Cary Grant Books

"Evenings with Cary Grant" is the most incredible book. A sort of documentary on paper, Nancy Nelson uses an interview/intercut format and cleverly weaves a narrative through the most revealing and often amusing anecdotes. Cary Grant talks and then Gregory Peck. Katherine Hepburn says something, and then we hear from Audrey Hepburn. As one reviewer said, "When you get to the end, you feel as though you've lost a good friend." Nelson uses no conjecture or supposition. All her sources are primary. An announcement in a recent Sunday "New York Times" said that Nelson will speak about "The Cary Grant Few People Knew" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on June 15. I've got my ticket!

Like other reviewers, I'm a big Cary Grant fan. I usually hesitate to read about the personal lives of actors because they often lead disappointing lives. But Nelson's collection of stories and personal accounts from Grant's friends introduced me to the wonderful man behind the handsome movie star. I'm looking forward to watching his movies again after reading this book -- there is information from him and co-stars about some of the films that will make it fun to watch them again.

I absolutely love old movies,old stars, new movies and their stars, but I LOVE Cary Grant!!! So I wanted to get a book about him and I always check up on the author and how much they knew about the person they are writing about,and when I saw this book and I had to get it.This Book shows the life of Archie Leach (we know him as Cary Grant)his life growing up,and his rise to stardom,his love life,his friends, and his wonderful sense of humor.I was so happy to find out that the man we all fell in love with was the same in real life that he was onscreen.I don't want you to have to read a long review but I just wanted to say how much I love this book and the writers style.Every body should own this book.It's worth reading more than one time.

It is no easy thing to become so successful in one's career and yet be universally loved and respected as Cary Grant was in his lifetime.

Thanks to the author for focusing on the good of the man and ignoring the rest. He was a good man and that is enough. Ms. Nelson does a good job in giving us an idea of who the man really was--a gentleman who was loyal to his friends, if not his wives...but in the end, even THEY still loved him after it was over.

My only disappointment (not the author's fault) was to find out that Cary Grant hated "Arsenic and Old Lace," one of my favorite movies.

So many of us are admirers of Archie Leach... a.k.a. Cary Grant... and are always interested in learning more about the man, the individual, the actor... Well, Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best proved to be an enjoyable read, sans the Hollywood rumour mill that many of the other publications (i.e. Marc Elliott's recently published biography on CG) tend to promote. It's so easy to fill a book's pages with hearsay, especially when the subject is no longer even on the earth to speak for his/her self

I was pleased to find Nancy Nelson's book filled with stories from Cary Grant himself and so many of his friends who shared time with him both professionally and personally. If you are looking for a good read... a book that captures the essence of not only the Hollywood legend, but the man himself, I strongly suggest you grab a copy of this book and settle in for an informative and enjoyable experience!

If you like Cary Grant, you'll love this book. The photos are among the best I've seen. Jenny does a great job of summarizing Cary's life, sticking to the facts and leaving out the controversial rumors . I find my self constantly picking up this book just to gaze at the photos. This book will look great on any coffee table.

This is a must own book! It is so full of photos of Cary Grant and details so much of his life. I would call this a picture book, and promise you won't be disappointed! I had the privelege of meeting the author and having her sign my copy. She is a fellow eMail Warbride, is funny, witty, and a wonderful person. She has written several other books that are well worth owning as well. Do youself a favor, buy this book today! ...

Jenny does an excellent job showing off the magnificent CG. This is a must for all interested in Cary and his films. There are beautiful publicity shots and movie stills. Great Job Jenny!

P.S. Hey Brian Thanks!!!!!!

I received this book as a gift. It serves as an excellent guide to one of the most graceful and wonderful men of Hollywood. The pictures are beautifully arranged and capture the essence of who Mr. Grant was. Even the youngest Cary Grant fan will want to own this book.

Indeed, this book is one meant to be displayed. I was immediately struck by the slick, high-quality paper used to enhance the many, many photos of the dashing Cary Grant. Ms. Curtis leads us through Grant's life with comprehensive, yet concise captions beneath each photo. The dignity and charm in her writing reflect the beloved characteristics that personified Cary Grant.

Cary Grant was such a gentleman, so gay, charming and debonair. The pictures show him at his homoerotic best, to the delight of all his hardcore fans. This book is great, with nice writing and not a juicy detail left out (and were they ever juicy...*slurp*) Cary Grant is the man! Giddy-up, dah-ling! Ride 'em cowboy!

This is a great chronological account of CG's movies and his life in between and during each one as he made them. There are lot of common pictures, and some you rarely see. All the same, though, it's a wonderful biography, one of the best I've read.

