Book Description
It is said men literally had to support themselves against buildings when she walked by. She was that beautiful. She was the great sex symbol of her time, and also a bad girl who became the obsession of many of the biggest names of her day -- including Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemingway, and Howard Hughes. She drank, fought, and slept around with the best of them. She married some too: Mickey Rooney, the biggest star on the MGM lot; Artie Shaw, the charismatic, cold-blooded bandleader; Sinatra, whose jealousy she battled like a wildcat and whose dreams she haunted for the rest of his life. This biography is rich with style, detail, and a sense of place. Prodigiously researched and laced with fascinating fresh interviews with many who worked with, knew -- or loved -- Gardner, many speaking on the record for the first time, Ava Gardner: "Love is Nothing" repositions the talented star as a woman who lived large, long, and precisely as she wanted to. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (44)

Portrait of a Siren
First of all, let me say this is an excellent biography, a superb, superb read--magnificently done. What one comes to doubt is the worthiness of his subject. His subject is Ava Gardner. The first most obvious thing about her was her beauty--and it is a fact--she was one of the most beautiful women to ever star in a Hollywood movie. That much should be given to her, and testaments to her spectacular, disarming beauty are replete throughout the book.
Server excellently sketches us the portrait of this woman, whose persona was quite layered, and rife with contradictions. Ava--what could you say about her? First of all one starts with the physical aspect of her, which made her a veritable screen goddess and international star--and that singular beauty was a significant force in her life for several reasons. It firstly compelled nearly every man she ever knew to want her; and this dazzling beauty seemed to give her a seemingly endless line of credit with men. That is to say she was so beautiful that it allowed her to exhibit darker shades of her personality with impunity, and largely without consequence. She was a woman of extremes, of light and darkness. She was said to be initially shy with people, in that it was difficult for her to wade at first into social interaction--yet when she did gain that initial familiarity, she displayed an easiness of manner, an honesty, a genuineness, a down-to-earth charm that won her the fondness of a great many people. And yet, oftentimes the charm was simply a mood, only skin deep--when the mood would turn, and it inevitably did, she could be cold, callous, rude, brutal and direct if it sought her fancy.She could be tremendously ingratiating, and did not put on airs,--a trait which won her many a friend while filming this movie and that--and yet she was incredibly difficult to work with on the set, hypersensitive to the slightest disturbance, demanding outrageous perks which one would only expect of the most pompous star. Her beauty enabled her to treat men exactly as she pleased, with callousness, neglect, or outright abuse and yet they nearly almost always came back obediently for more, until she tired of them, or more rarely, they would at some point finally reach their threshold for the invective she dealt out.
Server points out that Ava was a flawed person whose belief in love was irreparably damaged from a miserable marriage to bandleader Artie Shaw. Shaw, a cold, arrogant, distant man, saw Gardner as a backwoods, ignorant country girl and despised her for her lack of education and sophistication; his contempt and scorn for her wounded her time and time again, until literally he could no longer endure what he considered her lack of intellect and dull, provincial ways and divorced her; and he seemed to be the one man whom Ava had wanted but ultimately whose approval she never won--an exception which would never be repeated again for the rest of her life.She projected a down-to-earth affability which she could alternate with a detached aloofness, which with her appetite for sex fooled many men into thinking she was in love when in reality she was only passing the time and opting against loneliness. Her beauty, spirit, and aloof detachment made her a positive obsession of Frank Sinatra, her husband in the 50s. At the same time Frank and Ava were possibly the very worst couple of that entire decade. Both suffered as it was from wild mood swings and lacked entirely a quality most people practice in major relationships--the ability to regulate or modify one's speech to a situation. Whenever Frank or Ava were upset, or frustrated or angry or even dissatisfied(which was, admittedly, almost perpetually), they would express their feelings, as they did as a rule to everyone else in their lives, without qualification or filter, profanely, with extreme prejudice. Neither Frank nor Ava ever seemed to be able--nor ever really wanted--to mask what they felt to anyone in particular; they were never able to hold back in their dealings with anyone, and this rule held true for their marriage as well. The fact that Ava and Frank were both by this time alcoholics--Ava especially--and inveterate social animals accustomed to going out on the town every night only fueled the instability and the strife, and they broke up.
Ava stopped working regularly after her breakup with Sinatra and her life completely disintegrated into a restless jaunt around the globe of drinking, parties and sex. Server relates that Ava was a person who could act at times with a chilling, ruthless selfishness--she had two abortions in her life, one Sinatra's child and the other possibly Sinatra's but possibly one of the many lovers she took while filming "Mogambo" . This is heartrending in itself, but because of her breakups with Sinatra and Shaw, she came to believe that true love would never happen again to her and that love itself even was not desirable; she had no husband in the second half of her life and virtually no family at all besides her sister, and moreover, no children, since she had aborted all of her pregnancies--and this was an equation for a life essentially of emptiness and loneliness, and though Ava gamely tried to fill it with parties and casual lovers, her life for the most part became as much. Server is outstanding and thorough in his treatment of his subject; the freshness and verve of his writing convey to us the allure and mystique of his charismatic subject; and we are no different than the rest; in reading his work we fall in love with her too, and ultimately we pity her for a life of glamour and fame but also of tragic choices that ultimately did not serve her well in the end.

