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Dropped Names
- Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them
- Narrated by: Frank Langella
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
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Publisher's summary
Rita Hayworth dancing by candlelight in a small Mexican village; Elizabeth Taylor devouring homemade pasta and tenderly wrapping him in her pashmina scarf; streaking for Sir Laurence Olivier in a drafty English castle; terrifying a dozing Jackie Onassis; carrying an unconscious Montgomery Clift to safety on a dark New York City street.
Captured forever in a unique memoir, Frank Langella's myriad encounters with some of the past century's most famous human beings are profoundly affecting, funny, wicked, sometimes shocking, and utterly irresistible. With sharp wit and a perceptive eye, Mr. Langella takes us with him into the private worlds and privileged lives of movie stars, presidents, royalty, literary lions, the social elite, and the greats of the Broadway stage.
What, for instance, was Jack Kennedy doing on that coffee table? Why did the Queen Mother need Mr. Langella's help? When was Paul Mellon going to pay him money owed? How did Brooke Astor lose her virginity? Why was Robert Mitchum singing Gilbert & Sullivan patter songs at top volume, and what did Marilyn Monroe say to him that helped change the course of his life? Through these shared experiences, we learn something, too, of Mr. Langella's personal journey from the age of 15 to the present.
Dropped Names is, like its subjects, riveting and unforgettable.
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Los Angeles, present day. When an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind ends up in Christine McAllister's vintage clothing boutique by mistake, her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie.... Los Angeles, 1938. Violet Mayfield sets out to reinvent herself in Hollywood after her dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart, and she lands a job on the film set of Gone with the Wind.
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Pass on this
- By Lulew on 03-24-17
By: Susan Meissner
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American Rose
- A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee
- By: Karen Abbott
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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With the critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City, best-selling author Karen Abbott “pioneered sizzle history” (USA Today). Now she returns with the gripping and expansive story of America’s coming-of-age - told through the extraordinary life of Gypsy Rose Lee and the world she survived and conquered. America in the Roaring Twenties. Vaudeville was king. Talking pictures were only a distant flicker. Speakeasies beckoned beyond dimly lit doorways; money flowed fast and free.
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Well done biography of a complicated Icon
- By Moire on 01-27-11
By: Karen Abbott
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The Mother of Black Hollywood
- A Memoir
- By: Jenifer Lewis
- Narrated by: Jenifer Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Jenifer Lewis keeps it real in this provocative and touching memoir by a Midwestern girl with a dream whose journey from poverty to Hollywood will move, shock, and inspire listeners. Told in the audacious voice her fans adore, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Yet, supported by loving friends and strengthened by "inner soldiers", Jenifer never stopped entertaining and creating.
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I could barely finish it.
- By Manning Fam on 06-17-18
By: Jenifer Lewis
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No Cunning Plan
- By: Sir Tony Robinson
- Narrated by: Tony Robinson
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Sir Tony Robinson is a much-loved actor, presenter and author with a stellar career lasting over 50 years. Now, in his long-awaited autobiography, he reveals how the boy from South Woodford went from child stardom in the first stage production of Oliver!, a pint-size pickpocket desperately bleaching his incipient moustache, to comedy icon Baldrick, the loyal servant and turnip aficionado in Blackadder.
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Great audible book as read by Sir Tony Robinson
- By Michael Thomas Fortson on 04-15-21
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What Fresh Lunacy Is This?
- The Authorised Biography of Oliver Reed
- By: Robert Sellers
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Oliver Reed may not have been Britain's biggest film star - for a period in the early 70s he came within a hairsbreadth of replacing Sean Connery as James Bond - but he is an august member of that small band of people, like George Best and Eric Morecambe, who transcended their chosen medium, became too big for it even, and grew into cultural icons. For the first time Reed's close family has agreed to collaborate on a project about the man himself.
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Ollie!
- By GK on 12-28-14
By: Robert Sellers
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Daring
- My Passages - A Memoir
- By: Gail Sheehy
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Candid, insightful, and powerful, Daring: My Passages is the story of the unconventional life of a writer who dared - to walk New York City streets with hookers and pimps to expose violent prostitution; to march with civil rights protesters in Northern Ireland as British paratroopers opened fire; to seek out Egypt's president Anwar Sadat when he was targeted for death after making peace with Israel.
