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Robert Wagner

Pieces of My Heart: A Life Paperback – Illustrated, September 15, 2009

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

4.2 1,929 ratings

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The New York Times bestseller Pieces of My Heart is the revelation-filled memoir from one of Hollywood’s most talented actors, Robert J. Wagner. He offers readers a candid and deeply personal look at his life and career, from his rise to stardom among legends like Cary Grant and Barbara Stanwyck to his troubled marriage, divorce, and remarriage to starlet Natalie Wood. With color photographs and never-before-told stories, this is a quintessentially American, remarkably candid story of one of the great sons of Hollywood.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

It Books
Publication date

September 15, 2009
Dimensions

5.31 x 0.81 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

006137332X
ISBN-13

978-0061373329
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Editorial Reviews

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“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

“Engaging” — Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover

Robert J. Wagner opens his heart to share the romances, the drama, and the humor of an incredible life.

When he was a young boy growing up in Bel Air next door to a golf course, Robert Wagner saw Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Randolph Scott, and Cary Grant playing golf together one morning—and it fueled his dream of becoming a movie star.

In Pieces of My Heart, Wagner offers a candid and deeply personal look at his life and career—his rise to stardom in the studiodominated Hollywood era of the 1950s; his relationship with mentors like Spencer Tracy and David Niven, and with friends like Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis; his decline and his resurrection. And he speaks from the heart of the women he loved: Barbara Stanwyck, a glamorous star twice his age; Marion Marshall, Jill St. John . . . and Natalie Wood. For the very first time he chronicles in great depth their extraordinary romance and bares his pain as he openly recounts its tragic end.

With color photographs and fascinating never-before-told tales and anecdotes, Pieces of My Heart is the heartfelt, remarkably revealing, and quintessentially American story of one of the great sons of Hollywood.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ It Books; Illustrated edition (September 15, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 006137332X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061373329
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.81 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,151,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,059 in Movie History & Criticism
- #16,532 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies
- #61,503 in Memoirs (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 1,929 ratings

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interesting and enjoyable

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2023

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Overall it was a positive, upbeat book with interesting details about his life, people that he connected with throughout his life, and bits of wisdom that life taught him. It was a pleasant surprise in some ways and I enjoyed reading it.

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Book Woman

A Very Well-Named Book

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2008

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RJ, as he prefers to be called, has had it all: good looks, a long and successful career, an amazing love life, and appreciative children. Writing now in his late 70s, he lives to tell the tale . . .

RJ began his career as a part of the famed movie studio system, and it served him well. He knew from a young age that he wanted to be an actor, spurred on by being a golf caddy to the stars (especially Clark Gable) and despite the wishes of his critical father who wanted him to go into the family business. The system promoted him and taught him the ropes. Starting there at age 18, he was eventually able to out-earn his dad and he quickly met bevies of beautiful and talented women. His first great love was Barbara Stanwyck; he was 22 to her 45. She became his clandestine mate for four years, never able to take their relationship public. "What ultimately broke it up was the [very] fact that it couldn't go anywhere--it was a classic backstreet romance." Yet he stayed in touch with her until the end of her life, shortly after a burglar broke into her home and pistol-whipped her when she was elderly.

Beyond a doubt, however, RJ's greatest love was Natalie Wood whom he married twice. By now, he was 27 and she was only 19 when they married for the first time. She wrote in her journal upon their engagement, "Two lonely stars with no place in the sun found their orbit--each other--and they were one." But such celestial happiness was not to last. Her career soared while his languished, and Warren Beatty enchanted her during the filming of Splendor in the Grass. So after 3½ years together, they were all-too-soon divorced.

RJ speaks fondly of his second wife, the "beautiful" Marion Marshall, but with nowhere near the passion that he reserves for Natalie (or for that matter, Barbara). Nonetheless, they had a daughter together, Katie. Yet a few nights after her birth, he and Natalie crossed paths again: "My heart stopped when I saw her. At the same time, I felt a terrible, conflicting disloyalty to Marion, who deserved a husband totally focused on her." Divorce inevitably followed, and he and Natalie were free to marry again, having their own daughter, Courtney.

But their love had one more unhappy ending this time. After another 9 years together, they spent a fatal Thanksgiving weekend together aboard their yacht, moored off Catalina Island. Natalie's costar at the time, Christopher Walken, was their only guest after three others had cancelled. It seems that there was perhaps a little rivalry, or at least some disagreement, between RJ and him that flared after they and Natalie had all had too much to drink. She retired to bed, and RJ smashed a wine bottle on the table while arguing with Walken. What happened to Natalie in the meantime will always remain a mystery. Either she attempted to board the yacht's dinghy to escape the conflict or she tried to pull it closer into the boat to keep it from knocking against the wall of her cabin. In any event, she fell into the water and drowned.