Hard to Put Down
Overall this book was revealing, entertaining and hard to put down. There were a few minor points that I thought the book lacked or should have clarified. For example, when Bappie accompanies Ava to Hollywood, Bappie was married to Larry Tarr a New York photographer. However, the book never mentioned what became of Bappie's marriage. Something I thought should have been mentioned since the reader was introduced to Bappie's marriage and then left hanging.
Also, I am not a fan of books that in one Chapter quote people saying, for example, that Ava was still a beautiful woman even in her forties. However, in the next Chapter would be devoted to people quoted as saying Ava was no longer beautiful and that she was old and unappealing. So we have two different versions or opinions concerning Ava at that time and the reader is lost as to which version is real.
Likewise her publicist, David Hanna mused "What friends?" when someone mentioned Ava's friends. However, later there were a number of people referred to as old close friends. Since Hanna was dismissed by Ava, I think this quote of his could be properly cited as a tactless statement made by a bitter man and nothing more.
These are minor points but I think it helps to discuss areas of weakness in a book.

A great bio on Ava!
Ava G. is truly facinating and this bio tells why. I love it when they come through like this! Highly suggested read, as well asTake Your Shirt Off: A Novel of Hollywood, which I also quite liked. If you're into the whole Hollywood thing, these two books deliver!

Dazzling
a very comprehensive and sensitive look at one of the most atractive actresses of the silver screen.

Enthralling Beauty
Lee Server's biography of Ave Gardner is deep with insightful perceptions
of her character and relationships as they were molded and unfolded.The
most interesting part of this engrossing bio covers the period between her marraige to Mickey Rooney and her establishment as an expatriate in
Spain.You can sense Ava losing her naivity and replacing it with caution; but without compromising her sheer joy in living for the moment.
Server captures her self-centeredness but also her smarts in a style equal
to the panache of the subject herself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A peek inside old Hollywood
I thoroughly enjoyed this auto-biography by Ave Gardner.She really said what she thought.Her writing style seemed to be her true personality, since she was from rural N. Carolina. She was the definition of a "broad".She was a great beauty, but she seemed to definitely dwell on her looks.She may have thought she didn't have much else going for her.Having recently read Gene Tierney's autobiography, I noticed that difference between the two.Tierney was fabulously beautiful, but didn't mention her looks but a few times,(possibly because it was so obvious). Ava Gardner also drank heavily.I'm amazed she was able to keep her looks for being such a heavy drinker.But in her films, around the age of 40, when she should have still been gorgeous, not having had children, she began to have a droopy face.That had to be the result of all that alchohol.It saddened me that she felt the need to abort the child she concieved with Frank Sinatra, even though they were married!It's no wonder she died a lonely woman.

