Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Frank Langella (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 27, 2012

Rita Hayworth dancing by candlelight; Elizabeth Taylor 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 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. We learn something, too, of Mr. Langella’s personal journey from the age of fifteen to the present day. Dropped Names is, like its subjects, riveting and unforgettable.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Splendid. . . . As much a memoir as a primer on the vicissitudes of an actor’s life, the book is a collage based on real-life situations that offer touching insights into stars like Rita Hayworth, and into the practical magic that informs Langella’s signature sensibility.” (The New Yorker)

“Rarely have I read a book about celebrities that is as insightful, candid, revealing, and as well-written as this one. Frank Langella’s memoir is not the usual author’s ego trip, but rather his remembrances of the many accomplished men and women that he has come to know.” (Gay Talese, author of A Writer's Life)

“A delightfully unabashed page-turner about people we wish we had known in the throes of work, love, and growing old.” (A.R. Gurney, award-winning playwright)

“Engaging. . . .Not just Langella’s “famous people I have known,” but a heartfelt love letter to the theater and to the days when stars were stars, not merely celebrities.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Dropped Names is a sizzling platter of stellar vignettes—pungent, for sure, but poignant too. . . . Mr. Langella is surgically precise, and eloquent. . . . The human condition in most of its vagaries is beautifully rendered between these pages.” (Liz Smith)

“ If Frank Langella’s memoir simply did what its title promises, it would be deep-dish gossip. But his memories of the stars he’s encountered during a lengthy career on Broadway and in film shed perceptive light on the costs of pursuing and maintaining fame.” (Detroit Free Press)

“Langella’s uncommonly eloquent book is enjoyable for the panoply of great names who turn up. . . . A natural raconteur, he seems to fit precisely Henry James’s famous description of the novelist as one ‘on whom nothing is lost.’” (New York Times)

“Frank Langella’s DROPPED NAMES is a different kind of memoir. . . . Not many of his peers could write such an eloquently dishy book.” (Los Angeles Times)

“The 65 chapters in this satisfyingly scandalous memoir paint Broadway and Hollywood as teeming with vulgar, neurotic and irresistible company, and Langella as relentlessly affable in the face of nonstop groping by celebrities in far-flung locations.” (Paperback Row, New York Times)

From the Back Cover

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 fifteen to the present day.

Dropped Names is, like its subjects, riveting and unforgettable.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1St Edition edition (March 27, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062094475
• ISBN-13: 978-0062094476
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (196 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frank Langella has been a professional actor for over five decades and hopes to carry on for several more. He began performing as a boy in his hometown of Bayonne, New Jersey, and currently resides in New York City. This is his first book.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent, Poignant March 29, 2012

By AudreyLM

Format:Hardcover

I downloaded Mr. Langella's memoir on Audible so had the immense pleasure of hearing him read his own words. Growing up in NY in the 60s and 70s I was treated to a Broadway show on every birthday and adored Frank Langella in Dracula on my 17th. I was eager to learn more about him and now I have, but oh how much more I've received from this exquisite, wry, utterly revealing look at so many legendary actors, many at the sometimes tragic ends of their lives. Among my favorites are his reminiscences of Raul Julia (Two Gentlemen from Verona was another birthday treat) and Abe Hirschfeld still hard at work at age 99 (who once so kindly wrote back to me explaining that Nina was his "red-haired daughter" in response to my query at age 12). It brought back Sunday mornings fighting over who got to read Section Two of the Times first. Mr. Langella is honest, sometimes brutally, about these individuals and about himself, keenly insightful and ultimately deeply compassionate. This book is a brilliant historical document of New York theater in the 20th century, and much more. I had to pause often as I listened to add names to the list of people to whom I will send this book, and the list continues to grow.

77 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Stories of Legends March 27, 2012

By Mark R. Trost

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book this morning and inhaled it in two sittings. It's a fascinating read provided by a good solid writer.

I do not read autobiographies. Hell, age has taught me that history is written by gossips. And autobiographies are read through rose-colored glasses and written with hubristically hued pens. But Langella's title intrigued me. He hooked me with his preface. We experience his stories through his eyes but not from his perspective. He is the pupil - not the reader. I don't know more about Langella than I did before I read his remembrances. I've learned about his mentors. He doesn't mention them as much as he dissects them. He masterfully creates a mosaic of moving memories. His subjects are the stuffs of legends. There is a reason their names are the marques of his chapters. When I finished the book I felt entertained yet strangely saddened. Many of these names have faded and will soon be forgotten. It's good to have them set into a worthy work.

Langella's bio suggests this is his foray into a career evolution. Good. The man can write. I look forward to my next read.

47 of 57 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars not my kind of guy April 21, 2012

By nancyt

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you call yourself a friend of Frank Langella, try to outlive him so he can't write about you posthumously. Everyone he writes about comes off pathetic and/or emotionally or morally crippled. He himself is no prize---a boy toy for famous older women, even after he's no longer a boy.

So, did I hate the book? No. Reading it was akin to sitting in an audience and being unable to take your eyes off the villain who is delivering a flawless performance. His prose is intelligent and lean, even elegant at times, and he delivers his stories with hook, line, and sinker. The author is just not someone I'd choose to spend time with.