Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women as I Knew Them

If you want to hold onto any of your illusions about famous movie stars, don't read this book.

From Rita Hayworth to Rex Harrison, from Elizabeth Taylor to Laurence Olivier -- Frank Langella paints them all as self-absorbed, ego-driven, insecure humans who really only live to be on stage or the center of attention. It's actually quite sad how dysfunctional so many icons appear. The book also includes a lot of talk about random sexual escapades among stars, lots of drinking, and driving competitiveness.

What did I learn? I learned that Langella certainly has encountered a lot of famous actors, writers, and directors over the years. 66 short chapters that include Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Elia Kazan, and the Queen Mother. He isn't a bad show more writer. But I felt throughout that he thinks of himself as apart, even above, all the others, possessing deeper insight. My sense from reading is that he is just the same as all the others -- not a particularly admirable person. And I also felt the book was really his opportunity to brag about all the famous people he's known.

If you enjoy Hollywood and theater gossip, you'll certainly enjoy this. But I can't think of any other reason to read it. show less

Frank Langella, the lanky, dark actor known for Dracula and his shaking eyes, has written a fun, gossipy though respectful memoir dropping names from Marilyn Monroe to Jackie O. Sometimes there was a brief encounter, sometimes he met them working on a picture or play, sometimes they were a friend of a friend, sometimes he got to know their widow (Charles Laughton). He soaked in every detail of every encounter: some brief, some intense (he implies he climbed into bed with a few aging actresses), some scandalous. But only in a classy way. He didn't mind flirting with men either. And they flirted back. Be prepared for the tone to shift from witty to heartbreaking: the most touching sections regard his long friendship with the actor Raul show more Julia. The book is available through San Diego Public Library, call or order online. The ebook and audiobook are available via the library webpage in Cloud Library. Download the free app in your app store. show less

A fun memoir to read. Langella is a laser-sharp observer, an enthusiastic gossip and an excellent and unsparing writer. We are the beneficiaries of his long acting career and active social life, since the people he encounters and writes about are mostly household names. While he sketches only the bare details of his own life, enough of his prickly personality comes through to give a sense of perspective.

The book is presented as short portraits of people Langella has met or worked with, from Rita Hayworth to Jack and Jackie Kennedy, making it great fun to pick up and leaf through. An excellent format.

One senses, through his own candid admissions and hints, that he would be a terrible husband or client, but a fun friend or dinner guest. show more Similarly this book is fun to read, but it doesn't leave you delighted with the author. A brave feat, really. show less

This book is an alluring look into the world of the theater and the privileged. Frank Langella has worked as an actor for five decades. He relates stories about the charismatic writers, directors and actors he has meet during his career. Mr. Langella has also been friends with some of the wealthiest people in America.

Each chapter is about a relationship with a different person. The author only writes about people who have passed away or people who have allowed him to write about there association. I don't know very much about theater actors and I had to google some of the names. It would have been nice to have pictures in the book to associate with the names. Other subjects were more well known. I wasn't surprised by Mr. Langella's show more description of the people I had already heard of. He wrote about divas, closeted homosexuals, narcissistic personalities, and lonely alcoholics as well as generous nobel people who profoundly altered his life. Some chapters were very poignant, particularly the one devoted to President Kennedy. This was an engaging quick read and I recommend it to fans of the New York theater and those interested in the lifestyles of the rich. show less

If you want to hold onto any of your illusions about famous movie stars, don't read this book.

From Rita Hayworth to Rex Harrison, from Elizabeth Taylor to Laurence Olivier -- Frank Langella paints them all as self-absorbed, ego-driven, insecure humans who really only live to be on stage or the center of attention. It's actually quite sad how dysfunctional so many icons appear. The book also includes a lot of talk about random sexual escapades among stars, lots of drinking, and driving competitiveness.

What did I learn? I learned that Langella certainly has encountered a lot of famous actors, writers, and directors over the years. 66 short chapters that include Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Elia Kazan, and the Queen Mother. He isn't a bad show more writer. But I felt throughout that he thinks of himself as apart, even above, all the others, possessing deeper insight. My sense from reading is that he is just the same as all the others -- not a particularly admirable person. And I also felt the book was really his opportunity to brag about all the famous people he's known.

If you enjoy Hollywood and theater gossip, you'll certainly enjoy this. But I can't think of any other reason to read it. show less

Langella is an actor I have long admired. Truth be told, I grew to truly appreciate the depth of his appreciation of his theatre world through comments he makes on the marvelous 2004 documentary by Rick McKay "Broadway The Golden Age" -- breezy, deeply felt reflections across the board. That documentary contains theatre folks in the early 2000s reflecting on the Broadway they knew in the 1940s and 1950s and 1960s. McKay is surprised (as he tells it) that so many of these informants mention two particular actresses as pivotal actors of their generations -- Laurette Taylor and Kim Stanley. And Langella on Kim Stanley in particular is a joy to behold.

He focuses in his own just-published memoirs on brief moments in time with people of show more note. In general the resulting compilation is joyous and articulate and loving about his craft and the people who practice it. And in this memoir of snippets, written as stories you can imagine he has "dined out on" for years, Langella is the observer with a subtle important role (e.g. the only nonfamily member at a Mellon compound event). He doesn't exactly tells swashbuckling stories out of school but you do know the basic facts of whether he bedded Rita Hayworth (yes) or Elizabeth Taylor (yes) but no details. He is quick to name the buffoons and poofdahs of his trade. And for the most part, this book is an entertaining read.

A key descriptive nuance: you know at the end of the book a number of his bedroom adventures but you aren't told how many times he has been married or how many children he has. Intriguing choice. Good story teller. Happy to know him ... on stage. show less

Judging by Frank Langella's addictive collection of reminisces, three constants to be found in the acting world of Broadway and Hollywood are sex, ego, and sadness. No great reveal there, but as penned by Langella the sometimes gossipy, sometimes poignant passages make for a diverting summer read. His prose is just as enrapturing as his voice, making it easy to imagine you are hearing it straight from him. With an appreciation for the delivery, I have to admit I didn't particularly enjoy hearing all of the sordid details the book holds. Some of the eye-openers here include innuendo between the author and Raul Julia, some incestuous fun between 'mother' Yvonne De Carlo and 'son' Langella on his turn as Zorro, and a particularly poignant show more affair with an aging Rita Hayworth in 1972's The Wrath of God. In fact many of the stories are quite melancholy; of stars past their prime like Richard Burton, actors who never lived up to their full potential like Oliver Reed. Other stories take on a harsh edge, with Langella making some cruel assessments of the likes of Paul Newman and Charlton Heston. But who am I to criticize, after all, I wasn't there and he was. But after all the stories are done, I admit to seeing Skeletor in a different light show less