Customer Reviews

Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip

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I've read this book twice and each time I feel like I'm entering a time warp. I'm being transported back into the 1950's, the 1960's. I lived in Los Angeles during those years and this has captured every naunce that is LA in all its dubious glory. John Gilmore has seen the shadows and the spotlights as well. The book takes you all over, from Hollywood to New York, Paris, even Cairo, Egypt. I especially was drawn into Gilmore's relationship with the late actress Jean Seberg, who I always admired. He shows her as she has never been shown. At times this book is very strange, and very engrossing (see Janis Joplin, Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot... Gilmore has 'kissed' them all and gives us the dish). A tale of remarkable originality. Super highly recommened, and I can hardly wait for his next tome.

The story in this book defies credibility. What are the odds that one person could get to hang with Errol Flynn, Dennis Hopper, and Sal Mineo, get drunk with Hank Williams and high with Lenny Bruce, talk about writing with Ed Wood, Jr., become cuckolded by Steve McQueen, have sex with Jane Fonda, Brigette Bardot, Janis Joplin,and James Dean AND be able to write like this?

Well, even if it isn't all true-- and I like to think it is, because there's very little here that's self-serving, and Gilmore rarely spares himself-- LAID BARE delivers much more than anyone has a right to expect from any one book. Reading it was like reading TROPIC OF CANCER for the first time, only the characters are Jack Nicholson, Roddy McDowell, James Dean, Jean Seberg, and so on. This is much more than Hollywood gossip. This is the human tragedy that we read gossip in order to infer, exposed completely by a master writer. Gilmore's prose is direct, honest, and muscular. His mastery of detail is astonishing, so much that the details might be a little too thick if this were a novel. However, when he writes about Janis Joplin-- her manner, her way of dressing, her scent-- the importance of his subject, the fact that she really did live, and the devestating fact that she is gone forever make every remebered detail precious, and Gilmore treats each of them with appropriate care.

So why isn't John Gilmore famous? From reading LAID BARE, I think the answer may be that he doesn't care about fame-- and that may be the reason why he survived so much insanity, to tell of so many who did not. I can't wait to read this book again, and to read anything by John Gilmore that I can get my hands on.

Or should I say Slide Side! I have never read a book about the "bad" "slide" "dark" side of Hollywood that comes anywhere near close to the REAL flip-side picture of behind-the-camera Hollywood as this one. John Gilmore is a teriffic writer who takes us through this myriad of real-life characters whose names we all know as well as our box of corn flakes. He opens up the lives and heads he writes about and allows us to see what makes them tick, drink, shoot up, bed-hop, turn upside down and inside out and fall from Heaven or kill themselves. All this through Gilmore's personal experiences, living alongside these individuals, sharing some of their good times as well as the tragic and pitiful times; James Dean, Brigitte Bardot, William S. Burroughs, Jayne Mansfield, Jane Fonda, Steve McQueen, Lenny Bruce, Jim Morrison of the Doors, Jean Seberg, Sal Mineo--the list goes on; people Gilmore has worked with, known, slept with, done drugs with (Gilmore's good ex-friend Dennis Hopper appears in one of the most detailed, tragic portraits of a life on the Hollywood down side); Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, etc., etc. This is the Hollywood/New York Bright White Way 1950's 1960's Broadway scene told with relentless vision and insight. Not one of those books that promises dish but doesnt deliver. Gilmore DELIVERS and you get seconds on dessert! Anyone WAY out there who especially digs Janis Joplin is in for a treat! Read the book if only for getting into Janis. The author was on A&E and I have read interviews and he mentions an autobiography/memoir in the works; in other words, a bigger, fatter tale to beat the rose-colored glasses of our illusions. I can hardly wait and I'm no masochist! LAID BARE must surely rub a lot of people the wrong way or make them mad as hell. That is where the relentlessness is most apparent in Gilmore's literature. He is one of the best writers alive today, if not one of the most controversial. This is a one of a kind book: you won't find this close-to-the-bone first-person kiss-and-tell realism anywhere else. Go for it!

The author is either the unluckiest man in Hollywood or the most deluded. His story of self promotion is a rollercoaster ride through the fringes of the Hollywood scene during the late 50's and through into the 60's.