a DAMN good book!!!
If you can imagine what Ava Gardner was like, then this book is a must.It reads just like you'd imagine it would.This is absolutely the best-of-the-best autobiography I have read to date.I have read Marilyn Monroe's and Maureen O'Hara's, and they weren't nearly as captivating.When I think of Ava Gardner, I use to think of sexuality and booze.Now after having read this book, I still think that.She has quite the sense of humor and makes numerous witty retorts in regards to her life and the studio system that she fervently disliked.This is most evident in her words on husbands Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra, and how they were in bed.Also, not to be ignored is her unique relationship with "the Aviator" himself, Howard Hughes. Ava is the only woman who could have turned him down, and gotten away with giving him a scar to remember her by.She also discusses her love of Spain, which made me want to visit the place instantly, even though I have yet to do so do to limited means (I don't have a job and still live with my parents - get the picture?).This is probably the best book I have ever read.

Good story
I also was initially distracted by the country girl narrative ("and honey, let me tell you...") but settled into it.It's a good story and to me writing style is secondary when reading an autobiography.

I have always had the impression that Ava was a man-eating femme fatale but this book cast her in a much more human and humble light.I did get the impression that she softened some stories or left some out entirely.I was touched by what she did reveal - her humble beginnings, painful shyness, lack of self esteem, and her deep love for Frank Sinatra.All in all, this story contained all the elations and tragedies you'd find in anyone's lifetime.

It's a great read and I'd recommend it to anyone who would like to learn more about this beautiful star.

if you are a fan of Ava's, please read this book
This is an enjoyable, engaging memoir and while entertaining is also surprisingly sad. I knew, before reading the book, who Ava had married but had no idea how tumultuous were these relationships.As I've not read any other books about Ava Gardner, I can not tell whether this book's contents closely resemble truth but, frankly, I don't really care. I read autobiographies so I get a better sense of the author and in this case, Ava's wit, intelligence and humanity shine through. I certainly don't agree with the reviewer who says Ava painted herself as a goody-goody - that is the last thing she seems to do. This is a woman who, to me, has struggled with relationships, insecurities and addictions and still managed to enjoy and relish life - like many of us.If anything, I felt positive and connected to Ava for her candour! And, if, factually speaking, Ms. Gardner was not completely accurate in her own story, so what? I would rather read her story in her own words.The saddest thing to me was that she passed away at such a young age. I think "Impertinent" gives an excellent and articulate review and all I can say is read this book if you'd like to know about one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood.

cant help lovin...
In addition to demonstrating a self-deprecating wit and a candor that is often surprising, even in an autobiography, in this memoir Ava Gardner conveys a warmth and genuineness that makes her (in my opinion) an instantly likable narrator. Then, the fact that the events of her life would have given enough material to make a great story even if she herself wasn't such an engaging storyteller.
This book is tempered with irony. Ava's reflections on some of her greatest times are presented through a veil of bittersweet nostalgia. That her life was a sad one is evident; she details three failed marriages to some of the era's more notable celebrities/womanizers and her constant sense that her career path was accidental, and her eventual phase as recluse and expatriate. These events told from the perspective of an aging woman - one who seems to have been truly convinced that her fading (?) beauty is her only marketable asset create an exquisitely tragic heroine. Consistently smart and irreverent, Ava balances this obvious sadness and feeling of being misplaced with a stoic insistence that she's had "a hell of a good time." In all, her willingness to poke fun at herself and her open examinions of her personal weaknesses provide a refreshing counterpoint to the usual self-aggrandizement of the Hollywood auto-biography. I strongly recommend the book, if not for pure entertainment, for a compelling portrait devoid of literary pretensions. ... Read more

