Grabtown Girl: Ava Gardner's North Carolina Childhood and Her Enduring Ties to Home (Paperback)

~ Doris Rollins Cannon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

At age nine, Ava Gardner went to the Howell Theater in Smithfield, North Carolina, with her mother Mollie to see her mother's favorite movie star Clark Gable starring as a safari leader in Africa with Jean Harlow in Red Dust. Twenty years later Ava would find herself in Jean Harlow's role in a remake of that story Mogambo, with none other than Clark Gable.

That such a thing could happen to a country girl from North Carolina was beyond the imagination not only of Ava but of everybody who knew her. But people learned to expect the unexpected from Ava. By 13, she'd decided she wanted to be a movie star, and at 18 she joked with friends that she was going to marry the biggest star in Hollywood. She did both, and went on to become one of the most famous women of the 20th century.

How did a shy, tomboyish farm girl do that?

Doris Rollins Cannon spent years interviewing family, friends, teachers and others who knew Ava to determine the forces that drove her, the values that guided her. She found they were firmly grounded in her North Carolina roots.

"She endured in a profession in which only the strong survive," Cannon writes. "And she survived, not because she overcame her rural North Carolina background-but because she drew her strength from it."

Much has been written about Ava's legendary life, but the material in this book, never before told, adds a new and moving dimension to her story. It includes letters and photographs never before published.

About the Author

Doris Rollins Cannon, a retired newspaper journalist, is chairman emeritus of the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina. She lives in Clayton.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Down Home Press (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878086898
• ISBN-13: 978-1878086891
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #913,042 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Perspective For Life Story of a Star, September 26, 2002

By	Jennifer E. Williams (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This biography is intensely researched and informative. The story is exactly what the title states, "Ava Gardner's North Carolina Childhood and Her Enduring Ties To Home". This biography puts most of its focus on Ava's childhood and how it shaped her attitudes toward her life and her fame. Although the last third of the book overviews her life as a star, if you are looking for a detailed account of Ava's Hollywood life, this is not the book for you. This is simply the story (told mainly through antecdotes and memories of family and friends) of a woman with strong roots who happened to become a movie star but who never forgot where she came from. The author introduces the reader to Ava's North Carolina family and friends and I love the fact that she tells the reader what happened to everyone mentioned in the book. I have a whole new respect and perspective for Ava Gardner. I was really struck by the fact that even though Ava became a big star, she never thought of herself as any better than anyone else and continued to be a loving and supportive friend, sister, and aunt. The book is short (about 130 pages, I read it in two nights, maybe took 3 hours total) and has some great pictures throughout. I highly recommend it!!!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great imigination, April 28, 2001

By	Judith R Nance (Sanford, NC) - See all my reviews

A wonderful Biography - the author does a wonderful job depicting who Ava Gardner was in both roles of her life - "Grabtown Girl" and "Hollywood Star". I appreciate her dedication and no doubt the timeless hours she spent in writing such a wonderful book.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not enough detail, October 11, 2001

By	"avalon1006" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I found this book very disappointing. I was excited to learn about a star I have admired but knew very little about. Unfortunately, this book reads like a newspaper obituary. It gives useless, detailed information regarding her childhood but blazes past the more interesting parts of her life (like her marriages to Mickey Rooney, Art Shaw and Frank Sinatra).

Save your money and look up the same info on the internet.