Robert Evans (1) (1930–2019)

This is one I would suggest listening to rather than reading as Bob Evans’s unique vocal stylings add another level of entertainment (or check out the animated documentary of the same name). He shares his rise from a kid selling typewriters in old New Yawk to running Paramount studios and subsequent downfall in the style of a classic Hollywood biopic. You see all the broads and two bit actors he met along the way. Did he work hard? Heh heh, No: he worked *damn* hard. But he had an enemy show more just waiting for the right time to trip him up and bring him down: himself. He reveals every future star he discovered, every faded star he saved from obscurity and how many of them turned his back on him later.
Don’t let those last parts make you think this is a bitter sob story. He relates this all with a sense of pride in his accomplishments but also amazed and amused at the crazy twists and turns of fate that even let it happen. show less

"There are three sides to every story: yours... mine... and the truth. No one is lying."

This is from the first line of the preface to this book, and it is completely appropriate. Evans recalls his 35 years in Hollywood, and definitely only tells his side.

There were times when I hated this guy, and times when I loved him. But that is true of any honest memoir, and this is unlike any memoir I've ever read. There is no self-reflection-leading-to-redemption. It is all about him never changing show more who he is, and acknowledging that he is not always a decent person, but damned if he's going to change. He owns up to his mistakes, but refuses to change in order to avoid them in the future.

There are times when he could have used a better editor to make a better overall narrative, and not just strung along one story after another, but his audacity and his insight into Hollywood alone make this book worth the read. show less

The book is definitely entertaining and moves very, very fast. You will need to re-read certain sentences and sections because the author assumes you know what and whom he is referring to. I think this has to do with the fact that this is a period book, one written and published when the references were well known at the time of publication. Reading it 25 years later, many of those references are dated, as are many of the folks mentioned in this book.

The author's massive ego is evident from show more page one and it doesn't let up throughout the entire book. If you can get past him telling us how great he is, how good-looking he is and how successful he is and how many women he slept with - you'll be fine. At times these "attributes" help to propel the narrative. But most of the time, they are just there to feed his monumental ego.

One bit of advice - read this book in chunks. His story is a bit frenzied to take in all at one time. show less

Robert Evans produced "The Godfather" and "Rosemary's Baby" and was married to Ali McGraw. His autobiography is a litany of name-dropping and self-aggrandising and he has an ego the size of a planet. The first chapter or so, I found these things a problem, but then I was drawn in by this larger than life character and found myself rooting for him when things turn bad. Even if you do have to take some of it with a large pinch of salt, Evans has lived an exciting life, through one of the best show more periods in Hollywood filmmaking, and this makes for a great biography. show less