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Summary
Summary
The life of Ingrid Bergman (1915-1982) is as compelling as that of any of the women she portrayed in dozens of unforgettable movies and plays -- a list that includes Casablanca, Intermezzo, Gaslight, The Bells of St. Mary's, Notorious, Anastasia, and Hedda Gabler. Hers is a story that begins with a tragic childhood in Sweden, then moves on to the nightmare of Germany under the Nazis and later to Hollywood in its golden age. From her position as America's most beautiful, admired, and loved actress, she was plunged into national disgrace and branded "an apostle of degradation" for her adulterous love affair with Roberto Rosellini in the late 1940s. But her independent spirit triumphed in the end, winning her honors and accolades even as she fought an eight-year battle with cancer. Donald Spoto, who knew Ingrid Bergman and had unprecedented access to her husbands, friends, lovers, directors, and costars, as well as to her papers, letters, and diaries, has written a biography that the San Francisco Chronicle called "mesmerizing" and "deeply moving" -- the definitive account of a consummate actress who dared to live the truth.
Author Notes
Donald Spoto was born on June 28, 1941 in New Rochelle, New York. He received a B.A. from Iona College in 1963 and a M.A. and Ph.D. in theology (New Testament studies) from Fordham University in 1966 and 1970, respectively. He taught theology, Christian mysticism, and biblical literature at the university level for twenty years.
He has written more than 25 biographies of film and theatre celebrities including The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams, Diana: The Last Year, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly, Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford, and The Redgraves: A Family Epic. He also wrote biographies on religious figures including The Hidden Jesus: A New Life, Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi, and Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The life of acting legend and legendary beauty Ingrid Bergman is given major treatment in this detailed and elegantly written volume by veteran film biographer Spoto (Rebel, etc.). Although there are no great revelations, Spoto gives a full and rounded portrait of the actress, from her difficult childhood in Sweden (where she lost both parents at an early age), through her early career as a Swedish film star, to her ascension to Hollywood stardom as the leading lady of such actors as Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant. Particular attention is given to her work with Alfred Hitchcock (Notorious and Spellbound). Bergman was a consummate professional, according to Spoto, hard-working, disciplined and dedicated, even while her personal life was tumultuous. Often drawn to older, paternal men, Bergman was also prone to passionate affairs with such charismatic men as Gary Cooper, director Victor Fleming, photographer Robert Capa and musician Larry Adler. The heart of the book consists of Spoto's sympathetic account of her scandalous (at the time) relationship with Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini while married to Peter Lindstrom, and her fall from professional grace as a result. Spoto's unblinkered compassion pays off as Bergman works her way back up from public approbation to become, again, an international star. Well-researched and evenhanded, this is a warm portrait of a woman who managed to be both a great actress and a cultural icon. Photos not seen by PW. $40,000 ad/promo; author tour. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Prolific celebrity biographer Spoto (Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean, 1996, etc.) offers an uncritical portrait of the three-time Oscar winner, who epitomized both Hollywood stardom at its most luminous and, for a time, career-hobbling scandal. The author interviewed Bergman in the 1970s and remained an acquaintance until her death in 1982; in addition, he spoke to many family members and colleagues, and he is admirably thorough about the facts. Bergman's childhood was marked by many family deaths, and her early vocation for the theater was quickly diverted to film: By age 22, in 1937, she was the most popular actress in Sweden, and inevitably she was sought out by Hollywood (Spoto rather hurries over Bergman's detour to shoot a film in Nazi Germany in 1938, assuring the reader that she later felt guilty about it). In America, Bergman instantly hit with films like Intermezzo, Casablanca, and Gaslight. Unhappily married to a domineering Swedish doctor who acted as her de facto agent, Bergman had affairs with, among others, photographer Robert Capa and director Victor Fleming. But she was perceived publicly as a model of rectitude until, in 1949, she became pregnant by Roberto Rossellini and relocated to Italy. The ensuing public outcry kept her out of American films for the next seven years: Spoto captures the puritanical fervor of the time, when Bergman was denounced in the Senate as a ""free-love cultist."" But Hollywood forgave her, and she was universally beloved thereafter. Or so implies Spoto, who is so evidently so besotted by her character and her craft that his analyses tend to be uninformative: ""Ingrid always approached a role simply and without affectation, then went away quietly, memorized the lines and returned--having at some point simply understood."" Spoto's ardor for his subject, although not unwarranted, crosses the line that separates chronicling the life from prostrating oneself before the dead. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Spoto, who has established himself as one of the premier celebrity biographers, turns his attention to Ingrid Bergman; his title refers both to the name of one of her best movies and to the scandal that surrounded her for becoming pregnant out of wedlock in the 1950s. Spoto's work is greatly enhanced by personal interviews with Bergman (conducted when Spoto was working on his life of Alfred Hitchcock) as well as interviews with her first and third husbands and conversations with Bergman's oldest daughter, Pia Lindstrom. Still, it is Spoto's writing that sets this book apart from the usual Hollywood bio. His perceptions about Bergman personally and professionally are keen, and the narrative reads like a full-bodied story, not just a listing of professional credits and personal landmarks. He occasionally becomes a bit effusive in his praise of Bergman, but his affection for his subject is humanizing rather than annoying, bringing Spoto himself into the work in a nonintrusive way. This is a major show-biz biography, and, like most of Spoto's work, belongs in most public libraries. --Ilene Cooper
Library Journal Review
The biographer of the stars takes on one more legend. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
