I came across this book last week at a flea market in Litchfield and almost passed it by because, at first glance, the content looked like short magazine articles on the same stars you find in most old Hollywood books: Grouch Marx, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Mae West, etc. Instead, I bought it because the pictures intrigued me. But then I brought it home and couldn't stop reading it. Patricia Fox-Sheinwold has a laid-back style of writing that is reminiscent of radio interviewers of the 1950s. She covers a lot of territory in a short amount of space and manages to include some fascinating bits of trivia I never knew. For example, did you know that John Barrymore climbed Mount Blanc? That Spencer Tracy refused to wear makeup, that Humphrey Bogart named his son Stephen after the character he played in "To Have and Have Not", and that Betty Grable kept her figure for years by playing bowling and golf?
Gone But Not Forgotten includes 22 biographies, not only of comedians, actors, and actresses but musicians like Duke Ellington and Guy Lombardo and two "originals" ( Alfred Hitchcock and Walt Disney ). If you happen to find it at an antique shop or a second-hand book shop, the book is well worth adding to your film library.
Gone But Not Forgotten was published by Bell Publishing in 1981 and later republished by Random House in 1988, so there are two editions available to find.
I have had this book for decades, and never really checked it out. I'm going to now, though. Thank you for this review!
ReplyDeleteYes, check it out! I'm surprised you have a copy of it already. I never heard of the book prior to seeing it at the flea market!
DeleteGood News if you'd like to read for free: https://archive.org/details/gonebutnotforgot0000foxs
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the link, Robsco!
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