In the aftermath of this tragedy, RJ tried to be there for his daughters and for Natalie's daughter with Richard Gregson, Natasha. These girls had bonded in sisterhood, and RJ asked Natasha's father if he could continue to raise them together, and Gregson agreed. And then RJ married for the fourth time to Jill St. John, who rescued him from his depression after Natalie's death. He speaks of her--as he speaks of most people--in very positive terms. You come away from this book remembering less of RJ's successful acting career than you do of his love of women and relentless decency toward others. One has the sense that he must be a very nice man . . .

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Doc

It's hard to know what to say...a very mixed bag.

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2017

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I should begin by saying I have only seen Robert Wagner in NCIS—I have not seen his movies or television series, so I don’t really have an preconceived ideas about him. I knew he had lost his wife in a terrible accident, and that he sort of straddled old and new Hollywood. I came away from this book, which seemed less an autobiography and more a somewhat disjointed collection of anecdotes—with mixed feelings about him. He seems to be a very nice, very shallow man.

As a look into the “golden age” of Hollywood, although no one could live up to the images created on the screen, it is hard not to be disappointed to hear how dissolute many of these very famous people were. The many affairs (faithful marriages seem to be the exception, rather than the rule), the vulgar language, and the sophomoric, crude humor is disappointing, to say the least. I would rather not know that as a party host, Gary Cooper had a man expose himself to his guests continuously (trust me, Mr. Wagner, this is neither sophisticated nor funny), or that David Niven dipped his private parts in a snifter of warm brandy to thaw them out (the context actually makes it somewhat understandable, but it’s a story better kept between friends). Although he does not go into tell-all details about his dalliances, he makes it clear that there were many, and many more opportunities that he turned down (I can’t imagine how his wife feels about his apparent need to share this sort of information with the world).

Yet, I also came away with the idea that Robert Wagner does have something of a moral code, and loyalty is high on his list of values. He makes a point of discussing the kindnesses shown him by top Hollywood stars and how much their help meant to him. Even as he mentions his legal battles over financial agreements, he does not badmouth those he was fighting—he seems to take it in stride, as an ugly part of the industry he chose to be a part of. When he does discuss people he clearly despises, he doesn’t give the impression of someone who is simply trying to publicly settle a score, but instead of someone who is thoroughly disgusted and believes people should know the truth about this person’s behavior. Most of us who have dealt with despicable people can understand wanting the world to see them for what they are. And it is clear that Mr. Wagner has a genuine sense of gratitude, that while he suffered deep loss and pain, he has had great love, great friendships, and great blessings.

In the end, it may be that devoted Robert Wagner fans who are prepared to see some warts on their favorite stars will enjoy this book. There is enough vulgar language to turn off some of us, particularly when that language could easily have been adjusted (I’ve been around a few years so it isn’t that I’ve never heard f-bombs and other obscenities—I’ve just never found them to enhance what a person is trying to say). It is something of a glimpse into old Hollywood, but it isn’t a particularly deep or even enjoyable glimpse—it’s simply...there.

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Top reviews from other countries

C. Painter

Easy to read, not easy to put down..

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2020

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I bought this book after enjoying re-runs of Hart to Hart on television recently. I found the style of writing very easy to read and the humour of Mr Wagner shines throughout. His stories of meeting countless big names when he first started in movies and how he learnt from them is entertaining and sometimes educational. His love affairs and marriages get the same treatment. The raw emotion shown when discusing various tragedies in his own life and others is truly moving. I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it.

Mrs S Faulkner

Fascinating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

Knowing his reputation as a "Ladies Man", I thought that if he was too honest, I would not see him in the same light. Love reading autobiographies, but some have left me so disillusioned that I cannot bear to watch or hear them again. Not so this one, he certainly did not appear to take advantage of anyone and came across as being very honest. Really enjoyed it.

Jen

Very good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed reading this book. Maybe because it was in RJ's words. I have always liked him as an actor and found it very interesting. He had lovely things to say about most of his fellow actors. I especially liked his stories about David Niven who he seems to have been very fond of.

One person found this helpful

Rhedegydd

Good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2022

Verified Purchase

A good read as far as celebrity biographies go. Robert Wagner does not shy away from talking about his career or his relationships

Eileen Bentley -Gouldstone

Robert Wagner

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2019

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Fascinating book about RJW and his life in Hollywood, the death of Natalie Wood, learning a great deal about Hollywood to the present days. If your a film fan this is the book for you,very entertaining and well written.

2 people found this helpful

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