I found this book to be a wonderful insight into the glorious life of Cary Grant....many have said it before ,however the combination of wonderful photographs and truthful respectful
wording makes this a must for Cary Grant Fans ....just great!!!

The book writes about so many episodos I would like to know.I am reading it everyday using English-Japanese dictionery and quite enjoyable.I really think it was so nice that I got it.

The most comprehensive Cary Grant filmography available, including a chapter-long informative biography. From his earliest stage appearances to cameos after he retired, this book lists them, even to include a chronology of the significant events in his life. Stage, film, radio, television, magazines, books, records ... if Cary did it, you'll most likely find it listed.

You'll find info on the casts, dates, studios, directors, crews, plot synopsis, reviews and commentaries on all his films. The commentaries often include information about the making of the film, choice of stars, profitability, working relationships, and events that occurred in Cary's life during the making of the film.

I'd call Buehrer's book my Cary Grant encyclopedia. Probably the book I turn to most often. If you want a comprehensive guide to Cary's work, this is it. You won't find better.

One note: While this book IS the ultimate Cary Grant reference book, it is not a Cary Grant photo book. There are very few photos. If you're looking for a great Cary Grant photo book to drool over, get "Cary Grant: A Life in Pictures" by Jenny Curtis.

... according to the rumor-mill and "The London Evening Standard."

This is an intimate portrait of "the most elegant man in the movies." Married five times, the last time at age 71, and fathered a child for the first time at age 62.

The real-life story is better than the movies!

A great brake-out effort by a talented new author. Intrigue and humor from beginning to end. Each encounter between the leads leaves you craving for more and Ms. Mathews delivers. I eagerly await her next work.

I'm sorry, but having actually read this I wonder if the author's editors were on holiday. While I can appreciate the point of view in discussing CG's fashion, throwing in colloquial terms like "dissed" into the text makes the over-all effort come off as less than serious. In this light the fact that the author spends an ENTIRE CHAPTER on CG's preference for women's underwear is downright creepy, and taken together it says more about the author than the subject of the book.

Really, this is stupid stuff, and the only thing to recommend it are the pictures, but the pictures aren't enough.

THIS IS AN AMAZING LOOK AT MR. GRANT. THIS RANKS UP WITH RICHARD SCHICKLES BOOK CARY GRANT , A CELEBRATION.I LOVE GRANT AND HAVE ALL HIS MOVIES AND MOST BOOKS ON HIM EXCEPT THE SCHLOCK LIES.HIS ACTING AND COMEDIC TAKES ARE BEYOND EVEN CHAPLIN OR KEATON AND IN SITUATION COMEDY HE WAS PEERLESS.I WAS LUCKY TO BE IN THE AUDIENCE FOR "AN EVENING WITH CARY GRANT" IN STAMFORD ABOUT A YEAR BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY.HE WAS CHARMING, ERUDITE, SELF- DEPRECATINGLY FUNNY ABOUT HIMSELF AND HOLLYWOOD AND HIS FRIENDS LIKE CROSBY, SINATRA , FLYNN, COOPER,STEWART, ROGERS ETC.AN IT WAS ALL I HOPED FOR AND FAR MORE.THERE WAS NEVER AND WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER CARY GRANT.OUCH.THE ACADEMY AWARDS COMMITTEE SHOULD DIE IN SHAME THAT HE ONLY RECEIVED AN HONORARY OSCAR. I CAN NAME 3 FILMS HE SHOULD HAVE HE SHOULD HAVE WON FOR.GET THIS BOOK AND PUT IT OUT AS A STAR PIECE ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE.WHERE HAVE YOU GONE ARCHIE LEACH???

I bought this book believing it was about the Cary Grant style and tips on the varies aspects of dressing well. To my surprise it was really a very short biography on CG with lots and lots of photos. Now I gave it four stars and not lower because I actually enjoyed it. Even though I've read CG biographies I must say this book has photos that I've never seen before and so that tops the flaws I found in the style department.

This biography is unique in that it reveals a connecting thread in all the stages of Cary Grant's life: his attentiveness to style.

Even in childhood Cary Grant was particular about the fabrics of his clothes. The book gives adequate treatment to his vaudeville and early Hollywood years and mentions some of his inspirations, such as Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

Cary Grant did not have a stylist like many celebrities do today. After failing his first screen test he worked at minimizing his flaws by making adjustments in his wardrobe. The book covers the highlights of his movie career and I appreciated the many behind-the-scenes glimpses and quotes from other actors. The book devotes the most space to the movie To Catch A Thief, considered by some as the most stylish movie ever. It also devotes many pages to his marriage to his fifth wife, Barbara, whom he married in his 70's.

