Customer Reviews

Spotlights & Shadows: The Albert Salmi Story

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Albert Salmi (1928-1990) appeared in about 60 movies, and had over 100 TV guest appearances. Albert was a truly great professional -- the consummate actor. Albert would appear on Broadway in some famous plays, such as "Bus Stop" and "End as a Man."

When Albert decided to make the transition from stage to screen, Albert was offered an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his first movie, "The Brothers Karamazov" (1958), for which the studio wanted to nominate him for an Oscar. He told them no. Why? Read the book to find out. Albert would go on to appear in many movies, and TV shows, in the following decades.

His first marriage, to Peggy Ann Garner, ended in divorce; they had a daughter named Catherine Ann Salmi, or Cas for short. Alb's 2nd marriage, to Roberta Pollock, was rocky; they had 2 daughters, Lizanne and Jenny, but Albert discovered later that Roberta had been severely abusing Cas and one of her own daughters. Nevertheless, the book tells us that she did many things right, too -- helped him achieve peace and quiet so he could learn his lines, brought the children to visit him when he was working on location, filled in for him at a White House reception, arranged a teaching job for him during his semi-retirement, etc.

Later in his life, in his fifties, Albert felt that he had been abandoned by Hollywood. Albert used his vast knowledge of acting to teach young students. Sandra Grabman interviewed dozens of his co-stars, friends, neighbors, and family members for this book. Best of all are excerpts, throughout the book, of Albert's own handwritten memoirs telling us about the happenings of his life. Sandra Grabman's book is the quintessential biography of Albert Salmi.

Sandra Grabman is a wonderful writer of biography. Her first book, Spotlights and Shadows: The Albert Salmi Story is an excellent read. She is a economical writer who can get alot of information across without the reader straining their eyes.

Her subject was one of the best television, stage, and film character actors of the many who cropped up during the 1950's. His story is compellingly told with the help of Albert Salmi's unpublished memoirs. One of the great treats of this book is that Sandra had access to many of Albert's writings and to members of his family. We get the flesh and blood human being, exposed warts and all in this fine book. We get a step by step build-up as to why a man who was as loved as Albert--and most of his collegues and friends loved him dearly--took the tragic turn he ultimately did. It is a compelling book--and another fine product from the publishing house of bear manor media.

I can't wait to read Ms. Grabman's new book on the wonderful Peggy Ann Garner.

If you want to read a well-written. well-researched, and interesting biography about one of the most talented and versatile actors of the 20th Century, then this book is for you.

Right from the start, a particularly appealing aspect of the format is the interweaving of Ms.Grabman's narrative with Mr. Salmi's autobiographical notes (discovered after his untimely death), thus allowing the reader to hear the subject speak in his own voice while his biographer provides relevant comments and background for his recollections. This alternation of author's text with subject's memoirs is beautifully executed, and even after his notes run out, Ms. Grabman has gathered enough material on her own to continue the story of Mr. Salmi's life journey, including interviews containing revealing and insightful reminiscences by many who traveled the road with him for a while along the way, both personally and professionally.

What emerges is a picture of a complex but deceptively simple man,dedicated to the quest for, and often achieving, excellence in his craft, whose personal life was largely devoted to enjoying family and friends while shunning the ostentatious trappings of fame. He comes across as an extremely likeable human being, warm, gentle and generous in both his professional and personal relationships. That is why, in sharp contrast to this characterization, Mr. Salmi's sudden and violent death becomes all the more incongruous and hard to comprehend, but if you're looking for lurid details and wild speculations, you won't find them in these pages. Instead, Ms.Grabman has chosen to treat the circumstances surrounding the tragic event with sensitivity and restraint, while at the same time by no means diminishing the facts of the matter nor the search for meaning behind Mr. Salmi's desperate final act.

It goes without saying that this book is a must-read for Albert Salmi fans, some of whom might be as surprised as I was to learn of his Brooklyn upbringing and early years of study with Lee Strasberg at the legendary Actors Studio. I also highly recommend it to readers in general, to biography buffs in particular, and to drama students specifically as there is quite a bit of interesting film and theater history to be found here. You also won't want to miss the selection of great photos.

Buy this book! You won't regret it.

