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The Hollywood Book of Breakups
 
 
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The Hollywood Book of Breakups [Paperback]

James Robert Parish (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 23, 2006 0471752681 978-0471752684 1
"Half of all marriages end in divorce--and then there are the really unhappy ones."
--Joan Rivers

Do you suppose that the person who first said "Life is stranger than fiction" might have had Hollywood marriages in mind? Why watch a romantic film starring a leading man and a leading lady when their real-life romances are so much more interesting? It seems that a celebrity's latest film can have a considerably longer life span in the theater than his or her marriage du jour.

One would almost think that Tinseltown has come to embrace divorce as an accepted pastime. Some celebrities have seemingly collected spouses over the years, systematically adding notches in their belts of divorces. Cases in point: Zsa Zsa Gabor (nine), Lana Turner (eight), Elizabeth Taylor (nine), and Mickey Rooney (eight). This list appears to make Jennifer Lopez a mere novice with only three marriages, two divorces, and one terminated engagement to date.

In The Hollywood Book of Breakups, James Robert Parish looks at scores of hot Hollywood romances that eventually fell apart. From the decade-long union of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to the "just-for-show" nuptials of Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates to the four-and-a-half-year marriage of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to the "other woman" divorce of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Parish covers it all--from the burning embers to the fizzling fires of Hollywood breakups. You couldn't make this stuff up--and James Robert Parish doesn't need to. Hollywood writes its own drama when it comes to scandalous breakups.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Half of all marriages end in divorce—and then there are the really unhappy ones."
—Joan Rivers

Do you suppose that the person who first said "Life is stranger than fiction" might have had Hollywood marriages in mind? Why watch a romantic film starring a leading man and a leading lady when their real-life romances are so much more interesting? It seems that a celebrity's latest film can have a considerably longer life span in the theater than his or her marriage du jour.

One would almost think that Tinseltown has come to embrace divorce as an accepted pastime. Some celebrities have seemingly collected spouses over the years, systematically adding notches in their belts of divorces. Cases in point: Zsa Zsa Gabor (nine), Lana Turner (eight), Elizabeth Taylor (nine), and Mickey Rooney (eight). This list appears to make Jennifer Lopez a mere novice with only three marriages, two divorces, and one terminated engagement to date.

In The Hollywood Book of Breakups, James Robert Parish looks at scores of hot Hollywood romances that eventually fell apart. From the decade-long union of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to the "just-for-show" nuptials of Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates to the four-and-a-half-year marriage of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to the "other woman" divorce of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Parish covers it all—from the burning embers to the fizzling fires of Hollywood breakups. You couldn't make this stuff up—and James Robert Parish doesn't need to. Hollywood writes its own drama when it comes to scandalous breakups.

About the Author

James Robert Parish is a former entertainment reporter and the author of numerous books on Hollywood, including The Hollywood Book of Death and Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 312 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 23, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0471752681
  • ISBN-13: 978-0471752684
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #944,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have the privilege of doing work (i.e., writing books) that I thoroughly enjoy, so it is no real chore to be active on my book projects seven days a week. Doing research is much like being a detective, bringing as many elements of the subject's life to light and assessing how each piece fits into the puzzle of a celebrity's biography.

 

Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Trashy fun!, July 30, 2006
This review is from: The Hollywood Book of Breakups (Paperback)
Even serious lovers of film need something fun to read about the medium and THE HOLLYWOOD BOOK BREAKUPS by James Robert Parish fills the bill. No, it isn't a weighty tome about a particular star or director or the making of a classic movie; it is a sensational behind-the-scene glimpse at the private lives of several Hollywood stars. Parish uses considerable research and skill to convey how some of these lives were or are more interesting off-screen than on-screen! Specifically, as the title promises, Parish focuses on the well-publicized breakups of such couples as Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, and Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres. Frankly, I was more interested in the older stars and "what really happened" to them (since all the new celebrity stuff has already been covered to death). I enjoyed reading about Ingrid Bergman's divorce from "Dr. Petter Lindstrom." There is even a wedding day photo of the two (I had never seen them together before) in addition to information that I didn't know (in Hollywood, during her marriage, Bergman was already romancing several others well before her infamous union with Roberto Rossellini). Elsewhere, Parish clarifies the tangled mismatch between Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra, and he finds some new angles regarding the Marilyn Monroe-Joe DiMaggio split. There are a few minor lapses--e.g. in the Orson Welles-Rita Hayworth chapter, Parish claims Welles stayed with last wife Paola Mori to the end of of his life, never mentioning his long-term companionship with Oja Kodar. But, in any case, it is hard to put down this compulsively readable, highly entertaining book.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Encyclopedia of Breakups, September 7, 2006
This review is from: The Hollywood Book of Breakups (Paperback)
James Robert Parish has always had the ability to cut right through the froo-froo icing and get right to cake. That's why so many of his books are on my shelf. With this one, I have to start a new shelf. He packs in a lot of information: mini bios of all the players, what brought them together and the circumstances that drove them apart. He brings each era alive, mentioning timely rumors and headlines, but delivers only the facts, dispelling media speculation in exchange for - get this - the real story! And the variety of couples, from Stanwyck and Taylor, Burton and Taylor, Brad and Jen or Liza and David Gest represents 75 years of Tinsletown romance gone awry.

I, too, write books about Hollywood (Dishing Hollywood, Hollywood Haunted). Our books are often paired; I am very complemented by that because James Parish is really great at what he does.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Read, August 8, 2006
This review is from: The Hollywood Book of Breakups (Paperback)
What a guilty pleasure! Concisely written, carefully researched, The Hollywood Book of Breakups is a speed read of celebrity couplings gone wrong. Parish doesn't glamorize or trash his subjects, he makes the stars seem all too human. A fresh take on Hollywood divorce, and a crash course in the many, many ways that relationships can burn up and flame out.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
On many levels, marriages among Hollywood notables often have been milestones in unreality. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Los Angeles, New York, United States, Beverly Hills, Warner Bros, World War, Las Vegas, Zsa Zsa, San Francisco, Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, Twentieth Century-Fox, Santa Monica, Jean Peters, West Coast, Bette Davis, Lee Marvin, New Orleans, Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes, Lyle Lovett, New Jersey, Orson Welles, Palm Springs
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