Leonard Maltin is one of my favorite people, although I have never met him. Through his writings, however, I have been friends with him for quite a long while, at least since he began producing his Movie Guide. I have depended on his reviews and his ratings to help me appreciate the films I watch. I get a kick out of trying to guess what his rating for a given film will be before I look it up in his Guide. I am often surprised, since my ratings tend to be higher than his, but then his review explains his position very well in just a few lines. I was unhappy when, with the 2015 edition, he gave up producing the printed Guide, so I now am left with that one on my shelf. Fortunately, before that last Guide appeared, he had decided to create a companion guide by pulling out all the films from the “classic” years. That guide has now been turned into a second edition.
Leonard Maltin’s interests and mine intersect most closely on the subject of Walt Disney. As a boy, I was a full-fledged Disney fanatic, so much so that my father was jealous of the affection I showed Mr. Disney during those early years. So, I was immensely pleased when Mr. Maltin published his wonderful book The Disney Films in 1973, which is now in its fourth edition. I also relished ownership of his monumental Movie Encyclopedia, which I consulted often to gain his take on a particular film star.
So, now I have the fantastic retrospective of Leonard Maltin’s life and times in the immensely charming, even addictive Starstruck. This wonderful book comprises largely a series of vignettes about Mr. Maltin’s remarkable life as a cinephile, among his other interests. Since I have come to know him largely through his writings, I was introduced in Starstruck to other sides of his multi-faceted life. After all, he spent 30 years working on Entertainment Tonight, which I have largely bypassed. I have had the chance, however, to see him every once in a while on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), especially when he has been called on to contribute to introductions to various presentations of Disney films. His “gigs” on Entertainment Tonight, as he likes to call them, which lasted for 30 years, however, have provided many wonderful stories of his interactions with people in the entertainment industry, if you will, the “stars” to which the title of his book refer.
I am especially enamored of the loving way he describes his lengthy married life with Alice and his relationship with his daughter Jessie, both of whom are his long-time collaborators and coworkers on this and that “gig.” In an industry well known for the shortness of marital relationships, especially of those who appear in front of the camera, it is heartwarming to know that Leonard and Alice have remained together for many long decades. The length of their relationship likely is at least in part due to the commonality of their interests and pursuits.
Leonard Maltin appears as though he has met and interviewed a huge number of people over the length of his career, which, after all, extends back to the time that he was a teenager involved with producing his “fanzine.” A surprising number of these people are described as “friends” and even “good friends.” Such people include the five current hosts at TCM and the previous host, Robert Osbourne, who I wish could find a way to return from the beyond to take up hosting duties again. I fully agree with Mr. Maltin, who describes TCM as his “go-to station.” It is mine, as well. After all, what’s not to like about TCM? For movie buffs, especially those enamored of the classic age of Hollywood, It is the ultimate viewing pleasure. The films are played in their entirety, right to the last of the credits on a round-the-clock basis, with informative introduction and summaries provided by the various hosts. So much for the plug for TCM.
This wonderful book is highly recommended for anyone who claims to be a movie buff, anyone who has one of Leonard Maltin’s other books on the shelf, anyone who is interested in how a film critic goes about his work, or just anyone who is charmed by his winning smile and pleasant voice. Upon reading this fascinating picture of his life, you, too, will become “starstruck.”
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