Customer Reviews

Merv: Making The Good Life Last

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Like the man who "wrote" it (he had help from co-author David Bender), Merv Griffin's "Making the Good Life Last" is an entertaining, conversational confection chockfull of stories and anecdotes about his life in show business. This book is, in many ways, a sequel to Merv's best-selling autobioraphy of a couple of decades ago. "Good Life" picks up when that tome left off, with Merv reinventing himself as a businessman and, eventually, as one of the world's richest men. There are great Tallulah tales, and delightful stories about Al Pacino, Vanna White, Orson Welles, Clint Eastwood, Cary Grant, Lucille Ball, Eva Gabor, Nancy and Ron, Donald Trump, Ted Koppel and Errol Flynn ... who Merv met while the actor was nude. "Now how shall I put this?" Merv muses. "I think it's fair to say that Flynn brandished a sword both on and off the screen." It's all warm and witty and cozy chatter from someone who feels like a friend. Until the last chapter. There, Merv starts to spout off about how much money he has ... not in dollar amounts, but in boastful brags. There's too much talk about buying jets, yachts, hotels and casinos, of building this house and that house (with "house" sometimes meaning "ranch" or "compound"), of having marble and tile imported from across the world, of collecting horses and priceless art works by French Impressionists and Colorists, of having an associate deposit a check for $273 million ("the interest alone was $50,000 a day"), when most senior citizens at the same bank that day were depositing their monthly Social Security check for "$400 or $500 at most." This is when Merv needs to be tuned out and turned off. "Making the Good Life Last" is good ... until the last drop.

I have always enjoyed Merv Griffin and watched many of his TV shows. This autobiography tells about many of his achievements and a few failures. Merv's attitude is always on the bright side and I believe that is why he is so successful. Bravery and risk taking is part of the mix, but relationships are his strong points and he has many interesting stories to tell. A fun read.

There are bits of interesting stories sprinkled throughout the book. However, you can find many of the key points in the book on Wikipedia.

I've always been a fan of Merv, having grown up watching his talk show. Oh, those wonderful 'theme' shows. What a fascinating and fascinated character he was! And reading this made me wish all the more than I'd had a chance to meet and talk with the man. Parts of his life were downplayed or largely ignored in this book, but it still made for a highly entertaining read.

In December 2007, I purchased this book. It took me about a year to finish it, though, but when I did, I learned a lot from a Depression-era boy who years later gave us our two most successful game show franchises, "Wheel of Fortune", and "Jeopardy!"

Before reading this book, I did not know that Merv had been a military reject. Once I read that part, I quickly picked it up. Another foreign subject in this book was that he was a college dropout. Now I know he was a college dropout.

Merv was one of my earliest role models as a baby, all because of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" Now, I have read all about him. I was saddened to hear of his death in August of 2007, but I wound up continuing to watch his successful shows, and have twice tried out for "Jeopardy!" (I have still not been able to pass the test.)

All in all, a five-star book by Merv.

I really enjoyed reading this book about Merv Griffin; his life stories were in turn funny, moving and nostalgic. He seems to have been a very special man. His attitude to all the money he made seems typical of quite a few millionaires...it's not the money he loved (although I'm sure he enjoyed what he could do with it) but the process of getting it. The thrill of the deal, so to speak. I highly recommend this auto-biography of a very interesting man.

Since I purchased this book to find out more about the man I watched for years on TV, I expected to learn things I had not known before. This book is the kind of book that feels as if he is talking to you personally.
I'm about half way through and enjoying every word. He certainly led a busy and exciting life.

While more than 400,000 of his peer group were killed (and another 786,301 wounded), he states that he missed out on WWII because he was in the "4F" category (i.e., physically unfit).

He then goes on to make hundreds of millions of dollars during the next forty years, thus benefiting directly from those who paid the price for his freedom, yet writes about absolutely NOTHING that he did, is doing, or will do, for veterans?!

It's a shame.

As the young men at Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Midway, and other locations 'died young' so that MG could make more money, he, as well as our other philantropists, should be dedicating at least HALF of their net worth (and estates) to the VETERANS (their families, and health care) who made it all possible.

Prosperity, comfort, and standard of living in the USA are just as simple as that: VETERANS made it possible for you, for your life. MG and others who never 'served in uniform': Don't you be among the Ungrateful Swine, who profited but show no appreciation for the extreme, ultimate sacrifices of others on your behalf ... Show you appreciate the vets in a CONCRETE way ($$$)... especially as philanthropists and as your legacy in history. Which way do you want yourself and your family name to be remembered, in all your 'bio's' in the end?

Will MG forever be remembered as a 'Club Singer' or something more?