Book Description
A lavishly illustrated biogrphy of Ava Gardner, the actress who earned herself the epithet of the most beautiful animal in the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Ava Gardner - Venus, Barefoot Contessa & Kitty Collins in one.
This is a marvelous book and tribute to a very talented and beautiful woman. It is sad that she is not here with us today. She still had so much to share with us. It would have been so fulfilling to have her read, treasure and enjoy this work of love, admiration and respect.I have read and reread it numerous times, while also enjoying the vast amount of photos. Her presence on the screen was breathtaking and awesome. A little while ago, it was my privilege to see her on the big screen in the movie "Show Boat" -it may not have been her voice on screen but it was for sure her fabulous face, warmth and presence. After her "singing" the two songs, we in the audience were silent. It was as if should any one dared to applaud, the spell would be broken.The other stars got their well earned applause. However there was something in Ms. Gardner's performance that we just couldn't and wouldn't make a sound for fear it would break the spell she cast over us. How often does that happen in the movies!
I wanted to write to the author, expressing my joy in reading this work of art. I hope he will see this review so that he will know how much it means to me (if I may be so bold to say).He was absolutely thorough in writing this magnificent volume, although there were some very minor and unimportant errors.If he writes another book about Ms. G., I would order two or three copies for my friends and myself or maybe just for myself. Thank you, Mr. Dagneau, for giving us a fabulous work of a star who was underrated very unfairly because of some scripts and lack luster direction in some of the films.Although she still came through it all with glamour and just being herself.

She remained true to her family and friends even though she traveled all over the world, meeting royalty, celebrities, poets, and, yes, bull fighters, as well as everyday people. It mattered not who they were; if she knew and trusted you, that's all she needed to know and cling to. She must also have had an intriguing mind to have had so many friends in all walks of life; yet she was still basically Ava, with a thirst for knowledge, excitement and adventure.She knew that at the end of her journey, she would return her to home....to be at rest with her family with no fanfare or statues. I still feel very badly that she and Frank Sinatra could not have remained together.When I hear his songs, in my heart I believe he is still singing to only her and that we're invited along to share the moment.

Thank you, Ms. Gardner, for giving us such beauty, joy and simplicity;for leaving us movies and books (your own and some you never knew that had been written about you because we wanted to keep reading about you) and for sharing those moments with us.Thank you, Ms. Gardner.

Ava Gardner: Beautiful, Wild, Innocent
Hollywood both discovered and suffocated Ava Gardner. Despite many memorable portrayals, Gardner had never dreamed nor sought to be re-made by the moviemaking factory. Gilles Dagneau has assembled a fascinating and revealing account of the career and life of one of Hollywood's most beautiful, talented and elusive stars. Dagneau's research provides an engrossing read accompanied by a wealth of movie stills, publicity shots and candids through the years. His chronological review of her career and the filmmakers and actors with whom she worked is interwoven with the events in her turbulent off-screen life. Never comfortable with the trappings of stardom and the media curiosity that dogged her through 75 films, three husbands and three continents, she continually professed disinterest in acting but left a wonderful cinematic heritage which Dagneau has detailed in a devoted homage. The in-depth filmography (1941-1986) is especially helpful, along with an index of names and suggested reading. This is a book for film lovers and those who appreciate a revealing look behind the scenes at the real people who inhabit the images created by Hollywood.

Finally, a book befitting the bedazzling star!
The sub-title, "Beautiful, Wild, Innocent," only scratches the surface of Ava Gardner's many charms. Fortunately -- no, incredibly! -- Gilles Dagneau manages to capture the complex essence of the comely actress in this tribute's well-chosen words and pictures. Sharp, succinct analysis links Ms. Gardner's star turns to her own dramatic life-changes. Thus, Dagneau provides invaluable critical and psychological context to bolster previous examinations of her on-screen bravado and off-screen tabloid fodder. Wisely, while convincingly countering Ms. Gardner's self-proclaimed "averageness," the author accompanies his case with a stunning selection of photographs reminding readers of why they fell for Ava in the first place. Love at first sight? Most likely. A lasting love? Undeniably. Those who concur would be well-advised to purchase Gilles Dagneau's critical, yet kind Valentine. Fall in love, all over again.