Interspersed throughout are short features on topics such as pocket squares, jackets, dress shirts and bow ties. The book is loaded with photographs and is a pleasure to hold and to read. If you are a Cary Grant fan, or are simply interested in men's fashion, this book should not disappoint.

This book is very well done. After reading this book, I admired Mr. Grant even more. He was very deserving of admiration because he really worked hard at everything to achieve his status. The author did an excellent job.

This book would doubtless be better known, and better publicized, were it not published by a reputable university press. Don't mislead yourself, however. There's nothing tedious about McCann's book, which is very well written and measured in its judgments. Those wanting gossip and sensationalism should look elsewhere. Even those who know Grant's background and career will learn new things here. In a word: a splendid interpretation of an insidpensable performer.

Especially if your over 50. He looked, played & acted as the movie star he was. Women loved him. Men would have loved to be him. He was more often seduced than the seducer which was part of his charm. He never forgot who he was & where he came from: Archie Leech from Bristol, England. He was amiable & apolitical yet had a streak of independence & courage that led him to be one of the first stars to break with the studio system. That allowed him to be a free agent & pick the movies he wanted to do. It didn't always work out. Sometimes, the movies stank & he was the best thing in them. But most of his movies were money makers & that was really the only thing that counted. He was admired for his independence. He could be difficult to work with but was not tempermental. He was a professional working to perfect his craft as he liked to put it. This obsession with perfection did not work with the women he loved & he left four failed marriages in his wake. This failing apparently never occurred to him.
He didn't have to be pushed into old man roles & retired on his own terms. A class act.

If you want to find out everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - about Cary Grant then this is the book for you. All other books, including the latest biog, are glitzy and frothy and tell you nothing you hadn't already read if you are a big fan. Also some are not as revelationary as they would like to think.
If you are a serious fan then you can't beat this book.

It's detailed and well sourced and actually has quotes from people who actually knew him and lived through these events with the man. I felt like I actually had insight to the man rather than the image and the decades of gossip which seems to have been taken as fact by most of the other Cary Garnt biographers. He tells Cary Grant's story respectfully, but doesnt white wash the facts. The anecdotes as told by Cary's friends are fascinting, sometimes hilariously funny and often sad. He approaches the gossip as a researcher would and doesnt try to speculate or parse subjects to support hiw own personal oint of view or agenda.

This is the third biography I've read about Cary Garnt, and compared to the other very light offerings this was by far the best and most comprehensive. I learned for example that Cary Grant was not only a great charmer, but a shrewd businessman who consistently outwitted the studio bosses at every turn. I enjoyed learning about his incredible sense of honor which often times landed him in hot water and led to many of the vindictive rumors we are still hearing today. He hated the gossip columnists at the time and was embroiled in a very long and bitter battle with the likes of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, who he once told to mind her GD business. Got to love the guy.

Great book.

I wish I could say I wasn't disappointed in this book, since I was looking forward to a well-researched and engrossing book on a screen legend. However, I had to force myself to finish reading it and came away with very little enjoyment and appreciation for the subject. Very nearly ONE THIRD of the book (the latter portion) is not textual biography, but a glossary, filmography and voluminous footnote after footnote after footnote of data supporting the main body (2/3) of the book. Far too many distracting footnotes referenced on virtually every page of the book were significantly annoying, and in many instances a point was belabored ad infinitum. Many key points of detail and anecdotes relating to admired, classic CG movies weren't present, while others were - sorry - rather beaten to death. Supporting photographs were limited and failed to include more than good shots of the subject at a small, select time of his life. I expected a more linear, cohesive, colloquial narrative unencumbered by redundent grammatical 'precision.' The book was obviously well-researched, but extreme detail does not always do the subject or the audience justice.

I really loved this biography on Audrey Hepburn as well as previous biography I read by Alexander Walker `Audrey Her Real Story'. What grabbed me was the cover of 'Enchantment', which is now in paperback, but I had to review the hardback edition because the photo of Audrey is my absolute favorite shot of her. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to read about her life. I got this book in January 2007. I didn't feel it went into as much detail as `Audrey Her Real Story', but both deserve a space on any fans bookshelf. The book was also an objective take on her life and that took a little getting used to. I love how Donald Spoto incorporated some of Audrey's letters to others, and poems, as well as key lines from films like `The Children's Hour'. It was well researched. `Enchantment' goes into more detail then `Audrey Her Real Story' about Alfred Hitchcock's attempt to cast her in the film `No Bail for the Judge'. Audrey wouldn't have been right in an Alfred Hitchcock picture but I love his work and it would have been intriguing. This film never went ahead. Audrey's favorite film was `The Nun's Story'. It is brilliant. Instead of chapter titles, Donald marks his chapters by the years of Audrey's life. Everything appears to be accounted for. The pictures are wonderful. I have considered reading her son's biography on his mothers life entitled 'Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit A Son Remembers' by Sean Hepburn Ferrer, but haven't done so yet. I'm sure it is excellent. I may do it one day, however right now I feel completely satisfied with my knowledge on Audrey Hepburn's life and films.