The author pulls no punches in taking on the likes of Dennis Hopper, Steve McQueen, Jane Fonda et al and blames them for everything from a bad haircut to world hunger.

He seems to have spent most of his time being ripped off by his friends, being cuckolded by his enemies or being pursued for sex by his superiors. In fact it's a suprise that this book actually made it into print and that it wasn't stolen out from under his pillow by some glory seeking fiend.
For example, although Hopper made one of the 60's seminal films (Easy Rider) Mr Gilmore gives him no credit as a director and instead blames Hopper and Peter Fonda for pinching his script.

Given the way he describes the likes of Hopper, Brando and Jane Fonda just to mention a few it is a wonder the author doesn't go out at all times armed with a running chainsaw, or at least a big dog.

A large part of the book involves attacking those whom the author believes were undermining his position of heir apparent to the legacy of James Dean. His relationship with Dean seems to define his existance and he guards it jealously. Aswell as stalking various film and music people, he lumbers himself on anyone who is an identity on the Hollywood scene.
He puts one in mind of a homeless dog, desperate for acceptance but with very little to offer.

Having said this, however, the book is a good read. Even though the author comes across as a snivelling weasel, his unfettered ego and good quality penmanship make the book highly entertaining.

Take it to the beach and revel in the story of a hasbeen masquerading as a almostwas who in reality never could.....

While reading John Gilmore's "Laid Bare - A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip," I was amazed at the number of notorious celebrities the author had tilted booze, dropped acid and eventually slept with. From Janis Joplin and Jean Seberg to James Dean and Sal Mineo, Gilmore was witness to a side of fame few could only dream of. Now, if it was only true.

This is not to say Gilmore's extremely well-written musings are a load of baloney, as his chapters devoted to Joplin, Jim Morrison and even the sad story of Barbara Payton are insightful and poetic. The details provided are so original that much of this has to be based on fact. Gilmore, born and raised in Hollywood and the son of a former bit player at MGM and an LAPD cop, was a part-time actor, screenplay writer and director who seemed to never catch a break. City hopping between Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Paris during the 1950s and 60s, Gilmore's quest for movie stardom failed to materialize. To his credit, he had several agents and did quite a bit of television work with guest roles on such programs as "The Naked City," "Bonanza" and "The Barbara Stanwyck Show." Publicity shots of Gilmore from this period show a youthful heart-breaker with a strong resemblance to Tony Curtis. He tried to direct a surfing epic in Hawaii, but financing fell through. He was to co-star in a European film with Seberg, but Italian investors pulled out. And while he was Dennis Hopper's roommate, he wrote a screenplay that was eerily similar to what would become "Easy Rider," though he received no credit for it. And the list goes on.

One of many controversial passages in Gilmore's book is devoted to his friendship with James Dean. After Dean's shocking death at the moment of super stardom, quite a few people claimed deep friendships with the legendary star. Gilmore has not only tried on this jacket, but he says their camaraderie began in New York and continued through Los Angeles where they would ride motorcycles together along coastal highways. These dream-like road trips would inspire his screenplay that would eventually be stolen by Hopper and mined into "Easy Rider" gold.

Gilmore describes a deeply troubled Dean, who had a fascination with speed and death. He claims they experimented together sexually, but Dean was mainly a heterosexual. This friendship, while giving Gilmore some notoriety, eventually caused Hollywood to brand the author a "rebel and troublemaker," further contributing to his failure to break through studio doors. Perhaps, but it did lead to Gilmore's novel "Live Fast Die Young: the Short Life of James Dean" which has done well on the bestseller lists. Today, residing in attractive senior citizen splendor, Gilmore the rebel seems to have found his niche with nonfiction investigation, penning such memorable works as "Severed: the True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder" and "Manson: The Unholy Trail of Charlie and the Family." In all, he's written around 10 noteworthy novels, some fiction, most not, hovering around the seamy side of LA life.

What is most fascinating about Gilmore's "Laid Bare" is the recreation of a storied Hollywood in transition. The studio system was coming to an end and the fertile era of the furious 1960s and 70s was slowly taking root. It's the kind of meat James Ellroy ("LA Confidential") feeds on regularly, and it's not surprising that Ellroy has gone on record to say Gilmore is full of crap. Truth be told, Gilmore most certainly hovered around a movie scene Ellroy could only dream of.

