Synopses & Reviews
This wickedly candid memoir that Ava Gardner dared not publish during her lifetime offers a revealing self-portrait of the film legend’s life and loves in Hollywood’s golden age.
Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood’s great stars during the 1940s and ’50s, an Oscar-nominated leading lady who co-starred with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, among others. But this riveting account of her storied life and career had to wait for publication until after her death, so concerned was Gardner with its frankness.
“I either write the book or sell the jewels,” Gardner told coauthor Peter Evans, “and I’m kinda sentimental about the jewels.” The legendary actress serves up plenty of gems in these pages, reflecting with delicious humor and cutting wit on a life that took her from an impoverished childhood in North Carolina to the heights of stardom. Tell-all stories abound, especially when Gardner holds forth on her three husbands: Mickey Rooney, a serial cheater so notorious that even his mother warned Gardner about him; bandleader Artie Shaw, whom Ava calls “a dominating son of a bitch… always putting me down”; and Frank Sinatra (“We were fighting all the time. Fighting and boozing. It was madness. But he was good in the feathers.”).
She has just as much to say about lovers, such as Howard Hughes (“Howard was in my life, on and off, for more than twenty years, but I never loved him.”) and George C. Scott (“I was scared to death of him.”) and would-be lover John Huston (“He had a great life. He lived like a king. God, I miss him.”) — all of whom get Gardner’s unflinchingly honest treatment.
“If I get into this stuff, oh, honey, have you got something coming,” Ava told Evans. Get ready for the most revealing Hollywood autobiography in decades.
Review
"[Makes] you feel as if you're eavesdropping....Watching this Venus ply her mind games, sensuality and stubborn will on [her coauthor, Peter] Evans, it's easy to imagine what it was like to be a love object jerked on her marionette strings in her prime. You wouldn't have a chance." Maureen Dowd, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"I read Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations in a delirious gulp. It is absolutely terrific. I couldn't put it down. Gardner comes across as a flamboyant but tragic figure who always spoke the truth no matter how painful. And the way writer Peter Evans has shaped their conversations is truly remarkable."
Patricia Bosworth, author of Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman
Review
"Jaw-dropping anecdotes about film legends and the studio system in its heyday make this an irresistible read....Even seasoned fans will learn fresh tidbits about ex-husbands Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra, as well as her tumultuous relationships with Howard Hughes and George C. Scott....Gardner is funny and frank, and Evans's diligence makes the book not only one of the more revealing celebrity autobiographies published recently, but a candid glimpse into the world of a ghostwriter, star handler, and late-night confidante."
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
"An unvarnished account of [Gardner's] marriages and affairs in golden-age Hollywood....Give[s] a vivid sense of Gardner's salty, no-BS personality....Juicy."
Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A complete delight....[Gardner's] quotes exude the musk of a woman supremely indifferent to the social proprieties and expectations of her era....Her's is the heartbreaking memoir of the ultimate heartbreaker."
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Review
"As a siren, [Gardner] held her own with [Marilyn] Monroe. And to judge by Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations, Gardner was a more interesting woman....A little jewel of a book."
Harry Levins, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Synopsis
This wickedly candid memoir that Ava Gardner dared not publish during her lifetime offers a revealing self-portrait of the film legend's life and loves in Hollywood's golden age.
"I EITHER WRITE THE BOOK OR SELL THE JEWELS," Ava Gardner told her coauthor, Peter Evans, "and I'm kinda sentimental about the jewels." So began the collaboration that led to this remarkably candid, wickedly sardonic memoir.
Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood's great stars during the 1940s and 1950s, an Oscar-nominated lead-ing lady who co-starred with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, among others. Her films included Show Boat, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, The Barefoot Contessa, and On the Beach. But her life off the screen was every bit as fabulous as her film roles.
Born poor in rural North Carolina, Gardner was given a Hollywood tryout thanks to a stunning photo of her displayed in a shop window. Not long after arriving in Hollywood, she caught the eye of Mickey Rooney, then America's #1 box-office draw. Rooney was a womanizer so notorious that even his mother warned Gardner about him. They married, but the marriage lasted only a year ("my shortest husband and my biggest mistake"). Ava then married band leader and clarinetist Artie Shaw, who would eventually marry eight times, but that marriage, too, lasted only about a year ("he was a dominating son of a bitch . . . always putting me down"). She carried on a passionate affair with Howard Hughes but didn't love him, she said. Her third marriage was a tempestuous one to Frank Sinatra ("We were fighting all the time. Fighting and boozing. It was madness. . . . But he was good in the feathers").
Faithfully recording Ava's reminiscences in this book, Peter Evans describes their late-night conver-sations when Ava, having had something to drink and unable to sleep, was at her most candid. So candid, in fact, that when she read her own words, she backed out and halted the book. Only now, years after her death, could this frank and revealing memoir be published.
"If I get into this stuff, oh, honey, have you got something coming," Ava told Evans. Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations is the stunning story of a legendary star's public and private lives.
Synopsis
"I EITHER WRITE THE BOOK OR SELL THE JEWELS," Ava Gardner told her coauthor, Peter Evans, "and I'm kinda sentimental about the jewels." So began the collaboration that led to this remarkably candid, wickedly sardonic memoir.
Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood's great stars during the 1940s and 1950s, an Oscar-nominated leading lady who co-starred with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, among others. Her films included Show Boat, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, The Barefoot Contessa, and On the Beach. But her life off the screen was every bit as fabulous as her film roles.
Born poor in rural North Carolina, Gardner was given a Hollywood tryout thanks to a stunning photo of her displayed in a shop window. Not long after arriving in Hollywood, she caught the eye of Mickey Rooney, then America's #1 box-office draw. Rooney was a womanizer so notorious that even his mother warned Gardner about him. They married, but the marriage lasted only a year ("my shortest husband and my biggest mistake"). Ava then married band leader and clarinetist Artie Shaw, who would eventually marry eight times, but that marriage, too, lasted only about a year ("he was a dominating son of a bitch... always putting me down"). She carried on a passionate affair with Howard Hughes but didn't love him, she said. Her third marriage was a tempestuous one to Frank Sinatra ("We were fighting all the time. Fighting and boozing. It was madness.... But he was good in the feathers").
Faithfully recording Ava's reminiscences in this book, Peter Evans describes their late-night conversations when Ava, having had something to drink and unable to sleep, was at her most candid. So candid, in fact, that when she read her own words, she backed out and halted the book. Only now, years after her death, could this frank and revealing memoir be published.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;Peter Evansandlt;/Bandgt; was a columnist and foreign correspondent with the andlt;i andgt;Daily Expressandlt;/iandgt; (UK), and wrote for the andlt;i andgt;Los Angeles Timesandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;i andgt;Vogueandlt;/iandgt;, as well as every major newspaper in Britain. His books include andlt;i andgt;Peter Sellers: The Man Behind the Maskandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;i andgt;Nemesisandlt;/iandgt;. He died in 2012.andlt;bandgt;Ava Gardnerandlt;/bandgt; was born in Grabtown, North Carolina, in 1922. Her films include andlt;iandgt;The Killersandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Showboatandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Mogamboandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;The Barefoot Contessaandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;The Sun Also Risesandlt;/iandgt;, and andlt;iandgt;On the Beachandlt;/iandgt;. She died in London in 1990.