Sandra Grabman's biography about an actor whose face most know but not his name, brings him to life like a long lost friend. Albert Salmi was seen on TV time and again from the 1950s through the 1980s, but nothing, to my knowledge, was written about him. You don't have to be a fan to enjoy this book. The book stands on its own as an interesting account of the life of an actor born to immigrant parents from Finland. Of particular interest to me was his early career as a stage actor in New York, his early training, and award winning performances before he migrated to Hollywood for television roles, primarily to support his family.

Salmi died a tragic death in 1990 and what makes this book so poignant is that Grabman uses Salmi's own handwritten memoirs, which he obviously planned to publish one day, but never finished. Grabman finished it for him, explaining and filling in facts from many interviews with his family and friends. Her sympathetic treatment enlightens the reader to Salmi's emotional turmoil intensified by his second wife, Roberta, who brutally abused his daughters, especially his daughter from his first wife, actress Peggy Ann Garner. Grabman is almost too kind to Roberta in her objectivity as a biographer and her consideration of family members. She merely gives the facts for the reader to discern. Grabman gives the reader much more to remember Salmi by, rather than a shocking Hollywood tragedy riddled with rumors.
A page-turner from page one, this book is an easy and entertaining read.

Albert Salmi was one of those actors we all grew up watching. Maybe we didn't remember his name, but we remembered his face well. Now, with Sandra Grabman's carefully researched book, we know the rest of the story.

Salmi played in many movies and TV shows, and turned in a solid performance every time. Watching him, no one could have guessed the depths of the depression that he suffered, or the violent act to which that depression would eventually lead.

Grabman treats his illness with candor but consideration for his family and many friends and fans worldwide. It's a must read.

I only wish more bios like this would be written. These days, bios of Hollywood personalities are usually laden with sordid details of typical stardom - sudden success, decline into alcoholism, divorce, more alcoholism, giving birth to kids who get into drugs, 12-step program, and BOOM! Now the celebrity is happy at age 65. Unfortunately, Albert Salmi wasn't able to complete his journey...but what a life this guy had. And a happy one at that. Anecdotes from Hollywood actors, plus a great many excerpts from Salmi's unpublished memoirs, are splendid. I hope Ms. Grabman writes many more books.

Sandra Grabman has written a perceptive, well-researched tribute to one of the most talented if ultimately undervalued Hollywood character actors.

Although Albert Salmi's tragic death may well take precedence over his vast and varied body of cinematic achievements, his contribution to film and, most particularly, the early days of television must not be overlooked, and this is where Sandra excels with her book. She details both the professional and personal peaks and valleys of an essentially kind man beset by many demons. Yet she refuses to present an easy rendering of sensationalized tabloid material, instead offering a fair overview of the man, supplemented by unbiased reminisces from many of Salmi's friends and co-workers.

Even if one is not familiar with the professional achievements of Albert Salmi, Sandra's book is a highly-recommended read for any entertainment enthusiast, as it details many fascinating insights into the show biz world Salmi entered and the (often losing) struggles he endured to remain within its sphere. Sandra's prose is crisp, easy-to-read, and thoroughly entertaining. An added bonus is a generous supply of rare photographs that illustrate both the performer and the private man. This along with an exhaustive listing of Salmi's film/stage/and television appearances make The Albert Salmi Story a must read.

Finally, kudos to BearManor Media for publishing another handsomely-packaged trade paperback devoted to a celebrity lesser light of yesteryear. BearManor's contribution to keeping these memories alive remains both invaluable resource material to the serious scholar and fun reading for fans who don't want to forget.

This book isn't just for Albert Salmi fans; it's for anyone who enjoys a good read. I read Sandra's second book first, "Plain Beautiful" the biography of Peggy Ann Garner, and decided to read about Albert Salmi, whom I'd never heard of, because I enjoyed the Peggy Ann book so much. I was surprised when I received the book that I recogzized Albert Salmi on the cover. And you will too. Salmi was a character actor in so many TV series from 1954 to 1989 that I'm sure just about anyone who watched TV during that period would recognize his face.

Sandra knows how to write a great biography. A lot of research obviously went into this work and it shows. It reads as a refreshing piece of literature, not like a history lesson. And over 70 photos are spread throughout the book (not a center section containing a few photos)which means there are photos on over a third of the pages of the book!