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Enjoyed unexpectedly
- By Corinne O'Rourke on 09-06-23
By: Gail Sheehy
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There Are Worse Things I Could Do
- By: Adrienne Barbeau
- Narrated by: Adrienne Barbeau
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Adrienne Barbeau never set out to be a sex symbol, and she never planned on giving birth to twins when she was 51, but both those stories and a lot more are detailed in this witty, revealing memoir. With humor and fearlessness, she shares her romance with a superstar, her marriage to a famous film director, her marriage to a much younger man and her successful battle with infertility.
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Excellent book
- By Jill on 01-05-10
By: Adrienne Barbeau
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In Black and White
- The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This biography of entertainment legend Sammy Davis, Jr. is an enthralling portrait of one of the most recognizable figures from the golden age of American show business. Davis, a guarded man who protected his private life with great vigor, lived an extraordinary life in the limelight, while also forging new uncharted paths across racial lines.
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Sammy Plus
- By James Gordon on 07-02-06
By: Wil Haygood
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Some Girls
- My Life in a Harem
- By: Jillian Lauren
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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A jaw-dropping story of how a girl from the suburbs ends up in a prince's harem and emerges from the secret Xanadu both richer and wiser. At 18, Jillian Lauren was an NYU theater school dropout with a tip about an upcoming audition. The "casting director" told her that a rich businessman would pay pretty girls $20,000 if they stayed for two weeks to spice up his parties. Soon, Jillian was on a plane to Borneo, where she would spend the next 18 months in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah....
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Boring, Pretentious Book
- By Marcos on 04-23-11
By: Jillian Lauren
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I Blame Dennis Hopper
- And Other Stories from a Life Lived in and out of the Movies
- By: Illeana Douglas
- Narrated by: Illeana Douglas
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1969, Illeana Douglas' parents saw the film Easy Rider and were transformed. Taking Dennis Hopper's words - "That's what it's all about, man" - to heart, they abandoned their comfortable upper-middle-class life and gave Illeana a childhood filled with hippies, goats, free spirits, and free love. Illeana writes, "Since it was all out of my control, I began to think of my life as a movie, with a Dennis Hopper-like father at the center of it." I Blame Dennis Hopper is a rollicking, funny, at times tender exploration of the way movies can change our lives.
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Loved Every Moment of this Book!
- By Susan Van Allen on 01-20-16
By: Illeana Douglas
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What listeners say about Dropped Names
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J. Morgenstern
- 06-23-12
Great stories narrated by a great actor
Not the standard autobiography, but a series of remembrances by a man who has been a very successful Broadway and movie actor. Beginning in the 1960's and continuing on he has chapters on individuals such as Anthony Perkins, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert MItchem and on and on. They are funny, sad , touching, and always entertaining.
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- B Hart
- 11-17-14
Fantastic look at old Hollywood!
What made the experience of listening to Dropped Names the most enjoyable?
It's was not Hollywood fodder, but true experiences by the author. So many stories about famous people that brought them to the same level as the average person. It's funny at times and very touching just as many times.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Dropped Names?
There were so many moments that it's impossible to name one.
What about Frank Langella’s performance did you like?
He was a pleasure to listen to giving life to everything he talks about.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Should not and could not possibly be be put on screen.
Any additional comments?
I had this in my wish list for months. Thinking it would be tabloid in nature, I wasn't really interested. I have no use for Hollywood gossip and despise all the mags that produce it. This is so far from that! I'm thrilled I finally gave it a try and enjoyed every moment of it. Its a must read especially if you've enjoyed old Hollywood.
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- Maureen
- 12-30-12
Be still my heart...delightful!
Full disclosure...I've been a besotted fan of Frank Langella forever and to hear him read this honest and extraordinary memoir in his own voice was heavenly! He shows great courage in revealing exactly how he feels about the great actors he's worked with...much of this is surprising and even shocking at times although it must be said that he is just as hard on himself! His recollections of Jack and Jackie Kennedy, Mel Brooks, Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor and so many others are amazing! We share having grown up in Bayonne, New Jersey and to think that he was able to rise above his humble beginnings to become the great actor makes this a truly fascinating bildungsroman!
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Unexpected pleasure.
A great book. That is all I can really say. I did not expect to bump into a voice so similar my own. He thinks like me. I was so glad to hear his voice. The real deal. Straight from the heart. How can that be discounted? Impossible.
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- Kim
- 11-01-21
Excellent Audio 💯 👏🤗
I've just finished listening to via audio @audible Frank Langella's book "Dropped Names" 💯👏🤗 Loved it!!!! And I'm glad that he's the narrator 🤗 What an Exciting life and I Enjoyed listening to every Chapter of his Book 📖 ♥️🌹
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- SUSAN J WAGNER
- 12-13-22
Fantastic memoir!
Listening to Frank Langella adds to the experience. What an amazing life he has had so far. I truly appreciate his insight as noted at his conclusion. I highly recommend!
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- bathsheba West
- 08-14-22
Literary Catnip!!
This book was one of my all- time favorites- juicy, witty, thoughtful, poignant . Mr. Langella is an excellent writer and his recollections of the famous persons that he grew to know is captivating. His narration is first rate - his command of the language and melodious voice an added treat. Not to be missed!
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- Kathy
- 04-03-12
Delightful
I thought this book would be a little like listening to a grocery store tabloid but it wasn't. Langella gives a well written, insightful and sensitive voice to some great stories he shared with other famous people. That is not to say he takes the warts off,,, not even for himself. Not only are his memories told in almost elegant prose but his narration is splendid
I must admit that I've been in love with Mr. Langella since I saw The Twelve Chairs and again when I saw the Sphinx (he says it was a stinker but I loved it) I gave up dreams of marrying Capt. Von Trapp for him. I turned away from John Lennon and oh so many others for him. Yet odd as it might seem, he seems to have had close if not intimate relationships with everyone on the planet except me! How could that be? :::sigh:::
Cruel. Downright brutal
Still, its a delightful memoir of a fascinating and fortunate life
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25 people found this helpful
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- C. A. Cameron
- 08-07-12
Prince o' Darkness Silkily Observed Tidbits
What did you love best about Dropped Names?
Citing anecdotal chapter and verse and wielding a stiletto of finely toned English , the great and the good are praised, rewarded ... and and great and the bad sent forthwith to Langella Hell.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Dropped Names?
You know, I always thought that was something fishy, distinctly "off" about The Actor's Method, at least as promulgated by Lee Strasberg. Langella briskly skewers Strasberg on his own petard. Liked that, I did.
Which scene was your favorite?
Ah, that macrocosmic world of Unspeakable (as one does not speak of it) Wealth, its weedless emerald lawns, its summer linens lifting in a light Cape Cod breeze, its breezy luncheons, chummy discourses over dewy glasses of G&T and crisp, monogrammed cards of perfectly penned thank you notes. Extraordinary generosity to charities and important museums to be sure. But too often neither finding nor seeking a bridge connecting "their" world to "ours", to a genuine, feeling, human to human experience. Oh, don't bother, the servants will take care of it. Absolutely terrifying.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Rita Hayworth and Gloria de Haven ... what tender bundles he lifts up and delivers to his readers with his experiences with these beautiful and battered Hollywood moth-blossoms, while candidly admitting his own selfish shallowness.
Any additional comments?
A box of chocolates ... you never knew what you were going to get. In Hogwartian terms, some bonbons were earwax and vomit and some truffe-rich, nougat-yummt or cherry centered creams. But the box is beautifully presented, impeccably appointed and offered to one with such slyly casual aplomb that one cannot fail, no matter one's choice, to be deliciously captivated.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Diane
- 05-01-12
The famous become intimate friends
Where does Dropped Names rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Well written, spoken and thoroughly entertaining. Among one of the best I have listened to so far
What did you like best about this story?
Mr. Langella's storytelling make the famous seem like they have been your friends forever. The people are real, with highs and lows like the listener. Also, the narrator includes his own "lows" among the stories, which adds to the realism of this book
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