Pieces of My Heart: A Life [Hardcover]

Robert J. Wagner (Author), Scott Eyman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2008

A moving, candid, and deeply personal look at the triumphs and tragedies, lovesand heartbreaks of one of Hollywood's most popular and enduring stars.

Handsome, suave, and sophisticated, Robert J. Wagner has starred in more than one hundred films and television series over the past fifty years. In this deeply personal story, he recalls his rise to stardom. He talks candidly about his relationships with some of the greatest stars of the 20th century, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, and, for the first time, he shares the details of his two marriages to Natalie Wood. Wagner also offers a fascinating look at Hollywood during the last half of the 20th century.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Actor and producer Wagner begins this engaging memoir by recalling his childhood fascination with movies and the Hollywood community. Determined to become a part of that world, in 1942, at age 12, he worked as a golf caddy, struggling to make contact with those who could help him. As an 18-year-old Fox contract player, he got a foothold with minor roles: I wasn't very good in this period, but I was diligent. Soon he scored with Prince Valiant in 1954, and A Kiss Before Dying, thus beginning a six-decade career in theater, television series and more than 100 movies. His rule of thumb: Find smart people and listen to them. Along the way, he realized friends and family were equally as important as show business, and he writes with fondness and humor about his close friendships with David Niven and others while painting a backdrop of Hollywood in transition. As for the women in Wagner's life, he details one-night stands, his four-year affair with Barbara Stanwyck (who was twice his age) and his four marriages (twice to Natalie Wood). His love for Wood threads throughout, and his memory of her last night is chilling as he leads the reader step-by-step through her 1981 disappearance from their boat and the search for her body. (Oct.)
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Review

“Engaging” (Publishers Weekly )

“Pieces of My Heart is a treasure. . . . Wagner’s portrait of [Natalie] Wood is adoring and poignant. . . . With admirable strength and honest self-awareness, Wagner makes plain that there’s much more to him than his handsome face.” (Washington Post )

“Mesmerizing” (Kirkus Reviews )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment; 1 edition (September 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061373311
• ISBN-13: 978-0061373312
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (137 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Actors & Actresses

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, RJ -- be still my heart., October 1, 2008

By 

D. Summerfield (Missoula, Montana) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pieces of My Heart: A Life (Hardcover)

I initially purchased Robert Wagner's autobiography because his late wife, Natalie Wood, is my favorite movie star. I wanted more insight into her personality. The book does have quite a bit about his two marriages with Natalie, and about the fading studio system in Hollywood in the fifties which brought them together. It also chronicles the devastation brought on by her untimely death by drowning. But this book is a surprisingly compelling portrait of a handsome, charismatic, approachable leading man who has been in the limelight for most of his life.

I really didn't know much about Robert Wagner when I started reading this book. I had seen most of his movies, and I liked his old television series "Hart to Hart" with Stefanie Powers. But I knew nothing of his personal life, or about his background. The depiction of his journey from young rebel to solid leading man to Hollywood icon is told here with great charm and in-depth self-examination.

Of course the big surprise is the revelation of his early romance with the much older Barbara Stanwyck when Wagner was first starting off in Hollywood -- she was twice his age and the relationship lasted four years! But there is fascinating information all through the book about Wagner's love affairs, his co-stars and his friendships with other Hollywood legends. He is especially lovely when writing about his current wife, Jill St. John, herself a sex symbol and Bond girl, who helped him get over Natalie Wood's death. I also like that he writes warmly about his close relationship with his children.

I recommend this book highly to film buffs and those who enjoy movie star biographies and memoirs. Robert Wagner comes across as a wonderful man, and one who is still sexy as all get-out.

UPDATE: This memoir mentions that Wagner and Wood travelled to London in 1976 to do Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" for Laurence Olivier. Natalie Wood played Maggie, Wagner played Brick and Olivier played Big Daddy. Wagner calls the production his "professional high point."

I just discovered that the production, along with four other plays directed by Olivier, is available on DVD in a collection called Laurence Olivier Presents. So for Natalie Wood fans who are longing to see her in something new, or for Wagner fans who would like to see him in a truly pithy dramatic role, here's your chance.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inside view from an insider, October 1, 2008

By 

Fran Ishman (Egg Harbor Township, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pieces of My Heart (Kindle Edition)

What a worthwhile book! Mr. Wagner has mentally stored a mountain-full of memories that he now shares with us. Wonderful details spanning many years give insight and humanity to people who, for many of us, have always seemed to be on another planet. There are surprises, for sure. I came away from the book "liking" most of these folks, and Mr. Wagner's love and respect for his cohorts is obvious. For those few for which he held disdain, it was for very good reasons. The fame and fortune gleaned from a lifetime in the film business do not seem to be his most treasured prizes at all -- but rather the friendships he amassed.

I found the workings of the Hollywood studio system as well as his transition to television -- and the differences between the two, to be quite interesting. He certainly was well established in both arenas.

The telling of his life story indicates to me that Mr. Wagner is a man of principle, a man with admirable values and a man of deep emotion. I am definitely not star struck, a groupie, or an autograph collector. But I think I would just like to be Robert Wagner's next door neighbor.

I encourage you to read this book. It's the old "I couldn't put it down" thing.

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So readable and genuine, September 29, 2008

By 

baramarie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pieces of My Heart: A Life (Hardcover)

I had to give this a 5 star because it seemed so honest and genuinely
moving. At the end of the book, I have to say I LIKED Robert Wagner.
I think people he calls a friend are very lucky indeed. He seems to have
real values. Anyone who likes "star" bios will certainly not be disappointed with this book.