Customer Reviews

Don't Mind If I Do

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

What an enjoyable read! Unlike the all-too-typical angst-ridden star autobiography, George Hamilton (with collaborator William Stadiem) delivers the goods in the same breezy, self-effacing and irreverant tone that has kept his career afloat for nearly fifty years while most of his similarly pretty-faced contemporaries have long drifted out of public memory. Who cares if most people would be hard pressed to name three of his films? What a raconteur!

Impossible to know if this is the real Hamilton but this frequently LOL page-turner expertly maintains the sly persona (sort of a cross between Cary Grant. . . and Seventies-era Burt Reynolds, but with class) he has honed over the years, pulling no punches (yep, there's plenty of dirt--his take on working with Lana Turner is hilarious) yet without ever coming across as mean-spirited.

To avoid sounding like a shill reviewer from someone in the star's (or ghost writer's) camp, I will point out one major flaw: The book is too damn short!

I want to go out to lunch with this guy and hear about the stuff he doesn't even bother to mention. Hell, I'll even spring for the tanning butter!

I only bought George Hamilton's memoir, DON'T MIND IF IF I DO, because I had finished Tony Curtis' new memoir and I was shocked at how distasteful Tony seemed. I was curious, then, to compare his report with a report by one of his cohorts, though Hamilton is about 15 years younger than Curtis.

I knew next to nothing about George Hamilton when I started this book, other than that during those times I had seen him on television, he had appeared to be clever and charming, self-deprecating and funny. It turns out that Hamilton is all of these things and more.

Though he never complains, he has had a sad life, albeit in a very luxurious way. His mother was so involved in her own hedonistic pleasures that George and his brother David barely managed to get conventional educations; George never even graduated from high school.

Yet his mother connived to live in America's finest communities, including Beverly Hills, Beacon Hill in Boston, Beekman Place and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and, most of all, Palm Beach. Being raised in these environments of privileged entitlement gave George an outlook that can only be termed exotic.

George sounds, amazingly, like a loving and unquestioning son. As soon as he was able, he took over the support of his mother and his older half-brother. He views his life with humor and his family with obvious affection, though he probably would have been better served to have hidden from them and not left a forwarding address.

Most of his life has been a series of near-misses, from his romance with Lynda Bird Johnson (which, even all of these years later, still strikes a chord of implausibility) to his single attempt at marriage. Yet he examines all of his adventures with acceptance and good humor.

This is not a typical Hollywood biography, in that it is not as peopled with movie stars as it might have been if he had had a larger career. At the same time, it is filled with folks with whom mere movie stars don't get to hobnob: English nobility, dethroned royalty, Arab gunrunners, Southern gentlemen, Mafia dons, everyday billionaires, leading American military men, Presidents (plural) and Senators, best-selling authors, society bandleaders, Asian dictators....

There is a whole other memoir in what George, ever the gentleman, chooses not to reveal. He doesn't kiss and tell, and he has kissed some very famous women. One can draw any conclusion one wishes.

All in all, George Hamilton has led quite a life.

The pacing of this book is not as tight as it could be and the flow of the narrative often is choppy. In the early pages, where his collaborator is first catching on to his rhythm, the tone is strained. George's father barely is mentioned after the details of his parents' divorce, other than for his death, and there is a brother who is mentioned even less. While there probably was a surfeit of material from which to choose, these faults lie with his co-writer, rather than with George.

George seems to be a man whose generosity of spirit and loving attitudes add up to a genuinely nice person--a genuinely nice person who has led a distinctive and fascinating existence. His story is well worth reading.

I approached George Hamilton's book "Don't Mind If I Do" with some trepidation. Whenever his name came up, it only invoked images of a glossy, golden, sun-baked man - not a real person at all.

In his autobiography, George tackles that part of his image honestly. In a chatty, friendly way, Mr. Hamilton shows the reader his past and what really happened. He does not deny the popular delusion of his spending half his waking hours basking on some beach. In fact, he readily admits to his sun-worshipping habits. No apologies, no explanations, he sets down the facts and doesn't apologize for them.

