Favorite Books on Directors, Actors, Etc.?

I love biographies, but I really love autobiographies, because its (hopefully) coming from the source, even if they might leave out a few details.

Or a book about Hollywood, or the movie-making process... I just bought one entitled, "Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Movemaking"

I have Marlon Brando's autobiography "Songs My Mother Taught Me" and would highly recommend it.

Highly recommend
Conversations with Filmmakers Series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conver...mmakers_Series

I'll add more once I take a look... Please share any recommendations!

I love autobiographies too. (Waiting for Mick Jagger or Jimmy Page to write theirs.)

Just put Brother and Sister: A Memoir in my w-list. Diane Keaton writes about her troubled brother.

The late Steve McQueen’s wife wrote about her life with him, which I enjoyed. Very gracious lady who didn’t write a single nasty word about Ali MacGraw.

Will try to think of more.

__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

Hitchcock - Revised Edition by Francois Truffaut (Simon and Schuster, 1983). This book by director Truffaut is the best from his several days' interviews with the master. It's my go-to book on most everything Hitchcock.

I would LOVE for Jimmy Page to write one.. I did hear that Robby Krieger of The Doors is writing one. Hope he (or I) live long enough to see it through.


I have a Steve McQueen biography, but never finished it. This is my biggest problem. I've done this with over 100 books.

I have a giant film-related library. Like a few hundred books and counting. Among my favorites is Simon Callow's (so far) three volume biography on Orson Welles, starting with The Road to Xanadu then Hello Americans and One-Man Band. They are exceptionally well written and endlessly fascinating, these three volumes covering his childhood through Chimes at Midnight. A final fourth volume covering the last twenty years of his life is pending. Callow is likely best known as an actor, his most famous role being Gareth in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

As you can imagine, this was a real page-turner...I think it took me about three days to read it.

Some of my favorite autobiographies include Peter O'Toole's Loitering with Intent (there are two volumes), Sterling Hayden's Wanderer, John Huston's An Open Book, John Cleese's So, Anyway..., Steve Martin's Born Standing Up, and Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking.

I love to read film stars auto/biographies, especially from the stars of the silent screen through to the 50's.
I have read both Fred Astaires and Ginger Rogers books, very good reads. Also read Chaplins autobiography, but he doesn't really delve into his process of making his films or much info about them at all from what i can recall, lol.
Fay Wray's book is a good read also, remembered for Kong, she was in many a film that are largely forgotten today.

I am currently reading Celia Johnsons biogrpahy by her daughter Kate Fleming and i have James Masons and Rik Mayalls books to read too.

Other books about the industry i have read are the RKO story which goes through the history of the company. It also has a list of every single film that RKO released too.

I have most of the story of film, which is a really long book from the very first moving pictures that were filmed in Leeds (i think so anyway) all the way through to when it was published in 2004.

I have also read a couple of books on the alledged scandals that happened during the golden age of cinema, it tells the stories of things like the Roscoe Arbuckle case and such.

You have an impressive list. I loved Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945). She wasn't too shabby in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1965) either... What do you think of her biography?

~Doc

I am almost done with Shirtless in Hollywood, the autobiography of Matthias Hues, the German born action star of 80s/90s B-movie gems like I Come in Peace, Kickboxer 2, Mission of Justice, and No Retreat, No Surrender 2. Great read about his life.

I am reading next Art Camacho's autobiography, A Filmmaker's Journey. I got to talk to him years ago. Wonderful guy. He's an actor, director, and fight choreographer on many of the now defunct PM Entertainment label working with Don Wilson, TJ Robert's, and choreographed Half Past Dead's action scenes.

Excellent book. I must re-read it if I can find it on my shelves.


This reminds me: Liv Ullman’s books have been very interesting. And her daughter with Bergman - Linn Ullman - wrote a very good semi-biography of her parents last year.

At first I thought you quoted me for my misspelling of biography.
Thanks, so far I find it very interesting. It is a biography, not a autobiography as Celia didn't want to write her memoirs.
So her daughter Kate wrote it and while I haven't finished it yet, I am enjoying reading it very much.
A lot of it is comprised of letters that Celia Wrote to her husband Peter Fleming (brother of Ian) and the letters that she received from Peter.
It naturally talks about her career on the stage and screen, but it also tells of times like when she balanced her acting work, her home life and her work during WW2 working in the police force.
She lived a very interesting life so I would recommend it.

I'm not finished, but "Bloody Sam: The Life and Films of Sam Peckinpah" is one I'd recommend. I like some of his movies, but always found him to be more interesting that his films.