Gorgeous book about a gorgeous and amazing woman
For anyone who has ever longed to know more about this glamorous and enigmatic movie queen, this book has it all. From Ava's discovery and rise to fame, to the height of her success as one of the world's best-loved and most talked about actresses, to the demise of her star from the skies, this oversize, full-color book examines the personal and professional lives of a woman who came to be worshipped, adored and desired by millions.

From her many love affairs and marriages to such stars as Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra, to her ever-evolving physical beauty, to the many aspects of her true personality that often caused her to rebel against the norm and behave in ways that caught the eyes of the camera, and public, off guard, this is a complete chronology of her life, accompanied by dozens of photographs both candid and posed that reveal a star of mythological proportions. We follow her meteoric career from its dawn to its zenith of success, and then to its decline as an aging Ava struggled to maintain her career, and her dignity.

Film director Gilles Dagneau (with editing and translation by Sandra Eiko Tokunaga) pays homage to Ms. Gardner with honesty, respect and a bit of wild rebelliousness, showing all sides of a woman many viewed as just a beautiful sex object, or a glamorous movie queen. We get so many insights and glimpses into the world of movie-making, and all that it entails, and we really get an understanding of Ava's often quirky behavior as she deals with the differing worlds on and off the movie set. We also see Ava through the eyes of the many famous directors, producers and stars she worked with, and how her charismatic presence effected them. We learn what she was paid for many of her films, about her wardrobes, the history behind the roles she played and the directors she was molded by, her many tumultuous love affairs and the hearts she left shattered in her wake, and her strong views on life that often colored her on-set and off-set actions in ways that made her both wild yet innocent, vulnerable yet tough as nails.

The book is divided into sections of Ava's life, from her early days as a movie-set novice, to the dawn of her true career rise in the late 1940's, to the height of her radiance in the fifties, and through the waning and sunset of her career, and life, through the sixties and into the 1980's. There is also a detailed filmography of Ava's great body of film work, and suggested reading list.

Readers who thought they knew "the Barefoot Contessa" will no doubt learn so much more about the woman and her work, and those who never knew her will be entranced and highly entertained. The stunning photos include set shots, posed movie stills, personal snapshots, and tons of behind the scenes pictures most folks have never seen before. In fact, the photos tell just as thrilling a story as the rich and detailed text does.

"AVA GARDNER: Beautiful, Wild, Innocent," is such a glorious celebration of the life of one of our greatest movie stars, but also of an era of entertainment that has long since died - a time when the stars on the movie set not only rivaled those in the sky, but often outshined them.

MARIE JONES, Book Reviewer, BookIdeas.com ... Read more

Book Description
At age nine, Ava Gardner went to the Howell Theater in Smithfield, North Carolina, with her mother Mollie to see her mother's favorite movie star Clark Gable starring as a safari leader in Africa with Jean Harlow in Red Dust. Twenty years later Ava would find herself in Jean Harlow's role in a remake of that story Mogambo, with none other than Clark Gable.

That such a thing could happen to a country girl from North Carolina was beyond the imagination not only of Ava but of everybody who knew her. But people learned to expect the unexpected from Ava. By 13, she'd decided she wanted to be a movie star, and at 18 she joked with friends that she was going to marry the biggest star in Hollywood. She did both, and went on to become one of the most famous women of the 20th century.

How did a shy, tomboyish farm girl do that?

Doris Rollins Cannon spent years interviewing family, friends, teachers and others who knew Ava to determine the forces that drove her, the values that guided her. She found they were firmly grounded in her North Carolina roots.

"She endured in a profession in which only the strong survive," Cannon writes. "And she survived, not because she overcame her rural North Carolina background-but because she drew her strength from it."