Albert Salmi's memoirs are woven into the story almost as if he and Sandra sat down and wrote this biography together. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next biography by this author.

Sandra Grabman is starting to become one of my favorite authors. She's written a biography about Albert Salmi, Peggy Ann Gardner and just recently came out with a bio/interview book with character actor Wright King. We need more books about character actors. With that in mind, she's come up with a winner with this one. I first saw Albert Salmi in "Empire of the Ants" ans wanted to know who this guy was that left an impression with me. His Brooklyn accent stuck with him for a bit, even when he was doing cowboy movies, and I never realized that till reading this book.

170 pages of biography is great for a book, followed by 13 pages of people remembering him (critics, family relatives, etc.) The biography is laced with comments from Salmi himself and his family, who apparently helped cooperate with the book so there are rare family photos included.

It doesn't get any better than this.

I originally wrote a review on this book a couple of months ago and gave it four stars with a short rundown on it; I just re-read this biography of actor Albert Salmi, and I feel as though I want to add a few thoughts. Firstly, I don't want to give either Albert Salmi or this biography a so-so review: the reason I am sticking with the four stars is because I feel as though it is an unfinished project on a very complicated man. Nonetheless, it is a loving look at Albert, who starred in hundreds of guest roles in the 50s', 60s', and up through the 80s'...some of these are Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, Bonanza and many, many more (Jump to shortly before his death, did you know that he was in "Caddyshack"? Me, neither). He usually played a bad guy for some reason, which is ironic, because all who knew the real Albert Salmi said that he was a teddy bear offscreen. Albert was also successful and well regarded for his Broadway ties (BUS STOP, etc.); it seems as though he just worked and worked and worked. He married the actress Peggy Ann Garner (Sandra Grabman, the author of this book also has a biography out on Peggy), had kids, got divorced, went into what would turn out to be a horrible second marriage, continued to work and work and work (regular roles in the series "Daniel Boone" and "Petrocelli"), had little to show for it, and was smack dab in the middle of Dysfunction Junction. His first wife, Peggy, had a serious alcohol problem and Albert ended taking the kids away from her; the second wife, Roberta, purportedly abused her stepchildren. Albert's daughter Cas was doomed from the word go - I mentioned in my first review that I simply don't understand how Albert managed to keep it together and go to work every day while everything was only getting worse. Readers who know how Albert met his end will see it coming a mile off. I have reviewed a few other books on Amazon about dysfunctional families, and who is enabling who, etc., and I made it a point to side with Albert in his case, and here's why. Another review had to do with a very well known, richer than God celebrity who, in my opinion (after reading his own memoir) basically admits, "I did nothing, and my daughter died." I ripped this guy to shreds in the review. Now, the Albert Salmi Syndrome is different - Albert did, in fact, try to help his kids after the failure of his first marriage; he tried to keep working to provide for his family; he more than recognized that there were serious problems. The only thing that I don't comprehend about the man is that he kept putting up with his second wife's issues - he obviously wasn't afraid to cut line, as he'd done with Peggy -, and the saying "Somebody's gonna end up dead if somebody don't leave," has never been more appropriate. And so I tend to have a sympathy for Albert that I didn't have for the other individual, and that's another reason I am updating this review. That sympathy remains, and I think that more than a few readers will also see Mr. Salmi as someone painted into a corner with no way out; Albert's own problems with depression seem to be nothing compared to what's going on around him, and actually seem to be put on as backburner much of the time. This, too, allowed me to feel for him. This was just a steady working actor who kept hoping for the best, and the best wasn't what was in the cards for him. As I said, I so wish that the book had been more fleshed out (Sandra worked from notes Albert left behind, obviously in hopes of someday writing his autobiography)...but I think that she did an admirable job with with what she had. This is why I came back and edited the review - being a fan of Albert Salmi, I didn't want to be responsible for turning somebody away from what little and precious information can, in fact, be found on him. Lastly, I'll close this review the way I did the first one - Albert always hoped to see his name above the title of one of his movies, so that his children would be proud of him. When I finished this book for the second time, I found myself again hoping that, instead, he has simply found some peace.