Customer Reviews

The Peter Lawford Story: Life With the Kennedys, Monroe and the Rat Pack

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I know that Patricia Seaton was married to Peter Lawford, and I am confident that many of the things she covered in this biography are undeniable, but the gross variances between her accounts and established facts almost begs the reader to question this author's credibility. Prime example: Seaton Lawford states that Colonel Ernest Aylen (Lady May Lawford's husband at the time) learned that his wife was pregnant (by his commanding officer) and killed himself in 1923--in front of May's own eyes. Dramatic story, yet public records clearly indicate that Aylen filed for divorce seven months after his alleged suicide and died some 24 years later (on October 12, 1947) by his own hand. Obviously, both stories cannot be true... So, when Seaton Lawford writes that Bobby Kennedy did NOT have a sexual relationship with Marilyn Monroe, can I believe her? Or when she states that Peter Lawford showed more concern for a marijuana plant than for his son Christopher (who was strung-out on heroin and standing on a second-story ledge) can I believe her? Or when she states that First Lady-to-be Nancy Davis (before her marriage to Ronald Reagan) was known for certain sexual acts, can I believe her? Just as troubling, Seaton Lawford interjects personal stories (like her rape by an OB-GYN or Ted Kennedy's apparent proposition for sex) and awkwardly tries to include them as some significant commentary on Peter Lawford's sensibilities or psyche. These disturbing experiences seem inappropriate in a discussion of his life, and they paint the author as someone who is too close to the subject to convey objective information. Overall, I was left with the unsatisfying feeling that someone had been mixing lies with facts.

Relatively thin information on Peter Lawford is padded out by Ted Schwarz with generally known histories of people and events related to Lawford. So you learn a bit about HUAC and the blacklist, too much about Louis B. Mayer's background and romantic aspirations, far too much about Joseph Kennnedy's ditto, and WAY too much about how President John Kennedy acted in bed. The things that you might want to learn about, such as Marilyn Monroe, and the Rat Pack are passed over lightly.

What there is about Peter Lawford is sprinkled in between these diverse page-fillers and the whole is seasoned with opinions often are not backed up.

Too bad that Schwarz didn't put some effort into researching Lawford, the supposed subject of this book. Instead he seemed to have churned it out for the sake of adding another publication to his massive list. This book makes me wonder if they are all as poor a job as this one.

Mr. Lawford sure tumbled out of his wealthy, well "juiced" past.
His stories of times with Nancy Reagan, make her daughter, Patti, look like "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm".

Had really interesting segment about Peter Lawford appearances on $10,000 Pyramid and then $20,000 Pyramid. Lawford really liked this gameshow and was quite good at it. Details like this (rather than speculation by someone who should know better) make this an intriguing character study.