Synopses & Reviews
Tantalizing tales about Hollywood's most demanding leading ladiesWhich slapstick redhead reduced Joan "Mommie Dearest" Crawford to tears? What tragic songbird secretly carried vodka to her ambulance as she was carted off on a stretcher? Can you name the blond prima donna who went on a shopping spree so wild that she bought a whole town? These are but a few of the high jinks of Hollywood's favorite "It Girls," whose overdrive to personal and career excess has earned them the rank of diva.
From Marilyn Monroe to Madonna, Zsa Zsa Gabor to J. Lo, substance-abusing Drew Barrymore to her regal but tipsy great-aunt Ethel, Hollywood chronicler James Robert Parish reveals all the exciting details in Hollywood Divas. This photo-filled volume delivers an eye-popping, backstage peek into the wild private lives and cutthroat careers of 70 rampaging bad girls of Hollywood, assembled here for the first time and guaranteed to titillate you with shocking tales of:
- Unrestrained lust
- Drug addiction
- Alcoholism
- Hushed-up pregnancies
- Out-of-control tantrums
- And just plain bratty and brazen behavior
A must-have for every pop-culture fanatic, Hollywood Divas promises to tantalize you with juicy tidbits and saucy scandals that earned each of these devilish darlings the title of Diva.
Synopsis
A tantalizing peek behind Hollywood's most hard-tohandle leading ladiesFrom the birth of the silver screen, "It Girls" laid down a sequined trail of self-indulgence and scandalous bad behavior. The stars in this exclusive sorority are both loved and loathed by the press, the fans, and even by each other. Bette Davis once said of Joan Crawford, "I wouldn't sit on her toilet!" Crawford and Davis raised the bar for the women who followed them into Diva-dom. Hollywood Divas traces that glittering pathfrom legendary icons to today's most high-maintenance celebrities of film and TV.
Includes such stars as:
- Gloria Swanson
- Joan Crawford
- Judy Garland
- Marilyn Monroe
- Cher
- Madonna
- Julia Roberts
- Jennifer Lopez
- Britney Spears
Bestselling showbiz author James Robert Parish delivers an eye-popping behind-thescenes peek into the wild private lives of 70 rampaging bad girls of Hollywood.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 291-298) and index.
About the Author
James Robert Parish, a former entertainment reporter and publicist, is the author of numerous books, including The Hollywood Book of Death and Hollywood Bad Boys (both available from Contemporary Books). A well-known authority on show business, he appears frequently on A&E's "Biography" and E! Television's "Mysteries and Scandals," as well as numerous other network and cable television documentaries. He lives in Studio City, California.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Jean Arthur
Lucille Ball
Tallulah Bankhead
Theda Bara
Drew Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore
Kim Basinger
Clara Bow
Louise Brooks
Brett Butler
Mariah Carey
Cher
Joan Collins
Joan Crawford
Dorothy Dandridge
Bette Davis
Dolores Del Rio
Marlene Dietrich
Shannen Doherty
Patty Duke
Faye Dunaway
Jane Fonda
Kay Francis
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Greta Garbo
Ava Gardner
Judy Garland
Greer Garson
Paulette Goddard
Melanie Griffith
Jean Harlow
Susan Hayward
Rita Hayworth
Sonja Henie
Katharine Hepburn
Miriam Hopkins
Whitney Houston
Betty Hutton
Janet Jackson
Grace Kelly
Veronica Lake
Hedy Lamarr
Jennifer Lopez
Jeanette MacDonald
Madonna
Jayne Mansfield
Liza Minnelli
Marilyn Monroe
Maria Montez
Demi Moore
Mae Murray
Vera Ralston
Joan Rivers
Julia Roberts
Roseanne
Diana Ross
Meg Ryan
Norma Shearer
Cybill Shepherd
Britney Spears
Sharon Stone
Barbra Streisand
Gloria Swanson
Elizabeth Taylor
Lana Turner
Lupe Velez
Mae West
Shelley Winters
Natalie Wood
Loretta Young
Bibliography
About the Author