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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 921 FISHER | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
This work tells the story of Eddie Fisher's life. He married Debbie Reynolds, and then left her for Elizabeth Taylor. He watched his marriage fall apart when she got together with Richard Burton. There were wild parties with Sinatra and the Rat Pack, and lots of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
Author Notes
David Fisher collaborated with baseball umpire Ron Luciano on his two best sellers. Both "The Umpire Strides Back" & "Strike Two" were "New York Times" best sellers. "Umpire" was excerpted two consecutive weeks by "Sports Illustrated", the first time that magazine ever did so. Fisher also collaborated with baseball manager Tommy Lasorda on his best selling autobiography "The Artful Dodger", as well as with San Diego Chargers former owner Gene Klein on the extremely well-reviewed football story, "First Down & a Billion". He also wrote the recent "New York Times" best sellers "Been There, Done That" with Eddie Fisher and "Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man" with William Shatner.
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Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Sounding every bit like an old man in an armchair, singer Eddie Fisher dishes out his kiss-and-tell life story haltingly, at times stumbling over the details. He comes across affable, honest, direct as he lays out his "maelstrom of passion and betrayal" as plain narrative. First comes the standard celebrity bio: poor Philadelphia Jewish kid has incredible voice, becomes an instant sensation. But the story's real meat is Fisher's love life. He tells of being seduced by Marlene Dietrich in her Park Avenue love nest. He relates how he was wowed by Debbie Reynolds, wooed her and won herÄonly to find her "a phony." Most people will get the tape just to hear the dish on Elizabeth Taylor, with whom Fisher had a hot affair, then wed. He delivers gamely, telling how Liz mourned husband Mike Todd's plane-crash death in a pill-induced stupor. He soon became her full-time nurse, as she bounced from movie sets to hospital rooms. Fisher is tawdry and tender at once, bringing a sweetness to his account of the often ugly scenes inside the high life. Based on the 1999 St. Martin's hardcover. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
The teen idol, singer, former husband of Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and Connie Stevens, father of actresses Carrie and Joely Fisher, pens a tell-all memoir with the help of celebrity profiler David Fisher (no relation and co-author with George Burns of All My Best Friends, 1989, among others). Fisher is quick to point out his many successes, saying on the second page, ``I had more consecutive hit records than the Beatles or Elvis Presley, Ike loved me, Jack Kennedy and I shared drugs and women, and [my voice] transformed me from a shy little boy into a man who attracted the most famous and desirable women in the world.'' That sets the tone for the rest of the book, as he goes on to name-drop brazenly, particularly about his numerous romantic conquests. In addition to writing about Reynolds (``A self-centered, totally driven, insecure, untruthful phony''), Taylor (``Among them all she stood alone'), and Stevens, he discusses affairs with Marlene Dietrich (``To have been seduced by Marlene Dietrich is to have been taught how to make love by the expert''), Mamie Van Doren, Dinah Shore, Kim Novak, Juliet Prowse (``granted'' to him, he claims, by Frank Sinatra), and Ann-Margret. He also opens up about mobster Sam Giancana, Marilyn Monroe, producer Mike Todd, Audrey Hepburn, Richard Burton, and practically everyone else in Hollywood during that era. Underneath all that bravado, however, is a surprising amount of remorse, particularly for the money he wasted and his 30-year battle with drug addiction. At no point is his regret stronger and more poignantly recounted than when he discusses his kids. 'I was their father only biologically,' he admits. Though all of Fisher's misfortunes were self-inflicted, he does become a sympathetic protagonist when writing about his children with love and pride. An aptly titled tale of a lecherous, often narcissistic, star run amok'yet by the end readers will end up rooting for, and even liking, Eddie Fisher. Now that's talent.
Booklist Review
Crooner-actor Eddie Fisher may be ripe for rediscovery. In his 1950s^-60s heyday, he spewed out hit after hit and was a serviceable actor and a skirt chaser supreme. Ignoring his father's advice to "never fall in love with a shiksa," Fisher romanced a succession of gentile Hollywood lovelies and married Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor, and Connie Stevens, which is enough to make him notable. Of course, he recorded that monument of musical kitsch, "Oh! My Papa," too, but today the most pop-culturally significant thing about him is tabloid memories of his very public dumping of Reynolds for Taylor and his own even more public dumping when Taylor shed him for Richard Burton. Oh, and he is the father of Carrie and Joely Fisher. He tells his stories crisply and confidently, as if he has a good time setting the record straight, and delivers Hollywood dirt with panache and authority. Nowadays, when the Hollywood Rat Pack and its discredited swagger constitute a retro fashion statement, Fisher's book affords a chic learning experience. --Mike Tribby
Library Journal Review
With no vocal training, teenaged Eddie Fisher jumped from poverty to fame in the 1950s. As a leading pop vocalist, he said, "I was bigger than the Beatles, bigger than Elvis, hotter than Sinatra." While Fisher lacks sound bites, his still available CD hits are powerful and accomplished. Been There, Done That expands on his early career and media-blitz marriages to Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor. He praises Reynolds for her career drive but otherwise demeans her. Passionate Taylor fares better, except for her excesses with pills and booze. For 20 years Fisher's energy for nightclub gigs depended on shots of amphetamines or cocaine. After losing his big voice, health, and money, he recovered at the Betty Ford Center. Fisher's clear reading is lax at drama and better at ironic humor. These stories are good for "golden oldie" fans who enjoy gossip.--Gordon Blackwell, Eastchester, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