Anyway, Gilmore's take on the likes of Lenny Bruce, Jane Fonda, William Burroughs and Steve McQueen is not especially positive. He has quite a bit of venom built up for McQueen, who had an affair with his first wife while the trio lived in New York. Hopper is raked over the coals with rare abandon. Jack Nicholson is poked a few times. He even takes Errol Flynn to the cleaners, though the sex-obsessed swashbuckler has always been an easy target.

The irritating hair which one can never easily pluck while perusing this underbelly wreckage, is that the huge majority of celebrities Gilmore crucifies kicked the bucket many years ago. None of these sad souls are alive to dispute Gilmore's shady claims. Conversations which took place 40 and 50 years ago are recited verbatim. One suspects "Laid Bare" is kind of like those dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park." They were created with incomplete DNA, with frog blood filling in the missing gaps. Thus, a monster has been created equal parts beautiful, horrifying and repulsive.

Towards the end of Gilmore's unforgettable work, there's a passage where he seems to be winking at the audience. While describing Carlos, the roommate of a friend, he says "People who told the truth were fools, Carlos said. He believed lying was more creative than telling the truth. He'd just sit around making up stories to get people to think of him as an intelligent and important person. After he got that stuff published, he got some fat checks. He didn't care that anyone thought he was a fake. He was going to keep on lying because a superior man never tells the truth - he tells what he wants to be the truth."

Gilmore's work may indeed be baloney. If so, it's well-written baloney. Burn, Gilmore, burn.

A truly wonderful book! John Gilmore is a master at recreating the old Hollywood, the places, the scenes, the people. For those who have lived it, this is true nostaliga as well as an engaging examination behind the "myths", the super people and super stars our culture has been conditioned to worship. Here, Gilmore removes the "shine" and we see and experience these stars as complicated individuals, lost in the maze of the Hollywood machine. A highly recommended read. Brilliant, entertaining; a true textbook on the desperation that drives some individuals to the top of the success ladder, only to destroy themselves in a sad, sad scenario of loss and despair.

I would like to have walked in John Gilmore's booties or been his shadow in the fifties and sixties. This book is just too cool and tells all you ever would want to know about James Dean, including his romp in the hay with him while living in New York City before Jimmy was famous.

I am an avid reader of non-fiction and this book is one of the best I have ever read. He has had more experiences with live and dead celebrities that any one person would ever hope to have. To mention a few headliners; Steve McQueen, Hank Williams Jr., Jean Seberg, Jane Fonda, James Dean, Janis Joplin, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Tom Neal, Barbara Payton, Ida Lupino, Errol Flynn and a cast of thousands.

Listen to this. John Gilmore wrote the original storyline for Easy Rider only he had another title. Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda hired Terry Southern to write the same story which ended up being Easy Rider using 90% of John's original story. Did he get any money for his idea? NO! And that really upsets me. However, John has survived and is successful in the way he must want to be. I enjoy his style of writing and will read more of his books.

This book is very interesting in that it tells that truth of the myths that were the old Hollywood stars, like James Dean.

Somethings are almost unbelievable but shows the humanity of the these so-called icons that we all have wanted to believe to be perfect.

It hard to put this book down.

I highly recommend it.

Reading LAID BARE is like finding a series of lost diaries by such icons as James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Janis Joplin, all of whom John Gilmore--an L.A.born chld actor, almost movie star, director and writer--hung out (if not slept) with before they became iconic. Beautifully written in a style somewhere between Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski and several light years away from the cobbled-together sleaze the title and dustjacket suggest, this is an astonishing book, even if Gilmore's total recall of conversations 40 years ago is a little suspect. Read it above all for its insights into the failed lives and seamy side of Hollywood, indicating--as Gary Indiana notes in the foreword--that celebrities "don't change einto wonderful human beings just because ten million people know who they are.

However, it was a fascinating book chock full of information about many actors. Once you begin you must read until the last page. Very informative, but dark book dealing with the seamier side of personalities.