Much has been written about Ava's legendary life, but the material in this book, never before told, adds a new and moving dimension to her story. It includes letters and photographs never before published. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Love Letter to Ava
"Grabtown Girl" is a love letter written by Doris Rollins Cannon to the legend of Ava Gardner and her North Carolina Tarheel roots. It is a wonderful read from start to finish.

When I was a boy growing up in NC, (I was born in in 1960) I was always fascinated with the Hollywood MGM stars of the 40's and 50's. When I was about 12, I found out Ava came from Smithfield. I tried to find any photo, article or book on her I could find. At that time Ava, was living in London and not making very many motion pictures so I was eager to learn about her NC roots and how she got to Hollywood. I read all the old biographies that were in the library but they only briefly covered the NC years.

I finally met her sister Myra that lived in Winston-Salem near me in 1981 and begin to hear some of the Gardner family stories. Myra would tell me how it would upset her how Hollywood would always get Ava's bio wrong and how MGM would embellish stories about her "dirt poor" background. Myra stated this upset her when they would write things about their parents that was not factual but she knew Hollywood would say anything about Ava for publicity right or wrong.

But it was not until Mrs. Cannon took years and years of information, research, and interviews with the Gardner family and friends that this book was written to state the truth. It is a wonderful read not only for the " North Carolina native" but for anyone of any age that is interested in the story of Ava before, during and after all the stardom. Many of you have read the same old "Ava Gardner Hollywood/Madrid years" over and over. I know there is a new book out that just recycles a lot of the same gossip, romances, late nights, lovers, etc. So if you want something different, a factual account of Ava's life and her interactions with her family and friends, this is a wonderful experience. You will see that Ava was a true Tarheel throughout her life. The North Carolina state motto fit her perfectly! "Esse quam videri" To be, rather than to seem.

The Real Ava - A Valid Hometown Tribute
"Grabtown Girl" is a most candid tribute to Ava Gardner that focuses on her relationships with the people she knew and loved in her beloved North Carolina before and after she became a world-renown actress. It is interesting to discover the diversity of the people who had such a profound and everlasting impact on Ava's life, from her most cherished childhood friend in elementary school to a most trusted friend during her adolescent years who later became a prominent N.C. businessman.

The author includes extraordinary, never before published photographs and letters.I appreciate how Ms. Cannon ingeniously captures the core of Ava's innermost being, her heart and soul, via authentic documentation.This is the stuff good books are made of.

"Grabtown Girl": what a treasure, what a gift!This is, in fact, the "real deal" and that's what I call "priceless!"Once you begin reading "Grabtown Girl," you may find that you are unable to put it down until you read every single page from start to finish!

Interesting, but not too substantial
It's difficult to juxtapose a breathtakingly beautiful legendary movie goddess with a simple country childhood, so it's therefore hard to portray Ava Gardner in both worlds.

I give the author credit for being very straightforward with the simple known facts about Ava's childhood and early life in North Carolina.She didn't indulge in wild speculation, nor did she attribute thoughts or qualities to Ava that coudn't be verified.Instead, she told the simple story of Ava's simple life, documented by interviews with Ava's childhood friends, some family members, and letters written by young Ava.

This book portrays a rather sweet and simple childhood for Ava, not too many traumas (other than losing her beloved father at a young age).They were not dirt-poor hillbillies, which is the image that Ava sometimes invested herself with when it suited her purposes.Piedmont-area North Carolina is not hillbilly country.

I would have liked the book to have had much more substance, and I was particularly interested in knowing more about the lives of her siblings, of which only the briefest of portraits were given in this book.

