Author: Dorothy Lamour
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Published: 1980
Total Pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9780132185943
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With this eye-opening autobiography, one of Hollywood's most durable personalities reveals a surprisingly dramatic private life that's scarcely suggested by her glamorous screen image. The exotic costumes of the Road pictures hid a woman of extraordinary versatility: beauty contest winner, comedienne, radio star, fashion model, nightclub singer, vaudeville trouper, war bond saleswoman, dramatic actress, musical comedy star, divorcee, stuntwoman--and dedicated wife and mother. Few movie buffs know that Dorothy Lambour was voted Miss New Orleans only after a successful tour on the Fanchon and Marco circuit--only to wind up running an elevator for a living. She sang with Rudy Vallee and Herbie Kay (who became her first husband)--and was one of the most reluctant stars Hollywood ever created. She never accepted Louis B. Mayer's offer of a screen test. Cast as star of her first film, The Jungle Princess, she was mortified by her sarong costume, her appearance in the rushes, and by the outrageous publicity Paramount created to launch her career. She hit her stride during Hollywood's heyday, when off-camera events often eclipsed what the public saw on screen. Here she reveals her experiences with co-workers like Betty Grable, John Wayne, Jack Oakie, Fred MacMurray, Anthony Quinn, Ray Milland, Alan Ladd, Mae West, Cecil B. DeMille, Carole Lombard, John Ford and Robert Preston. Why The Hurricane's crew held a grudge against Jon Hall, and how they exacted their revenge; how love scenes with William Holden and Tyrone Power were ruined by an appendectomy and a whoopee cushion, respectively; the violent and oft-censored behavior of her chimpanzee co-stars; how she doffed her sarong for serious dramatic roles in Wild Harvest, Manhandled, and A Medal for Benny; the inspired wisecrackery on Bing, Bob, and Dorothy's first Road to Singapore, the bitter wrangles over the final Road to Hong Kong--and the name of the woman identified as Dorothy Lamour at Crosby's funeral. After her wartime marriage to Air Corps Lieutenant William Howard, she raised two sons while expanding her career into personal appearances, nightclubs, and the legitimate theater. Even as her film career seemed to dim, she appeared at the London Palladium and later undertook a grueling national tour in the title role of Hello, Dolly! Now, she shares the tragic story of her husband's final illness, and her resolve to keep on fulfilling her duties to her public, her family--and ultimately, to herself. Illustrated with photographs from her personal collection, this is the self-portrait of an artist whose rare honesty and character, warmth and courage have, until now, been known only to a privileged few.--From dust jacket.