Loved the book, lots of interesting details of her life.

More than a decade after her death, Audrey Hepburn remains an ideal of femininity in cinema and a role model for film stars in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Donald Spoto has penned a biography that manages successfully to tread the delicate line between treating her with proper reverence while offering genuine insight into her life and personality.

Abandoned early on by a roue of a father and raised by a caring but distant mother, Hepburn began as an aspiring ballet dancer in war-torn Holland. She rose to stardom both on Broadway and in Hollywood with astonishing speed, winning both the Tony and Oscar by the time she was twenty-five years old. She managed her career with a shrewdness that belied her delicate, vulnerable screen persona, rarely making any missteps in preserving a carefully constructed screen image, though Spoto turns an unwavering, and to this reader unnecessarily harsh, eye on many of her most popular films. Her private life was much less perfect. The author analyzes her two relatively long-term, by Hollywood standards, but unhappy marriages to fellow cinema actor Mel Ferrer and Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti, and many love affairs with a sympathetic tone that avoids sensationalization. His revelations concerning the star's passionate, doomed affair with playwright Robert Anderson during the filming of one of her best movies, Fred Zinneman's The Nun's Story, make moving reading. He achieves a signal success in implying a connection between Hepburn's surprisingly voracious sexual appetites and her emotionally barren childhood without clumsily stating the obvious.

Carefully researched, as evidenced by the many footnotes, Spoto's work is on the whole a model for film-star biographies. Ultimately he achieves his goal of bringing Hepburn to life in these pages, painting a portrait of a woman surprisingly anxious and insecure despite outward physical beauty and enviable artistic and commercial success, who never found true fulfillment in her personal life (except perhaps with her last partner, Robert Wolders), but did eventually find it in her untiring work for UNICEF, before tragically succumbing to cancer at all too early an age. For Hepburn the artist, despite extended discussions of most of her important films, one might have wished for a more balanced assessment, as well as a detailed filmography, the lack of which is the book's one real defect. Still, "Enchantment" is a remarkable achievement and easily transcends its frequently tawdry genre.

When I think of some of his previous work, Donald Spoto's priorities seem geared towards including enough scintillating information for good PR and improved sales. Perhaps I've been unfair. Not only does has he done historical work (Amazon.com called my attention to his historical biographies), but this is a well-researched, non-sensationalist biography of Ms. Hepburn. If anything, it could have standed something less objective, some sort of socio-cultural analysis of how we were and remain completely smitten with her, but Mr. Spoto shows restraint. A remarkable, truely admirable figure, this book illuminates some of her many roles both in and outside of Hollywood. There are some lovely black and white photos, but not many; one's hnger for that image must be satisfied elsewhere. One book cannot do its subject justice, but this is a very good beginning. You can appreciate Ms. Hepburn without having seen a single one of her films, but I can't think of one good reason why you'd want to.

Audry Hepburn was in a league of her own. When was the last time we heard of a star of this magnitude helping a friend in business and firing his/her manager for trying to make a profit from the help? While I was aware of her work with UNICEF, I was unaware of the depth of her commitment. The trip to Sudan was hard enough to read about. I cannot imagine going there as she did.

WWII's deep scars were well hidden from public view. For most of the war she and her family had daily fear for their lives and in the end were near death due stavation. A mere 8 years later Audrey is at the pinnacle of glitter and glamor of a film career with an Oscar. The effects of the war, the trials of living with a withholding aristocratic mother, the rigid roles for women in the 50's are mentioned but not discussed. The insecurities these brought on show in her marriages, and the emphathy shows in her above and beyond work for UNICEF as

This book covers the life, but not the inner person or the times. Fortunately, she is not a star in this time. Today's even more intrusive paparazzis and career journalists could destroy her for us and for herself. Spoto does a loving and respectful job of presenting her life.

I have already read some biogrphies of Cary Grant. All have been intersting and detailed. But this book is a special one and it`s worth every single page of it.
It`s written by an author with great emotions, respect and admiration for a man, like Cary Grant was one.
So this book shoes a different private but also positive aspect of his life and the person itself. If you want to know this fascinating man "Cary Grant" a little bit better, go and read this book!
You will love it!

