Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies [Hardcover]

Denise Imwold (Author), Andrew Brettell (Author), Heather von Rohr (Author), Warren Hsu Leonard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Rebel Without a Cause was one of the most talked-about movies of the 1950s. It might also have been the most jinxed. Among its stars, James Dean was soon killed in a car crash, Sal Mineo died several years later, murdered by an unknown assailant, and the beautiful Natalie Wood died mysteriously when she fell from a docked pleasure boat and drowned. This heavily illustrated book recounts these and many other tragic events that have haunted the Hollywood movie community from its early-twentieth-century beginnings to the present day. Here are accounts of the sudden, premature deaths of stars like Rudolph Valentino, Montgomery Clift, and Peter Sellers. Here too are stories about celebrities who died young because of alcohol or drug-related problems—John Belushi and Elvis Presley among many others—and of the tragic 1998 murder of comedian Phil Hartman. Car wrecks, plane crashes, and other deadly accidents sent Jayne Mansfield, Grace Kelly, and Carole Lombard, to untimely deaths, and accidents occurring during film production have taken several lives, perhaps the most dramatic being the helicopter crash that killed Vic Morrow in 1983. The tragic stories of many Hollywood personalities are told in Cut!, the definitive volume on the fleeting lives of movie celebrities, some of whom became more famous in death than they had been in life. Hundreds of photos, many in color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A team of eight writers (mostly Australian, all film historians of various sorts) compiled this addictively readable anthology of over 250 Hollywood obituaries, from early stars like John Barrymore and Will Rogers to more contemporary artists like Spalding Gray and Christopher Reeve. Most entries are a single page; all include photos of the artist in iconic roles or poses. While the accounts are arranged alphabetically in separate sections for different causes of death (medical problems, suspected foul play, actual murder, alcohol or other drugs, suicide after broken heart, bizarre accidents), readers will find it easier to get the lowdown by using the index or the summary table that precedes it. Not excessively hagiographic (except where it's deserved—as in the cases of Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and James Dean), the authors are generally positive about their subjects, taking an understanding view of their marital and drug problems. Salacious rumors are either not mentioned or debunked when too prevalent to ignore. While not clogging the text with too many names and titles, the authors do mention the spouses and important films of each artist, noting their particular strengths. Throughout, the authors maintain a tone that's perfectly situated between polite and stiff. (Dec.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 1st US Edition edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764158589
• ISBN-13: 978-0764158582
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #387,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed reading this book!, June 17, 2006

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies (Hardcover)

This large and photo-filled book is about life and, even more so, death in Hollywood. The book is organized into seven chapters. The first simply covers many actors' lives and careers, and then their deaths from natural causes. The second chapter goes through a group of actors whose deaths were mysterious, giving rise to speculation that they were murdered. Chapter three focuses on actors who were definitely murdered, covering such well-known ones as Sharon Tate, and more forgotten one, such as Ramon Novarro. Chapter four covers actors who died from drugs, and there were a lot of them, while chapter five covers scandalous Hollywood deaths. The sixth chapter covers actors who died in tragic automobile, plane and whatnot accidents. And finally, chapter seven covers the death of actors while movies were actually being filmed. Along the way, the reader is treated to many wonderful photos.

Overall, I found this to be an absolutely fascinating book. I was fascinated by all of the information on actors both recent and long-ago. Now, as you might expect with a book that covers so very many actors, not too much information is devoted to any one actor. So, if you want in-depth information, you will be disappointed.

But, if you want a book that talks about a lot of actors, who they were, how the lived, and how they died, then this is the book for you. I really enjoyed reading it, and think that you will as well. I highly recommend this book!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally addictive, September 15, 2006

By 

W. Oliver (Alabama) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies (Hardcover)

Think of it as "Hollywood Babylon" but with more style and credibility. This book about Hollywood celebrities who met untimely deaths is filled with great photos, a nice layout and fascinating lore. The major section of the book is called "The Big Sleep" and is an A-Z profile of film stars who died young from various causes. A chapter titled "Predator" profiles those whose causes of death remain questionable to this day (Marilyn Monroe, William Desmond Taylor, Natalie Wood, etc.) "Dial M For Murder" profiles murder victims such as Sal Mineo, Phil Hartman, Elizabeth Short and Sharon Tate. "Drugstore Cowboy" profiles drug-related deaths (Dorothy Dandridge, Judy Garland, Chris Farley, Elvis Presley, etc.) "Dangerous Liaisons" covers great Hollywood scandals like the Fatty Arbuckle trial, as well as suicides (Charles Boyer, Richard Farnsworth, Capucine). "The Accidental Tourist" includes celebrities who died by accidents (i.e. car wrecks and house fires) and Aaliyah, Linda Darnell, Grace Kelly and Butterfly McQueen. "Lights Camera Death" includes a section of films that are somewhat connected with bizarre death incidents ("The Conquerer," "The Crow," "Our Gang," etc.) The profiles vary from the classic era (Jean Harlow, Roman Navarro, Judy Holliday) to the present (Robert Pastorelli, Divine, John Ritter).

One odd sidenote about the book is that there doesn't seem to be spaces between sentences but somehow it doesn't detract from reading.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll get hours of great reading out of this book!, April 15, 2007

By 

Ginny "mother of 6" (Ohio) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies (Hardcover)

I've been a movie buff since the early 70's, and by now, I thought I pretty much knew it all. This book offers readable, accurate and oftentime surprising biographies of so many people. Reading it, I was blown away by how much (of what I thought to be) obscure information was packed into each page. This book is worth every penny.