New Perspective For Life Story of a Star
This biography is intensely researched and informative.The story is exactly what the title states, "Ava Gardner's North Carolina Childhood and Her Enduring Ties To Home".This biography puts most of its focus on Ava's childhood and how it shaped her attitudes toward her life and her fame.Although the last third of the book overviews her life as a star, if you are looking for a detailed account of Ava's Hollywood life, this is not the book for you.This is simply the story (told mainly through antecdotes and memories of family and friends) of a woman with strong roots who happened to become a movie star but who never forgot where she came from. The author introduces the reader to Ava's North Carolina family and friends and I love the fact that she tells the reader what happened to everyone mentioned in the book. I have a whole new respect and perspective for Ava Gardner.I was really struck by the fact that even though Ava became a big star, she never thought of herself as any better than anyone else and continued to be a loving and supportive friend, sister, and aunt. The book is short (about 130 pages, I read it in two nights, maybe took 3 hours total) and has some great pictures throughout.I highly recommend it!!!

Excellent Book
It's a great book. Just great! 5 stars for the Author and the Book! ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

a charming book
i am not a big fan of the author's especially after the book on grace kelly but her book on ava gardner was very engaging...she tells of some very interesting stories, especially the one of the time in africa whenthey were making mogambo and she lifted the natives cloth ... Read more

Book Description
Garbo and Crawford. Ava, Hedy, Judy, Liz epitomized Hollywood's golden era. With a trembling lip or sultry eye, with a tear or song or husky whisper, these women held moviegoers across America in their sway from the hard times of the 1930s through the booming postwar years to the early sixties. They were royalty and box office, and led pampered public lives-furs, jewels, designer gowns; limousines, flash bulbs, handsome escorts-that captured the national imagination. They also signed seven-year contracts with a morals clause, and the more they slipped, the more the secret abortions, efficient cover-ups, legal legerdemain, and dropped charges bound them to the wizard in their Oz, Louis B. Mayer. The slips are here along with the successes. Here, too, are the Blonde Bombshell Jean Harlow, Million-Dollar Mermaid Esther Williams, Sweater Girl Lana Turner, and bad girl Ava Gardner ("She can't act. She can't talk. She's terrific," declared Mayer after her screen test). From Jeanette MacDonald and Norma Shearer to Princess Grace and Dame Elizabeth Taylor, the sixteen portraits in this lively, photograph-filled volume, each accompanied by the star's filmography, tell the tales that have long lay hidden behind the gossip and the glories of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's glamorous golden girls. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

pure speculation
i have read the book and i keep wondering if any of this really true. it is just pure specualtion. idle gossip. but it was fun reading it. why was so much attention given to grace kelly when she only made a couple pictures with MGM. katharine hepburn was a much bigger star and the author gave her a couple of pages. just not enough.

Not Worthy for the Collector
Miss Wayne clearly did not investigate the rumors that fills this book.Many of her facts are not validated and that many more are known to be just rumor.The typographical errors abound, i.e. Wiltshire Boulevard in Los Angeles - it is Wilshire Boulevard.Her dates are deplorable - i.e. Esther Williams and Fernando Lamas were married for 22 years from 1969 until his death in 1982 - that's 13 years, Miss Wayne!

As an avid collector of classic movies and the literature of the Golden Age of Hollywood, this book has no value to this or any other collector!

this is not what it purports to be
Jane Ellen Wayne's book "The Golden Girls of M-G-M" will not be everyone's cup of tea.The author seems to take serious advantage of the fact that most of these women are no longer around to protect their reputations, and thus this book is full of vulgar details more at home in the National Enquirer than a deceptively-stylish biography tribute book (which this purports to be).Though to be fair, Ms Wayne is somewhat sympathetic to each of the ladies she features here, but the book is riddled with typographical errors, misspelled names and wrong information. This book will probably never help Miss Wayne ascend the upper-echelon of biographers.

Covering as much dirt as possible, each actress gets a chapter (Jeanette MacDonald, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor).There is also a `Naughty-But-Nice' section in the back, comprising of mini-chapters devoted to Hedy Lamarr, Katharine Hepburn, Esther Williams, Debbie Reynolds and June Allyson.

There are so many wonderful biographies available on these ladies, but I'm afraid this isn't one of them.