I really liked this book....well written a fast reading.

This is an extraordinary book, very touching and moving. This is the inside story on Cary Grant, a remarkable man, one very private, who allowed Bill Royce to tell his true story. It's reminscent of "Tuesdays With Morrie" and can be considered a self-help book because of Grant's wisdom conveyed therein, and his example of friendship. It's not just another boring movie star book, but interesting revelations about how he led his life, the choices he made, the friendships created, how he dealt with crises, and became "Cary Grant." Cary never stopped working on himself, to make himself a better person, and it's inspiring to learn that he was such a fine person. I could not put it down, and enthusiasitically recommend this remarkable book. Bill Royce reveals the true story, which only he could tell as he saw Cary or spoke to him on a daily basis for ten years. Cary Grant was a man of substance, a class act, and now you can see why and how he achieved such stature and recognition.

If you want to read every book on Cary Grant, I guess you should read this book. One of the most interesting parts is Bill Royce's retelling of his bizarre encounter with Phil Spector at a party. Spector was ranting and chasing Royce with a gun because Spector thought Royce was Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

Cary Grant told his daughter, Jennifer, and last wife, Barbara, not to believe gossip about him being homosexual. He said after he died, people would come out of the woodwork with rumors and innuendo regarding his life and sexual preferences. He told them not to believe the vicious gossips.

Now Bill Royce says Cary Grant told him not to tell this until after he was gone, but that he had homosexual experiences, and was infatuated with Randolph Scott, and had a fling with some male assistant while he was making a movie with Sophia Loren. But all this was compartmentalized, and his gay experiences were in his past. Ok, whatever you say Bill.

Why did Bill Royce do this? Did he need money? I don't know if I believe what he alleges Grant told him, but even if Cary Grant did admit these things to Royce, I don't want or need to hear it.

Cary Grant's old girlfriend Maureen Donaldson supplied the photographs for this book. In her book, "An Affair to Remember," she says Grant denied being gay or having gay experiences. Ok, so Bill Royce, who worked with Maureen and knew both her and Grant very well, says Grant confided in him about his same-sex experiences, but Grant denied these sort of things to Maureen. Didn't Cary Grant think Maureen and Bill might compare notes? Of course he would. He wasn't stupid.

I've read better. I've read worse.

I will say there are parts of this book that are very interesting. As a whole it's so-so.

I have always enjoyed Cary Grant in some of his movies, particularly the comedies, but I can't say I was especially a fan of his -- until I read this book. It was a gift from a friend and I took my time before I picked it up and read it. And I am so glad I did!

Neither a sleazy tell all nor a sugar coated tribute, this is the story of a friendship between two people from vastly different backgrounds who shared a common bond -- deeply troubled childhoods with damaged relationships with their mothers. The author, Bill Royce, was 25 years old and a movie magazine editor in Hollywood in 1973 when he met Cary, then nearly 70 and retired from the screen. Cary called all rock and roll "noise" and Royce, who met Cary through a writer on his magazine's staff who was dating Cary at the time, challenged that assumption. From that point, Royce gave Cary a musical education which the latter requested for the sake of strengthening his relationship with his young daughter, Jennifer, from his marriage to Dyan Cannon.

It was this musical bond that started to unlock some of both men's secrets. After Royce played for Cary John Lennon's song, "Mother", in which Lennon sang "you had me but I never had you," Cary told Royce all about his traumatic relationship with his mother, Elsie, who disappeared from his life when he was 9. Cary's father had her put away in a mental sanitarium (in Bristol, England where Cary was born) so he could have an affair with another woman!

This is just the first of many revelations that come forth with music being the catalyst. We learn the truth about Cary's five marriages, his experiences with leading ladies like Sophia Loren, his relationship with Randolph Scott (much more poignant than I could have ever imagined!), and what role LSD really played in his life. And Royce's story -- it was his family secrets that inspired Cary to reveal his -- is equally fascinating, especially a very poignant part of the book in which Cary reunites Royce with his birth mother. That, for me, takes care of Cary's reputation as a stingy man! What a kind and generous soul he was!

The book at times reads like one of those psychological thrillers Cary starred in for Alfred Hitchcock, with revelation upon revelation spilling out. I have never read a book about a celebrity like this one. It is chock full of fascinating stuff about Cary, but it's all placed in the context of a portrait of a remarkable friendship. If you are a Cary Grant fan, you won't be disappointed. And if you weren't a fan of his before this, you will be after reading it!