Merv Griffin: A Life in the Closet [Hardcover]

Darwin Porter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2009

This is the first post-mortem, unauthorized insight into Merv Griffin, a failed singer and unsuccessful actor who unexpectedly rewrote the rules of America's broadcasting industry. He became the richest man in TV, befriended everyone in media who mattered, bought a casino, and maintained a secret life as America's most famously closeted homosexual. From a controversial writer whose previous work has virtually re-defined the art of the celebrity biography, HERE'S MERV.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Darwin Porter tears the door off Merv Griffin's closet with gusto in this sizzling, superlatively researched biography. Porter's insightful assessment of Merv's career arc--from brash boy who staged backyard entertainment, to struggling big band crooner, to king (or queen) of daytime talk shows, to made-by-TV mogul brims with insider gossip that's about Hollywood legends, writ large, smart, and with great style." --Richard LaBonte, Bookmarks

Darwin Porter tears the door off Merv Griffin's closet in this sizzling, superlatively researched biography...writ large, smart, and with great style. --Richard LaBonte, Book Marks, April, 2009

Review

This is the only serious book ever written about Merv Griffin, whose very name became a metaphor for the TV industry as a whole. No show-biz biography has ever been published post-millennium with as many scoops as this one. It's well written, shocking, and gutsy--unexpected show biz history that's a guilty pleasure to read. Porter handles Merv's penchant for successful schmoozing, both in and out of the boudoir, with tact, while delivering off-camera anecdotes with a punch.

It's especially useful as an illumination of what was going on behind network TV sets. Porter persuaded major figures in the entertainment industry, both in New York and Hollywood, to tell him a lot more than they should have. The result is a well-researched and informative shocker that everyone in Hollywood will read and dissect.

Beware of overheated blogsites, and try to stay calm. Staunch believers in the traditional canons of TV programming risk apoplexy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 525 pages
• Publisher: Blood Moon Productions; 1 edition (May 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978646509
• ISBN-13: 978-0978646509
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars outrageously over-the-top salaciousness, December 18, 2009

By 

Jeff Hanna (San Diego, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Merv Griffin: A Life in the Closet (Hardcover)

Anyone looking for a "serious" biography of Merv Griffin had best look elsewhere. Although the basic information about Merv's life is here, probably fifty per cent of this book is either outright fabrication or outrageous embellishment of POSSIBLY true stories, but it is a terrifically fun mixture of bio and over-the-top gay porn fantasy. For instance, Guy Madison of the 1940's is probably the "all-time all-timer" of gay male fantasies, so the idea of Merv sharing many a passionate night with Mr. Guy (while Guy is married to Gail Russell) is most titillating, though improbable. Darwin Porter must've had fun writing about Merv and his buddies, and lots of the dialogue he puts in people's mouths, especially the mouths of Liberace, Mae West, and Talullah Bankhead, is absolutely hilarious.

Many of the sexual couplings described are jaw-droppers - would you believe Dean Martin and Liberace?, Richard Burton and Eddie Fisher? (so Burton could "show him who's boss"), Truman Capote and Humphrey Bogart?, Gene Kelly and Vincent Minelli going at it repeatedly?, Merv "servicing" Frank Sinatra while 'ol blue eyes is fondling Lana Turner?, poor Lana on her knees in a nightclub men's room?, Merv "taking care" of Rock Hudson just moments after Hudson has finished servicing Miss Talullah's "womanly needs?"...well no, I don't believe these fairy tales either...but they're good for laughs and party conversation, although some of the anecdotes are just gross and ugly.

As for how many of the stories are ridiculous whoppers, one might point out that who would've believed that Marilyn and Joan Crawford spent the night together...until it was confirmed a few years ago on the front page of the Los Angeles Times?...so I guess anything is possible.

Get this bizarre book if what I've described appeals to your curiosity, don't take it too seriously, and just go along for the ride.

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars who wasn't gay, exactly?, June 2, 2009

By 

Afdhere Jama, author of ILLEGAL CITIZENS (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Merv Griffin: A Life in the Closet (Hardcover)

i'm not really in the business of reading the national enquirer or any other tabloid but a copy on a friend's coffee table the other day led me to a review of this book (why hasn't the ny times reviewed this? uhm... read the book). wow. i mean, wow ! aside from the shocking sexual affairs the man supposedly had with a lot of famous men (including james dean), what really made me enjoy this book is the real story behind this culture icon. from his poor childhood to billions he made, it sounds like merv griffin kind of stayed true to himself. and yet another revelation of the great ingredient to a successful life: when you combine what you love (he loved television above all else) with what you do for a living, you made it. definitely worth every dollar.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guilty Reading Pleasure, July 23, 2009

By 

Joseph Albanese "The Joe Show" (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Merv Griffin: A Life in the Closet (Hardcover)

When Merv Griffin was a talk show, it was looked down upon as a "poor man's Johnny Carson". Then, Mr. G.'s name became quite visible at the end of game show programs. Yet, somehow, I never could quite picture him as an interesting person. That is, until I read this book.

If you are looking for historical data or a morale lifting tale, put the book down now. However, if you need something light and full of gossip, how can you resist any book that begins with Merv and includes: Eva Gabor, Erroll Flynn, Tyronne Power, Johnny Weismuller, Ceasar Romero and . . . You get the idea? And then you read that further on, he had an affair with Marilyn Monroe. I didn't want to but I just could not put the book down.

It isn't wise (or very nice) to kiss-and-tell but it does make one dandy guilty pleasure of a read. Mr. Griffin was a complicated and driven person. Unfortunately the author merely notes what he did without linking it to any reason. So, perhaps it is a good thing that this is just an addictive candy that you can not stop eating.

This book makes no pretenses about what its intentions are. The author is not psychoanalyzing Merv; just reciting a litany of his life, career and sexual adventures. So, pull down the shades, get your favorite junk food handy and treat yourself.