astor from the author. Good locale and setting flair, but interspersed throughout with only ok authorial self interventions. beautifully bound and good looking book.