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Description
In this moving memoir, Robert J. Wagner opens his heart to share the romances, the drama, and the humor of an incredible life He 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 naïve 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 infantren 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.
Customer reviews for 'Pieces of My Heart: A Life'
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From Mundy to Mundane
Of all the recently-published autobiographies of movie stars to come across this reader's desk, this is by far the dullest. Robert Wagner (for some reason calling himself Robert "J" Wagner here - I know his friends call him "RJ", but so what?), star of TV's It Takes a Thief and Hart to Hart, never hit the heights professionally, nor plumbed the depths he's just been...there. True, he has been there for well over fifty years, and never gives a bad performance, but he never gives a stunningly good one, either. Even Hart to Hart, for which he is probably best known, was one of the blandest series ever. The one thing in favour of this book is that it doesn't skirt around the death of Natalie Wood, although this reader does not share the ghoulish fascination felt by many. Clumsily put together (the same legal battles with the same TV producers are mentioned three times, with the same punchline - I don't think it's supposed to be a running gag, and if it is, it fails) there's a sense of detachment about the whole thing. I'm sure Robert Wagner is a decent man, and I'm sure there is some depth to him personally, but none of this comes across here. Compare and contrast with Robert Vaughn's autobiography and you'll see a big difference in quality.
[Tuesday, January 06, 2009]
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The Great RJ . . .
He was the young bad guy who fell off the Mountain with Spencer Tracy.
He was the young good guy who fell off the Titanic with Barbara Stanwyck.
He was the young evil guy who heaved Joanne Woodward off a high-rise in A Kiss Before Dying.
He was young thief who climbed rooftops in It Takes a Thief.
You get the idea.
What a career and life he's had. That said, since it's an autobio, it must be taken with a grain of salt. Overall he retains my admiration for his loyalty, respect and class even though he uses, GASP, curse words! Also he is honest to the point of settling a few scores in succinct sentences, which do not belabor the point. After 79 years, why walk on eggshells, especially in Hollywood.
Wagner is one of the few actors left who connect old & new Hollywood and what he has to say is interesting. Of course his take about what happened that fateful Thanksgiving weekend of 1981 was an important part of his story. That fact that he and his wife, Jill St. John, raised three healthy, normal young women out of that tragedy speaks volumes. Also his love and respect for his Donen stepsons reveals a warm and loving character.
I recommend this book for fans and for those who don't know Wagner. It is a fascinating quick trip through five decades of stardom, friendship, marriage and family.
[Tuesday, January 06, 2009]
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Shame on You RJ
I purchased this book thinking RJ Wagner was a classy gent. What I got out of it was an entirely different look at who this man really is. His use of the C and D words seemed completely unnecessary as did his comments about someone named OK, and David Niven's private parts. Really, did we need to know this. I can't believe this man has three daughters and would use such degrading terms to describe men and women's anatomy. I blame myself for not opening the book before I purchased it. The F____ C____ will never work in my studio again! and I have a frozen c___k. are two of the chapter titles I might have noticed, and therefore, not wasted my hard earned cash. Another case of Hollywood having no dignity, class or respect for common decency. How silly of me!
[Monday, January 05, 2009]
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