Under the Rainbow: An Intimate Memoir of Judy Garland, Rock Hudson and My Life in Old Hollywood (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Robert Osborne (Foreword)
Key Phrases: ntv father, living roost, brown eves, John Paul, Los Angeles, Judy Garland (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

During his acting career of small roles in the 1950s, Carlyle became acquainted with successful performers like Judy Garland and Joan Fontaine (to whom he wrote many letters before she agreed to see him). But he had a special obsession with Garland. "I was like a dog with a bone to become a part of Judy's life." While playing a small part in A Star Is Born, he offered Garland her favorite brand of cigarette, Spud. That brief introduction eventually gained him entrance to her inner circle, and this starry-eyed book reveals his intimacy with Garland during the late 1960s, the declining, drug-fueled period of her life. Unfortunately, any hint of Hollywood debauchery is preceded by a tedious account of his childhood. The narrative is bogged down with details of every acquaintance, roommate and neighbor he encountered. A gay man's life during a homophobic era, coupled with his sycophantic experiences of stardom, might have been interesting in the right hands; instead, the spotlight is on his failed relationships and petty quarrels. Unfortunately, there is little here to attract even the most dedicated film historian. (Oct.)
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From Booklist

In this posthumously published autobiography, Carlyle provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes-look at 1950s and 1960s Hollywood in all its glamour and garishness. The actor details his troubled childhood and strained home life but eventually moves on to juicier stuff as he recounts his youthful move to Hollywood and eventual entrance into a frenzied lifestyle of booze, pills, and one-night dalliances and mercurial relationships with prominent male and female stars of the time. Thanks to a generous trust fund, Carlyle never really had to work too hard and so never made it very big in Hollywood, though he did have several smaller roles and managed to travel in prominent circles. His scenes from A Star Is Born were eventually cut, but it was on the set of that film, despite his openly gay lifestyle, that he became romantically entangled with Judy Garland and remained her friend and sometime-lover until her death 15 years later. Packed with anecdotes about his famous Hollywood friends, this intimate, fast-paced memoir will find many readers. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 325 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (September 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786718536
• ISBN-13: 978-0786718535
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,003,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, October 12, 2006

By	California reader (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

There's plenty of dish, but it's never malicious. Carlyle is sufficiently realistic about his own shortcomings to earn your trust. It's interesting that a man so seduced by the allure of celebrity does such an effective job describing how bad stardom looks without its makeup. His intimacy with Judy Garland, especially, allows him to share some juicy stories only he can tell. He manages to do so while still remaining gentlemanly. All in all, it's a fascinating, detailed account of a bygone era, by a man who survived Hollywood with his ego a little bruised but his humanity intact.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Garland, Hudson, and..., December 24, 2006

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Carlyle, John, "UNDER THE RAINBOW: An Intimate Memoir of Judy Garland, Rock Hudson & My Life in Old Hollywood".
Carroll and Graf Publishers, 2006.

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

Due out October 16 is a book that is going to be met with a great deal of controversy and welcomed lovingly at the same time. I was very surprised to find it in a shipment of new books sent to me by Betsy Steve at Carroll and Graf. The name alone brings back memories of two gay icons who are no longer with us. "Under the Rainbow" is a memoir dealing with the last ten years of Judy Garland's life as well as what was the beginning of the fall of Hollywood
Most of us are well aware of what an icon Garland has been to us. She was a survivor, she made it through drugs and depression, a life and career that soared and hit rock bottom more than once, a series of unsuccessful marriages but above it all she was "our Judy". There are those that say her apparent suicide and subsequent funeral were either indirect or even direct causes for the Stonewall riots which was the beginning of the gay liberation movement.
For the final decade of her life she had one constant companion and confidant, John Carlyle, who was an openly gay man. He was with as she lost herself to booze and drugs and faded out of the limelight. Gone was the Dorothy of "The Wizard of Oz" and in her place was a woman who had in many ways relinquished the control of her life. At the same Hollywood began its slow decline. Carlyle told of the Hollywood that once was the city of "glitz and glitter" and shows the skeleton of a town where gay men lived their lives in closets. At that time there was a king maker for the young and beautiful men who came to Hollywood looking for that lucky break into the movies. Henry Willson, who is also the subject of a new biography, created the personae of many of the macho men of the golden age of Hollywood. He created Rock Hudson and he created John Carlyle. In 1954 when Willson "discovered" Carlyle who was a mere 23 years old the homosexual underground of `Tinsel town" was hush hush. Willson had him cast as an assistant director in the classic "A Star is Born". Even though the scene never made it to the final cut, Carlyle met Garland and the two began a friendship which lasted until her death. He was more than just a friend; he was occasionally her lover as well. Garland seemed to have had a penchant for gay men and even went as far as marrying one.
Garland's and Carlyle's relationship mirrored Judy's life--rocky and uncertain. In the 1960s she lost much of her box office power and her star quality and lived a lifestyle we shudder to think about. She was desperate and lonesome and even tried to marry Carlyle who was not interested in that kind of arrangement. Yet he stayed her dear friend throughout.
This book is just as much about gay Hollywood of the period. He tells of his sexual liaisons with Marlon Brando and with James Dean, He was friendly with Rock Hudson and Raymond Burr and tells of their double dates and he relates how Montgomery Clift sunk into drink and despair. His female friends included the legendary Mae West as well as Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr and Joan Fontaine. He tells secrets and exposes people and it is so much fun reading this book. A great piece of literature it is not, a wonderful read it is.
It is somewhat sad to look at the Hollywood of today and compare it to the Hollywood that was. But Carlyle gives us a chance to experience all of the glamour and all of the scandal. Skillfully written and easy to read, once you start you will not want to stop. I haven't ha this much fun with a book in a long, long time.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than 5 stars!!!!!!!!!!!, December 29, 2006

By	Jude G. Barnes (WNY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Excellent, thoroughly enjoyable book. A shame Mr. Carlyle did not live to see publication of his memoirs. I truly hated putting down this book. When I came to the last chapter I set the book aside and forced myself to not finish the read, as I knew I would miss his tales. Even sans the Garland anecdotes, Mr. Carlyle's life was fascinating reading; however, the one odd note is Joan Fontaine's attitude throughout. That girl needs to relax! A delightfully bitter-sweet story. Bravo, Mr. Carlyle, for a life well lived!