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Primetime TV Book Reviews
So, You Want to be in Pictures: The Making Of Hollywood Idols
by Tommy Lightfoot Garrett
Review by Temperance Goody
They just won’t go away, will they? We move on, our lives are crowded
with
all their current replacements, but we can’t get them out of our minds,
and
in many cases, our hearts.
They are the old movie stars, the ones who peopled the old silver screen,
the glittering stars we stared up at hour after endlessly happy hour in
the
double features, cartoons and news included, watching their passions and
joys,
sorrows, horrors and problems.
We’re lucky. Really lucky. Author Tommy Garrett has put together a
remarkable book (we hope the first of many) where he chronicles the lives
of so many
of “those who went before” and we cannot stop reading. The old
stars, some
of whom are still with us, are talked about in an easy breezy way by Mr.
Garrett and we find ourselves engaged in a conversation with him about
these
people he loves and respects. After all, Tommy knows and knew many of
them,
and he treats them all fairly and with a clean honesty. This is not
sleazy
tabloid stuff; this is a solid history book, the history of American
film,
films that greatly influenced America (and the world) from the 1920s on
up.
Tommy Garrett shows us that the hard, hard work put forth by these
neophyte
actors , most straight out of vaudeville or off any stage anywhere gave
today’s
actors and actresses the huge salaries, great working conditions, rights,
privileges and the very good lives they live and enjoy today. They owe it
all to
the blood sweat and tears of the great actors and actresses of the good
old
days.
Mr. Garrett’s book grabs, even before the biographies begin. His
teasing
introductions give the reader much information, but not enough to keep us
from
devouring the pages. The remarks sent over by his Australian “boss”
TV and
Radio personality Ernie Sigley (Tommy is his favorite star) tell us that
Tommy’s weekly appearances on his radio show are Australia’s most
wanted.
Mr. Garrett’s most moving tribute to our women and men in Afghanistan
and
Iraq at the start of this book is genuinely heartfelt, words written by a
very
learned man, a man who cares about these people in our military.
Now lest you think this book of Mr. Garrett’s is written only about
filmdom’
s dearly departed, you’d be wrong. His tributes to the very living
Constance
Towers Gavin, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Blyth, Lena Horne, Ruta Lee, Tab
Hunter,
Doris Day amongst many others, are lively, funny and most au courant.
Perhaps one of the finest things about this remarkable book is the fact
that
while Mr. Garrett really dishes the dirt, it’s never “dirt” in the
negative, painful sense. Mr. Garrett is not on any big vendetta quest
out to hurt or
embarrass anyone. He tells it the way it is; he has wonderful stories
about
these stars, many of which he himself were a part of. He gently removes
these people from the firmaments and makes them human --- perhaps a bit
different from the rest of us, but very human nonetheless.
The photos, most of which are his, signed over to him with love, are
scattered about the short, sharp biographies in interesting non-patterns,
holding
the reader’s attention, satisfying our need to stare at length at
those
astonishing faces and figures.
No great clumps of photos stuck in the
middle of
this book; no, they appear suddenly and surprisingly all through the
texts
making us know these people around which so many of our film memories
whirl;
Kate Hepburn, Bob Hope, Henry Fonda, Boris Karloff, John Wayne, and these
only
scratch the surface.
Fear not readers. If you do not see your favorite stars of yesteryear
(or
even your current favorites,) just wait a while. Tommy Garrett has
plans for
many more books, all filled with fascinating tales of these glittering
people, all filled with their beautiful photos. Imagine! You will love
reading
this first book and all the while you’re doing that, you’ll be
yearning for
all the next ones. Mr. Tommy Lightfoot Garrett will not disappoint. Keep
reading! And reading!
Visit
Tommy's Web Site
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