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Guests | April 18, 2013
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$14.99
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This title in other editionsDropped Names: Famous Men and Women as I Knew Themby Frank Langella
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Captured forever in a unique memoir, Broadway and film star Frank Langella's myriad encounters with some of the past century's most famous human beings are profoundly affecting, funny, wicked, sometimes shocking, and utterly irresistible. With sharp wit and a perceptive eye, Mr. Langella takes us with him into the private worlds and privileged lives of movie stars, presidents, royalty, literary lions, the social elite, and the greats of the Broadway stage.
How did Mr. Langella terrify a dozing Jackie Onassis? Why did he streak for Sir Laurence Olivier in an English castle? What led Elizabeth Taylor to wrap him in her pashmina scarf? Why did the Queen Mother need Mr. Langella's help? And what did Marilyn Monroe say to him that helped change the course of his life? Through these shared experiences, we learn something, too, of Mr. Langella's personal journey from the age of fifteen to the present day. Like its author — and its subjects — Dropped Names is simply riveting and unforgettable. Review:“Splendid....As much a memoir as a primer on the vicissitudes of an actors life, the book is a collage based on real-life situations that offer touching insights into stars like Rita Hayworth, and into the practical magic that informs Langella's signature sensibility.” The New Yorker
Review:“Rarely have I read a book about celebrities that is as insightful, candid, revealing, and as well-written as this one. Frank Langella's memoir is not the usual authors ego trip, but rather his remembrances of the many accomplished men and women that he has come to know.” Gay Talese, author of A Writer's Life
Review:“A delightfully unabashed page-turner about people we wish we had known in the throes of work, love, and growing old.” A.R. Gurney, award-winning playwright
Review:“Engaging....Not just Langella's 'famous people I have known,' but a heartfelt love letter to the theater and to the days when stars were stars, not merely celebrities.” Kirkus Reviews
Review:“Dropped Names is a sizzling platter of stellar vignettes — pungent, for sure, but poignant too....Mr. Langella is surgically precise, and eloquent....The human condition in most of its vagaries is beautifully rendered between these pages.” Liz Smith
Review:“ If Frank Langella's memoir simply did what its title promises, it would be deep-dish gossip. But his memories of the stars hes encountered during a lengthy career on Broadway and in film shed perceptive light on the costs of pursuing and maintaining fame.” Detroit Free Press
Review:“Langella's uncommonly eloquent book is enjoyable for the panoply of great names who turn up....A natural raconteur, he seems to fit precisely Henry James's famous description of the novelist as one ‘on whom nothing is lost.'” New York Times
Review:“Frank Langella's Dropped Names is a different kind of memoir....Not many of his peers could write such an eloquently dishy book.” Los Angeles Times
About the AuthorFrank Langella has been a professional actor for over five decades and hopes to carry on for several more. He began performing as a boy in his hometown of Bayonne, New Jersey, and currently resides in New York City. This is his first book.
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Arts and Entertainment » Film and Television » Actors » Biographies
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