Customer Reviews

Are You Hungry, Dear?: Life, Laughs, and Lasagna

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't watch "Raymond" regularly. I'm not fond of celebrity bios. But this book caught my eye and then I couldn't put it down.

Doris Roberts's journey from sad "Little Doris" to a full-blown diva in her 70s made me laugh: she had a varied career, and learned a lot about life as she learned about acting. Roberts even has her very own actress climbing-out-the-boardinghouse-window story! There's some pathos - handled graciously -- but most of the book reflects a courage and humor I admire. Even some of the recipes are funny!

Why do we read celebrity bios, anyway, if not to search for connections between the actor and his/her character? That's easy enough to do with Doris Roberts' life story, where shades of Marie Barone surface from time to time. By the end of the book, the reader has learned about Roberts' unusual Bronx childhood, her two marriages, her relationship with her son, her career move from New York to California, and some of the offscreen antics of the cast and crew of _Everybody Loves Raymond_ . There are enough facts to chew on without getting into too many intrusive personal details. Her extensive stage background is reflected in the structure of the book itself, for each chapter feels as though we're viewing a scene from her life. The presentation makes perfect sense even though the overall progression isn't chronological. The curtain call of each chapter is a recipe from Roberts' own files, a technique which has the effect of not only sharing a part of herself but also tying her even closer to her onscreen character. And who knows? Maybe she'll start a fad of throwing holiday Greed Parties! A natural sequel to Patricia Heaton's _Motherhood and Hollywood_. _Raymond_ fans will not be disappointed.

Doris Roberts seems to be a very hearty, generally happy woman at least that's what the book conveys. A fabulous collection of her very personal memoirs and stories and advice, it's almost like having a conversation with the archetypical grandmother. But far from old-fashioned and foppish, Miss Doris is downright hilarious at times and speaks with the energy and zeal of somebody less than half her age (in fact, she puts most young people to shame when it comes to fully embracing and enjoying life). Her stories, taking place everywhere from New York theatre to Los Angeles tv to her bedroom, are all colorful and more entertaining than fiction ever could be. You can't make this stuff up! She opens herself up admirably, sharing her personal struggles and her darkest times as well as her triumphs and good days. Throughout, the conversational style of her and Danelle Morton's writing makes you feel more like you are spending time with a friend than reading a book. If you want advice from somebody who has been there before, or colorful tales from the world of entertainment, or a touching autobiography, or an endless source of laughter, or just some fabulous recipes (which the book is peppered with) then this book is for you!

Who knew?
Doris Roberts is one classy lady - funny, ribald, sophisticated - everything her character on Everybody Loves Raymond is not. And, she's a great storyteller, too. This isn't one of those "I wrote it for the $$$" books. She candidly tells her life story with all of its rollercoaster ups and downs. And the chapter on people of "a certain age" having active [physical] lives is worth the price of admission, alone. A great read. A great dame.

I've never watched an episode of EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, but I nevertheless found it easy to recognize Marie Barone as actress Doris Roberts describes her character. Marie Barone is someone she loves, understands, and appreciates; but she's also who the real-life Doris Roberts flatly refused to become. Although she married at 18, desperately wanted a child and eventually had one, made homes for two husbands, and raised her son, she never once let go of her dream. She became not just an actress, but a Broadway actress. And then, when television called her name, an international star. That's the role in which I learned to appreciate her work: Mildred Krebs, secretary to Remington Steele.

What makes this actress, and her autobiography, so different from those of most other stars who decide to share their life stories? I'd say it's quite simply that this woman never lost her true, genuine self to the make-believe world of her career. She's lived a full and wonderful life as Doris, and that makes her book infinitely more interesting than others in the same genre. Its final segment, in which she takes on the myths that both show business and American culture in general perpetuate about aging, is one of the funniest and yet most telling discussions of this subject that I've ever read.

Doris Roberts writes about her childhood in New York City. She didn't have a smothering mother like Marie but probably wishes she had. She writes about her father's abandonment and the estrangement relationship with her mother at times. She writes lovingly about her Uncle Willey who came to live with her mother and stepfather. She writes about her friendship and relationship with actors like James Coco, Roddy McDowall, and Ruth White. It was Ruth's death in 1969 when she decided to compliment her peers in the business. She writes about her two marriages including her second marriage to writer William Goyen who died. She writes about growing old in America where roles are scarce to find for women her age even now. Doris reminds me a lot of my own mother who is 70 years old and still cuts the grass. We should treat our elders better.

Are You Hungry Dear is an easy read. Doris shares an inside peek of theatre, her early life as well as some recipes she recommends. I enjoyed reading about her childhood, complete with cold grandparents and a busy, absent mother. Her grit and determination to make a life for herself is truly inspiring.

She also shows just how very self-centered actors are, with no apologies. They crave the attention of everyone and always want the limelight. I would have loved to have read a little more about her son. I found there was not an over abundance of details about her personal life, more on the show business side of things.

I read ARE YOU HUNGRY, DEAR? because I wanted to learn about the woman behind meddling Marie Barone in EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, Doris Roberts. I learned:
-Like Marie, Roberts "tells it like she sees it"
-Doris' father was a carousing schmuck
-Her grandfather wasn't much better
-She grew up in the Bronx
-Doris and Marie shared the same deep, sometimes overpowering, love for their son(s)
-She loves cooking. LOVES cooking
-She is as quick witted as I expected her to be
-Her natural-seeming acting is a result of extensive preparation
-Fame has given her affectations
-She can be racy; I'd get a kick out of spending time with her as I imagine we'd share plenty of "naughty" laughs.

Roberts and her co-author Danelle Morton split the memoir into 10 parts, each effectively focused on a facet of her life: Life with Raymond, Motherhood, Reminiscences, Advice, Travels, Losses, Turning Points, Warnings, The Love of My Life, and Aging. Within each part are 3 to 6 chapters, all which conclude with a recipe.

You don't have to be an Everyone Loves Raymond fan, or like to cook, to enjoy this book; you only have to be open to out-there observations of a woman in her early 70s who's lived, laughed, cried, and learned a lot.

A very pleasurable reading indeed! Doris has always made me laugh ... This autobiography is one of those type of books that you love to read but you don't want to get to the end... because you'll miss the "company"! It is so entertaining and you really get to meet the author through her funny and easy going lines... She is superb! We should have more people like her around us! Definitely, a good buy to enjoy...

Book had lots of insight into Doris's life, yet some of the details were boring. I liked the parts where she talked about her co-dependence and how she overcame that and helped her husband with his alcoholism. There were a some typos in the book, which I found distracting. Overall a so-so read.