The Fat Lady Sang: A Legendary Producer's Memoir―Giddy Highs, Near-Fatal Lows, and Triumph

I greatly enjoyed Robert Evans' first biography, "The Kid Stays In The Picture" published in the early 90s; the title refers to Evans having been cast in the screen adaptation of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises in 1957 as a Spanish matador and love interest for Lady Brett, portrayed by Ava Gardner. The cast, including Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn thought that Evans' acting was a joke , however, Darryl Zanuck, head of production at 20th Century Fox, came to Madrid and announced through a loudspeaker that "the kid stays in the picture". Evans, after an undistinguished acting career, became the head of production at Paramount, anointed by Charles Bludhorn, and he oversaw the filming of Coppola's The Godfather [ he butted heads with the director over the construction of the film] Rosemary's Baby[ he fought for Polanski as director and Mia Farrow as star; her refusal to leave the film cost Farrow her marriage to Frank Sinatra]; Love Story [ he ultimately married its star Ali MacGraw ], True Grit, and The Odd Couple. Thereafter, he became an independent producer of such critical and commercial successes as Chinatown and Marathon Man. This sequel deals with the rebirth of his career following the phenomenal success of the first book and the well received documentary produced by Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair, and to a great extent with his miraculous recovery from a series of debilitating strokes suffered in 1998. He documents his convalescence from the strokes which initially caused a paralysis of his arm and leg and impaired his speech and gait. He defied his renowned doctors, who projected a dramatically limited existence, and he made a full functional recovery. He also recounts a whirlwind courtship and very brief marriage to the stunning and much younger Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg, which is fascinating and hilarious. He relates adventures with Alain Delon, the French acting icon, with his close friends Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty and his ongoing pursuit of beautiful women, past and present. There is a particularly moving passage involving his receipt of a prestigious life achievement award named after David O. Selznick, which is presented to Evans by Dustin Hoffman, with whom the producer worked in Marathon Man; Hoffman does a dead on impression of Evans which is visible in "The Kid" documentary and in the You Tube presentation. The speech, memorialized in its entirety, is hysterical, poignant and perceptively sums up the career of this fascinating man who loves life, lives in a magnificent home, and loves the process of making movies. Highly recommended to all who enjoyed the first book and who are interested in a life affirming biography of a film icon.

An interesting peek into the ups & downs & the inside world of a very successful producer. Kinda sad in a lot of ways. He's had lots of attractive women, but you see that he's not been good at keeping them. Also inspiring: his 3 strokes while still in his 50's was quite a blow, and he went broke at one point as well. Very smart guy, able to pull himself back up, even after all sorts of tragedy thrown his way. And still going strong!

Wonderful follow up to "The Kid Stays in the Picture." and to really appreciate the book to start with that. No it's not great literature but the uniqueness of its authors' voice and story are so compelling, I have to give it five stars. Undoubtedly Mr Evans had some help writing this but I really like that it's in HIS voice -- the same syntax and rhythm you'll hear in his narration of his wonderful documentary. Kind of a ''rat - a - tat'' rat pack esque cadence. Mr Evans is of a disappearing breed who knew old Hollywood the ''golden era'', and also were active in more contemporary times. There are very few of them, that knew the way deals really went down, was well acquainted, if not to say adept in, (with help from powerful friends) the down and dirty wheeler dealing, yet he presided over some of the best movies of the late twentieth century. By his telling, luck, great looks, knowing ''connected'' people and street smarts put him in the right place at the right time, that found him improbably head of a studio with very little substantial experience. I suspect there was a little more to it than that but it's still an incredible story. Like virtually all autobiographies it tends to be self serving, but at least his warts, stumbles, and missteps are told with some frankness and humor. The most compelling part to me is that he is one of a dying breed, the old Hollywood mogul, with just a whiff of the thugland clinging to him, yet sleekly cool and cynical in that raptor esque "Hollywood'' style, while remaining irressistably self deprecating and funny. He writes about his losses wryly, and seems not to care so much about failing fortunes, as much as losing his place in the ''game.''

Great follow up to The Kid Stays in the Picture. I get Robert Evans. Yes, he's pompous. But he also led a fascinating life that many of us would like to lead: beautiful woman, fascinating business running a studio at a young age and then being a successful producer but of course he then screws it up with a bizarre cocaine/insinuated murder scandal, most of which doesn't concern him other than the cocaine. Hey, it's Hollywood. Get in line. But the comeback with the first book and documentary are more than a down on his luck guy could ask for. Evans then has a serious stroke and this book just rambles with different stories, most of which are quite fascinating. What I really enjoy doing is when he describes fascinating beautiful people of the late 50s/60s look them up on the internet and confirm their life story or interaction with him. Most of the women mentioned are stunningly beautiful in an over made-up 60s kind of way. In this book I become fascinated by Ribrioso. It's a person but it's also what they call a large pepper shaker in Paris. You look it up. Interesting time, interesting life, interesting person and a pretty quick read. Works for me and possibly you too.

c'est le 2ième livre de Robert Eva,s que je lis. C'est un "sacré personnage" qui se raconte en toute franchise. j'aime cela !!!!

It is true that this book does not reach the standard of the Kid Stays in the Picture but it is still worth reading. It is not a continuation of the life of Robert Evans. Its more reminiscences rather than a linear story but it still has the same quality story telling with the same honest approach.

Continuación de "The Kid Stays In The Picture", muy bueno igualmente, quizá un poco menos bueno porque se narran los hechos "casi a la vez que se escriben", y lía alguna vez. Pero una buena lectura, sin duda

Not as good as "The Kid Stays In The Picture" but almost!

Sehr speziell und ein bisschen dated