Customer Reviews

We Will Always Live in Beverly Hills: Growing Up Crazy in Hollywood

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was able to purchase this book at the Denver Public Library yearly sale. One of the better written Hollywood memoirs you will ever read. As a recovering alcoholic and one who has pleasant memoirs of encounters with many individuals mentioned in the book, including Keenan Wynn, I recommend it to anyone who can find it.

Ned Wynn's story of growing up in a dysfuntional Hollywood family and setting will get your attention fast. He describes how after hob nobbing with the "stars" and becoming an alcoholic like his actor father (Keenan Wynn), and his actor grandfather (Ed Wynn), that his life took a miserable turn down a very dark and bumpy road. His chilling account of his dream state is an eye opener for those of us who haven't been exposed to what "DT's" are all about. Graphically, he explains what hitting bottom meant to him and how he took life saving steps toward recovery. Ned is a talented and entertaining writer who articulates his experiences in a way that can make you laugh or cry. You can't help but love and admire this guy, and above all, you want to read more of his work.

Although the book is out of print, I was able to find it at our local library. Also, it was great to read the author's note above...and it is wonderful to know he is alive and well and writing another book. Please hurry up and finish it, I need a good laugh / cry soon!!!

Ned(Neddy) Wynn, son to actor Keenan Wynn, puts an interesting spin on growing up with and near Hollywood's elite. The book covers his father's divorce from Eve Lynn Abbott and her eventual doomed marriage to actor Van Johnson. It is a very funny but, ultimately, tragic look at the life of a boy whose fortunes and misfortunes seemed to merely fall in his lap.

What I read was true to my best memory. I lived across the hall--or in the next room--from Ned during those years at Webb. I recommend the book. I remember Ned's grandfather visited the school. My dad, Jim Rogers, attended Webb and his father, Will Rogers, visited during that era. Kem Rogers

Ned Wynn comes from a series of celebrities. His grandfather was Ed Wynn, a vaudeville and radio star whose quippy style was his trademark. His father was Keenan Wynn, one of MGM's second tier stars who had a famous friendship with Van Johnson, until Keenan divorced his wife Evie only to have her marry Johnson.

This is Ned's story of growing up in Hollywood around pampered children and an unstable family during a hectic time in American history.

All at once, Ned Wynn grabs you with his vivid writing style. It sucks you in with romantic images of a child at play in a world that offers everything a boy could ask for. The dream quickly swirls into a nightmare created by laziness and selfishness, both qualities spawned by growing up around movie stars in luxury. We don't always like him because in his youth, Ned was so wrapped up in himself that he rarely cared deeply for anyone else. The saving grace is the tone of narrator Ned who explains his actions as a young man with the knowledge of his years.

It would have been nice to have a more thorough ending, but this book is an enjoyable and informative read, partly about the children of old Hollywood celebrities, but mostly about a youth growing up in the transition between the 50s and the 60s.

Compelling story; well-written and thoughtful. Obviously, this book has been in print for some 20 years, but I stumbled upon it looking for something else, and I really enjoyed it. "We will always live in Beverly Hills" is the story of a child of Hollywood A- listers who comes of age as America transitions from the WW2 generation to the babyboomers, and experiences many of the excessess and eccentricities of those years.
The author grew up among the most glamorous crowd in America ( a crowd with more than their share of family dysfunctionality), but he took this privileged life for granted and was a selfish and aimless young man. Eventually, he is able to overcome his immaturity and self-destructive behavior and take responsibility for his life.

Unlike many Hollywood bios, the book is not a gossip book; this is no Hollywood Babylon or "Mommie Dearest". While there are some unflattering anecdotes, and the movie industry is "deglamorized", there is nothing too scandalous divulged that was not already generally known at the time of publishing.(e.g., Judy Garland was a mess and had a drinking problem already by the 1950s, or Joan crawford was an overly strict parent). I am sure that Ned Wynn could have related some hair-raising stories about many of the well-known stars, but most of the bad behavior he talks about is his own, and he is quite honest about owning up to it without appearing to be actually boasting about it. He also knows when to point out noble or particularly decent behavior among the Hollywood elite: Betty Grable was one of the few stars who remained friends to Ned and his mother when divorce and financial issues created turmoil for them in the early 1960's. So while there is plenty of the "growing up crazy"" in the book to make it dramatic enough, Mr. Wynn does a good job of keeping these first-hand revelations in the context of the overall story.

Now as much as I enjoyed this book, I am not sure how interesting it would be for those born beyond the baby-boom( how many of the subsequent generations would even know who is Van Johnson, or Keenan Wynn, or the Beach Blanket movies ?)

As a person who was born at the tail end of the baby-boom to parents who were born at the tail-end of the same generation as Ned Wynn's parents, I still feel a connection (albeit once removed) to this Golden Era of Hollywood and the ensuing post war America. It represents my parent's generation and their way of thinking and acting. I belive this familiarity with the names and ambiance of those times makes the story all the more appealing. However, I can still recommend the book to a general audience who have an interest in movie culture or in a self-discovery story from a not-too distant past. 4 1/2 stars
P.S. I bought the book from a second hand vendor on Amazon and it was delivered promptly in the condition stated.

The story starts off interesting but contains much the same all the way through and can become boring however the background information on the old Hollywood lives and existance of many movie stars is interesting and at times very sad. As the book says it was a crazy life style.

I love to read Hollywood biographies and autobiographies. I originally bought this book to read about Van Johnson, but immensely enjoyed reading about the whole family - I laughed and cried. I always loved Ed Wynn, and Keenan in movie, and TV shows growing up. Ned is extremely gifted with his writing, and had me glued to every page! I will never look at Thanksgiving dinner the same either - that has to be one of the funniest things I've ever read so far.
Kudos Ned! My only complaint is that I wish it was a longer book. :-)

WE WILL ALWAYS LIVE IN BEVERLY HILLS, GROWING UP CRAZY IN HOLLYWOOD
I have read dozens of biographies (a passion) and found Ned Wynn a gifted writer. He is naturally funny, self effacing, and candid. "Growing up Crazy" is masterfully paced.

Anyone interested in Hollywood's Golden Era will find the lifestyle anecdotes fascinating glimpses into Mr. Wynn's bygone world. You don't have to be a baby boomer brought up under "children are seen and not heard" logic to become absorbed in his life choices and his journey cleaning up the aftereffects.

Since I love classic movies & books about old Hollywood, I really enjoyed this second-hand book. It arrived quickly & in excellent condition from Amazon through an independent bookseller. I especially liked it because it was written by Keenan Wynn's son; very reliable information. I learned about grandpa Ed Wynn & just how dysfunctional the entire family was. It even included a few blurbs about Van Johnson, who was the person I was trying to find a book about in the first place. If you're someone who's looking for an easy read & know who these old Hollywood types are, you'll enjoy this book.