Pieces of My Heart Robert J. Wagner; Scott Eyman

Pieces of My Heart

Author: Robert J. Wagner and Scott Eyman

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Publication Date: 23 September, 2008

ISBN: 9780061373312

Pages: 336

Subjects: Biographies

Available as: Trade Cloth, 978-0-06-137331-2 Trade Paper, 978-0-06-137332-9 Trade Paper, 978-0-06-166852-4 E-Book - Sony Format, 978-0-06-170588-5 E-Book - netLibrary, 978-0-06-170598-4 E-Book - , 978-0-06-170587-8 E-Book - , 978-0-06-170584-7 E-Book - Microsoft Reader Level 5, 978-0-06-170585-4 E-Book - eReader (AKA Palm Reader), 978-0-06-170586-1

Description:

In this moving memoir, Robert J. Wagner opens his heart to share the romances, the drama, and the humor of an incredible lifeHe grew up in Bel Air next door to a golf course that changed his life. As a young boy, he saw a foursome playing one morning featuring none other than Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Randolph Scott, and Cary Grant. Seeing these giants of the silver screen awed him and fueled his dreams of becoming a movie star. Battling a revolving door of boarding schools and a father who wanted him to forget Hollywood and join the family business, sixteen-year-old Wagner started like any naīve kid would-walking along Sunset Boulevard, hoping that a producer or director would notice him.Under the mentorship of stars like Spencer Tracy, he would become a salaried actor in Hollywood's studio system among other hot actors of the moment such as his friends Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis. Working with studio mogul Darryl Zanuck, Wagner began to appear in a number of films alongside the most beautiful starlets-but his first love was Barbara Stanwyck, an actress twice his age. As his career blossomed, and after he separated from Stanwyck, he met the woman who would change his life forever, Natalie Wood. They fell instantly and deeply in love and stayed together until the stress of their careers-hers marching upward, his inexplicably deflating-drove them to divorce.Trying to forget the pain, he made more movies and spent his time in Europe with the likes of Steve McQueen, Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Liz Taylor, and Joan Collins. He would meet and marry the beautiful former model and actress Marion Marshall. Together they had a daughter and made their way back to America, where he found himself at the beginning of a new era in Hollywood-the blossoming of television. Lew Wasserman and later Aaron Spelling would work with Wagner as he produced and starred in some of the most successful programs in history.Despite his newfound success, his marriage to Marion fell apart. He looked no further than Natalie Wood, for whom he still pined. To the world's surprise, they fell in love all over again, this time more deeply and with maturity. As she settled into a domestic life, raising their own daughter, Courtney, as well as their children from previous marriages, Wagner became the sole provider, reaping the riches of television success. Their life together was cut tragically short, though, when Wood died after falling from their yacht.For the first time, Wagner writes about that tremendously painful time. After a serious bout with depression, he finally resurfaced and eventually married Jill St. John, who helped keep his family and his fractured heart together.With color photographs and never-before-told stories, this is a quintessentially American story of one of the great sons of Hollywood.

PW Publishers Weekly

Review Source: Publishers Weekly

Review Date: 2008-08-11

Actor and producer Wagner begins this engaging memoir by recalling his childhood fascination with movies and the Hollywood community. Determined to become a part of that world, in 1942, at age 12, he worked as a golf caddy, struggling to make contact with those who could help him. As an 18-year-old Fox contract player, he got a foothold with minor roles: "I wasn't very good in this period, but I was diligent." Soon he scored with Prince Valiant in 1954, and A Kiss Before Dying, thus beginning a six-decade career in theater, television series and more than 100 movies. His rule of thumb: "Find smart people and listen to them." Along the way, he realized friends and family were equally as important as show business, and he writes with fondness and humor about his close friendships with David Niven and others while painting a backdrop of Hollywood in transition. As for the women in Wagner's life, he details one-night stands, his four-year affair with Barbara Stanwyck (who was twice his age) and his four marriages (twice to Natalie Wood). His love for Wood threads throughout, and his memory of her last night is chilling as he leads the reader step-by-step through her 1981 disappearance from their boat and the search for her body. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved