Customer Reviews

Actor: The Life & Times of Paul Muni

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Published in 1974, playwright Jerome Lawrence's biography of famed American actor/star Paul Muni has been hailed as 'The greatest theatre biography of the [20th] century', and rightly so. This exceptional book recounts Muni's whole life, from his childhood travelling with his parents Yiddish theatre company to his declining years and failing health. The vividness of Lawrence's accounts of Muni's life are due to the fact that Lawrence knew Muni well (Muni's most successful Broadway play was 'Inherit the Wind', co-authored by Lawrence) and most of the information is first hand. After muni's death in 1967 his widow Bella (with the encouragment of Lawrence) began a book on her husband's life to be entitled 'The Men I have Lived With'. But the book was never finished as Bella died in 1971 so Lawrence took what had been written and wrote his own account of Muni's life. Some of Bella's original passages have been included - most notably the story of how she met and married Muni. Lawrence also recounts the history of the Yiddish theatre, the story behind the making of the classic 'Scarface' and Muni's obsessive 4 year search for the story of Alfred Nobel. Lawrence interviewed many of theatre and Hollywood's greats for the book including Luther Adler, George Abbott, Howard Hawks and Bette Davis (a complete transcript of her interview is included in the closing chapters). A fascinating and compelling read about a man who ultimatley didn't know what else to but act.

This is a biography of the noted film and theater actor Paul Muni. It tells of his rise through the Yiddish theater and his development into an Oscar- and Tony-winning actor, as well as the drive for perfectionism that ultimately slowed his career. The author does a fine job of portraying his somewhat reserved personality and his drive to do full justice to his roles. The only drawback to the book is its drab format, which makes the book look like an outdated textbook rather than a well-packaged item of interest.