What does surprise me, more than his honesty, is the wealth of movies he did appear in and his association with the entertainment and political world. From Robert Evans to President Johnson's daughter, George Hamilton met (and partied) with them all. He talks of his successes (Love At First Bite) and his string of failures (The Happy Hooker Goes To Washington).

His relationships with the women in his life (and, although legion, he does not kiss-and-tell) is told. Surprisingly, he gives quite a brutal assessment of his family. His recollections on the life, and passing, of his brother are quite touching.

It all makes for a fast, and sometimes quite funny, read.

This tasty and sophisticated fast paced book is surely a keeper! It's filled with lot of 'over the top' interesting peaks (a LOT kiss 'n tell?) and memories of George's unbelievable star-kissed life, sufferings and all. It's quite a lusty look into the life of someone blessed to 'do it his way'! You feel you're right there all along the way and the book opens up thought of the lives of others you've never dreamed of.
Right on, George, WOO HOO!

This was a delightful book to read! I inherited my love of George Hamilton from my mother who was a young fan in the early 60's when I was born. While "All the Fine Young Cannibals" may be listed as one of the worst films, she loved it and I learned to love it and his other films.

I was expecting a standard movie star autobiography and was pleasantly surprised. With his wit and candor, Hamilton tells of his dysfuctional childhood and does not blame it for everything that happened in his life. How refreshing! The tales of his family moving from pillar to post on the whims of his Auntie Mame-like mother are told as precious family stories, not dwelling on the pain or sadness. It takes a strong person to see humor in adversity. Hamilton has not led a "charmed" life by any means. One begins to like the man behind the persona as well as the persona itself.

Hamilton's stories of being a movie star amuse and can shock, but are classy and never told in a "kiss and tell" fashion. The co-stars of the book are treated kindly and sometimes get more kindness than they deserve.

Hopefully, Hamilton has another book in store for us. One gets the sense that there are so many more delightful stories left for the telling in his self-depreciating and witty style. Please, George, I want MORE!!!

If I wasn't exactly a fan of George Hamilton before, I definitely am now! The first chapter, relating his stint on Dancing with the Stars, was worth the price of the book, alone. I was laughing out loud. And I kept on laughing throughout the rest of this well-written story. What a great outlook on life and family he has, with no apologies to anyone. A thoroughly enjoyable read. And, I agree, the only downside was that it wasn't long enough. I could have gone on forever reading about his exploits and adventures!

Enjoyed most of the book. However, the first half seemed more a biography of the mother's life than Georges.

I just loved this book, it was well written and highly entertaining. Couldn't put it down. George has led such an interesting life and has known so many Hollywood legends, several of them quite intimately! He's a very likable person, and has always stayed friends with all his exes, which I think says a lot about a person's character.

It's just downright hard not to like George Hamilton. I've been a fan for years, and was anxious to read his book. It's very entertaining and I learned a lot more about him. Since I'd never read much about his childhood, I had thought he was probably raised in the Hamptons, or at least someplace rich. But I was surprised to learn that he was born in Blythville, Ark. and all through the book, he kept coming back to the fact that he was just a southern boy. I like that about him. He is proud of his southern heritage. His family was interesting, and it's easy to see where he got his talent. And he must know everyone in the world. Lots of stories about his encounters with other famous people. I enjoyed that. A very good and entertaining read.

Unless you love all things George Hamilton, you probably will not enjoy this book much. I don't, but since I grew up around the same time as he, some of the stories and facts were fairly interesting. Enjoyed especially the tidbits about 50's actors and some of the outrageous stories concerning certain stars.

Practically the whole first half was about his mother and her quirky lifestyle, and then it continued off and on through the rest of the book. While she was an interesting person, we didn't buy the Ann Stevens Potter Hamilton Hunt Spaulding book, but this is what we got. We didn't get a "tell-all" either but that bodes well for George---it shows he is the gentleman we always knew he was.

He goes through life eating the best food, drinking the best champagne, dating the most beautiful women and generally enjoys the doors that are open because he is an actor and celebrity. Even so, when you separate the wheat from the chaff, George Hamilton is a very decent and nice guy.

So, to recap, the book is an okay read but nothing to write home to mother about. (Couldn't help throwing that in)