Serviceable autobiography of the dancer-comedienne-leading lady, now 80. Rogers does an always absorbing job of recreating her legendary career without ever quite capturing the voice we all remember from her films. As a young comedienne, she often gave a mischievous, sassy edge to her roles, coming on fast and smart. The woman who writes this book, however, has been a nondrinking, largely nonsmoking Christian Scientist all her adult life—not the opinionated, raspy personality the ``Ginger'' implies. Rogers has been the victim of husbands given to partying, drink, and philandering rather than a woman chasing her own satisfactions. Born Virginia McMath in Independence, Missouri, she was stage- struck early, winning dance contests and then joining the vaudeville circuits at 14; luckily, she had a wise mother who guided her professionally for much of her life while allowing Rogers to make her own mistakes romantically. They parted company briefly when, at 17, Rogers married Jack Culpepper, 29, who turned out to be a drunk. At 19, the performer was the toast of Broadway, starring in Florenz Ziegfeld's production of George and Ira Gershwin's Girl Crazy and off on a rocket that took her through 19 films before Flying Down to Rio teamed her with Fred Astaire. She doesn't mention her wit for stealing scenes in those earlier films but makes clear that she was an accomplished artist with strong film presence even before her teaming with Astaire. Rogers describes the making of each of the team's musicals, her hard times with director Mark Sandrich (Top Hat), love for George Stevens (Swing Time, her favorite—but really not the team's best film, which is Roberta). Marriage to her idol Lew Ayres dissolved after six years, an on-and-off romance with Cary Grant fizzled. Keeps you rapt, mostly. High point: the Oscar for Kitty Foyle. (Black-and-white photographs—not seen.)
Pub Date: Oct. 9, 1991
ISBN: 0-06-018308-X
Page Count: 464
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1991
Well-told and admonitory.
Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn’t always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie “I ain’t your goddamn daddy!” Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did “the dozens” with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner’s talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now.
Well-told and admonitory.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-074486-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
This autobiography might almost be said to supply the roots to Wright's famous novel, Native Son.
It is a grim record, disturbing, the story of how — in one boy's life — the seeds of hate and distrust and race riots were planted. Wright was born to poverty and hardship in the deep south; his father deserted his mother, and circumstances and illness drove the little family from place to place, from degradation to degradation. And always, there was the thread of fear and hate and suspicion and discrimination — of white set against black — of black set against Jew — of intolerance. Driven to deceit, to dishonesty, ambition thwarted, motives impugned, Wright struggled against the tide, put by a tiny sum to move on, finally got to Chicago, and there — still against odds — pulled himself up, acquired some education through reading, allied himself with the Communists — only to be thrust out for non-conformity — and wrote continually. The whole tragedy of a race seems dramatized in this record; it is virtually unrelieved by any vestige of human tenderness, or humor; there are no bright spots. And yet it rings true. It is an unfinished story of a problem that has still to be met.
Perhaps this will force home unpalatable facts of a submerged minority, a problem far from being faced.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1945
ISBN: 0061130249
Page Count: 450
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1945
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