Dragged Through the Mud? Some jumped in on their own!
While we all know that these celebrity histories relate many falacies, some shocking tid-bits are true. For instance, it has been well known that Mickey Rooney, as baby-faced and non-sexual as he may seem, was quite the ladies' man.As a 16 year old he had an affair with a much older Norma Shearer (quickly broken up by Louis B. Mayer to avoid scandal).As for Hedy Lamarr, read about the admitted bi-sexuality and orgies in her own words..."Ecstacy and Me," her autobiography, does not hide that she acutally is an arrogant nymphomaniac, and she seems to be rather quite proud of it!We all agree that there are false rumors that are attributed to these actors and actresses, but let's not forget that a lot of them brought sensationalism and scandal on their own.That is what makes their stories so fascinating, and that is why we read them.

Another Wonderful Book From Jane Ellen Wayne
I always have a great time reading Jane Ellen Wayne's books. Once I started reading this one I could not put it down. Every chapter is filled with terrific stories about Hollywood's greatest actresses. You will learn all about Jeanette MacDonald's love affair with Nelson Eddy and Norma Shearer's marriage to Irving Thalberg. None of the ladies are portrayed as saints but if you can handle the truth you won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Book Description
This book contains a biography of one of the screen's most loved actresses whose career has spanned five decades. Her life's story is as dramatic and compelling as many of her famous roles. From her country roots to her world travels, Ava Gardner was a constant favorite of the media. Personal strengths and tragic weaknesses have assured her of a perennial place in the public eye. In Ava Gardner: A Bio-Bibliography the actress's marriages to three of the entertainment business's most unique and influential contributors are highlighted as are her dozens of classic roles. This bio-bibliography is made complete by a careful list of sources and a generous view of her life through pictures. In Ava Gardner: A Bio-Bibliography, Fowler traces the actress's life from a possible family tree to her smalltown beginning to world stardom. This biography comprises most of the book. A chronological listing of her life achievements follows. Fowler also provides a complete listing of Ava's film, television, and radio appearances as well as her musical recordings. The book is completed by a bibliography of the writings on Ava Gardner, a record of the archival sources used in researching the book, and an index of personal names and titles. Interesting and personal photographs provide a rare glimpse of one of America's best loved screen personalities. This book will be of extreme interest to film lovers, library, or drama instructors and historians. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful biography
As a big fan of Ava, I really enjoyed this book.It gave good details of her beginnings and later life.A very good read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great photobook on the Grabtown Goddess that needs an English translation
Being in the middle of working my way through Lee Server's terrific _Love Is Nothing_ (which I plan to review once I've finished it), I was eager to get ahold of a photo retrospective on the lovely Ava.Gilles Dagneau's _Ava Gardner: The Rebel_ is currently unavailable on Amazon, so this book was Plan B.

The reviewer ought to know, first of all, that this book is in Spanish, published in Spain.No serious fan of Ava Gardner should be surprised at that; Ava fell in love with the country and its culture when she went there to do "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman", and even more so when she shot "The Barefoot Contessa" (this book's title literally means "the barefoot goddess"; Ava, like her "Contessa" character, loved going barefoot all her life).Therefore, if you don't read Spanish, you're necessarily going to miss out on the book's text, which is why I say it needs to be published in an English-language version.

However, the photos are terrific, and there are hundreds of them, from all stages of Ava's life and career, in color and B&W; the book is oversized, so you get a lot of gorgeous full-page imagery.The chapters are broken out mostly by each individual film that Ava had a role in over the years; while most of them are listed by their Spanish titles, any fan with a good knowledge of her movies ought to be able to identify them immediately, especially as each chapter has several pictures from the movie in question.

If only this book were in English, I could probably give it a full 5 stars.As it is, the superb photos, many of which don't appear in any English-language book on Ava to date, well justify a 4-star rating and a recommendation to all devoted Ava fans. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Ava (Lavinia) Gardner, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 919 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author