Product Description

Customer Reviews (53)

Captivating, but...
Ava's life makes modern-day scandals look like nursery stories.Her life provided the author with everything he needed to create a portrait of an extremely complicated person.He delivers.The book is deliciously long, compelling and more than once, shocking.I recommend it.It is well-written and well-researched.

The only flaw I found was this:The author's refusal to judge Miss Gardner leaves the reader wondering, "Well, what the hell was wrong with her?Why did she drink like a raving maniac?Why was she rampantly promiscuous?Why did she seek out abuse and degredation?Why did she insist that she hadn't a shred of talent, when directors such as George Cukor and John Huston praised her gifts, and sought her for their movies?Why did she state that she was worthless and undeserving of even simple friendship?"

I suppose the author should be commended for not indulging in dimestore psychology, but after he did so much research, I think he was entitled to formulate a hypothesis or two.

So the reader is left to deduce:Was she a self-loathing alcoholic, or a free spirit?Was she an artist too modest about her gifts, or a performer who considered herself a beautiful hack?Was she a promiscuous woman who deliberately courted physical and psychological danger - or a sexually liberated woman, who bore the cruel punishment of a society not yet ready for such women?

On a different note, the author's description of a starlet's life at M-G-M is more detailed than I've ever read in any other book, and very moving.It describes Ava's being plucked out of rural America as a teenager, and languishing for ten full years as "gorgeous furniture" before getting a break - on loanout to another studio.She usually lived alone in Los Angeles, without family or roommates.(Her sister could be attentive, but she couldn't replace Ava's parents, who died when she was a young woman.)She prowled around at night with older, tougher "dames" like Ann Sheridan (which her more wholesome friends claimed changed her, for the worse, for life).The author paints a picture of a very young woman who was at once lonely and popular, naive and jaded, aimless, yet ambitious.

It's a great read.I loved the book.Even if it were badly written, Ava's humor and quotes would save the day.Example:When her new young maid in Madrid didn't recognize her, she drawled:"Honeh, don't you know that I'm a great, big movie star?!"

Pretty good biography
Ava Gardner has been my favorite screen legend since first setting eyes on her in the movie Showboat on tv when i was twelve. and even though the movie had been made many years before, her beauty was so incredible and so classic i thought and still do think she was the most beautiful woman i had ever seen. i already knew about her life quite a bit because i am also a big Sinatra fan so the book didn't really reveal much new information to me and i was hoping for a larger photo collection in the book but overall if you are a fan or you just love biography's of very very interesting famous people this is absolutely one of the better ones you can read, a bit tedious in places i thought but a very good book. Thank You Mr. Server

love is something
I love this book. Living in the area of where she was born I was surprised that I had not heard of the Ava Gardner museum before I did. I know a couple of her movies and always thought that she was very beautiful but not that special. This book however makes it painfully clear that she was just as normal as people can be when they come from a very rural place and get tossed into Hollywood. It changes their nature but Ava stayed mostly true to herself, always looking for the one right guy to love. In her case love meant to be lonely but having numerous lovers and 3 husbands, starting to drink because she was actually very shy and in the end love is nothing but heartache. Hard to believe that one of the worlds most beautifil women could not fullfill her lifes dream. The author keeps it perfectly balanced between gossip and truth, keeping the book interesting. Holding not much back ,I am assuming, he paints a picture of a not so perfect woman and he does not spare Frank Sinatra either. Powerful writing and a lot of pictures that turn this into a heartbreaking story of the country girl that became one of Hollywoods biggest stars, paying a steep price for it.

Lee Server hits a home run with bio "Ava Gardner"!
Ava Gardner: "Love Is Nothing"
My wife and I just finished reading Lee Server's marvelous, lush and raw biography of superstar Ava Gardner. We wrote the author, Mr. Server, to express our gratitude for his work. The personal insights were brilliant and arresting, and brought us through the evolution of her character from naive country girl to lusty, arrogant starlet. On the flip side, he pays homage to her simplicity, warmth and sincerity -- when sober. We live in NC, an hour's drive from Brogden, Grabtown and Smithfield, where Ava grew up on a tobacco farm. But we paid little heed until she was gone, and until we picked up Lee Server's epic book. We feel now, through his lavish description, that we knew this rare lady. Make no mistake, this is an unforgettable experience. Verne and Durrene Strickland, Wilmington, NC.

Kindle buyer beware
The Kindle edition of this excellent book does not contain the 16 pages of photographs that are in the print edition. There are no photos at all. (This is not a reason to lower the rating for this terrific biography but) Kindle buyer beware. ... Read more

Product Description
The late actress and sex symbol discusses her early days in Hollywood; her marriages to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra; her memorable roles; her friendships and affairs; and more Reprint. NYT. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Superb Service
I did not expect this book to arrive as quickly and in as good a condition as it did. Very pleased.

What a story!
I have a confession to make -- I am in love with Ava Gardner.

I have read many autobiographies in my time, especially movie star ones, being the devoted cinema scholar that I am. Ava's story tops it all, rivaled only by Rosalind Russell's.

This book of average length is literally a breeze. People say some books have them flipping pages because they're so engrossed. This is one of them. You don't even need a great concentrating ability. I mean, I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was to finish reading this gem. On one occasion, I was flipping through with great enthusiasm and found myself absolutely absorbing in her account of a fight with Frank Sinatra, when this experience came to an abrupt end due to the picture pages in the middle of the book. I nearly found myself cursing. That's how interesting her stories are. I have to add, though, that the pictures were so beautiful to look at and the captions so full of Ava's voice that I soon forgot my previous complaint. The story was resumed after a number of breathtaking photos, and I was put in an overall marveling mood.

The thing that surprised me the most was the amazingly fresh candor she displays. It is by far the most down-to-earth book that I have ever read in my entire life. She is so honest throughout the entire book, about the goods and the bads. She is not above admitting her faults, and in fact, clearly shows tremendous understanding of herself as well as of others. As her friend Franka says, she never badmouths anybody. She loved people in spite of their down sides, or perhaps even because of them. And when she couldn't stand somebody, she simply didn't bother. Her vocabulary is equally as frank and varied, making for hilarious lines and extremely touching passages. This book was the first that made me laugh and cry, which is one hell of an achievement for a book.

Aside from the delightful words from Miss G. herself, there are a few pages filled by some of her friends, including Gregory Peck and Arlene Dahl. These portions more-or-less corroborate the image of Ava Gardner you get by reading her story, and then some. Truth be told, I've always liked Ava, but had admittedly identified her with the roles she has played on-screen. Frank and funny -- which she is -- but also assertive and dominating. That would have been a fine character, but instead who I found was completely fresh. A lovely, honest Southern girl with a robust appetite for life. I don't think I know anyone like that, but if I did, I would be the first to be an appreciative friend. And the beauty of this book is that for a few hours in your life, you are. Because she is right there with you in the room, talking to you. All you have to do is provide an attentive ear... or eye!

An exciting read!
I loved this book! I actually picked it up because I knew nothing about Ava Gardner, except that she was a film star/sex symbol, and I wanted to find out who she really was. I'm so glad I did! Ava was so funny, endearing, and genuine in her thoughts and actions. This book has it all! I laughed out loud at her stories from childhood on up-it's amazing how cinematic her real life actually was! There were sad and touching moments too and I found her to be relatable in a lot of ways. When she first arrived in Hollywood as an extra, the picture she painted of her view of the studio was so down to earth that it seemed like she could have been practically any country girl and at any Hollywood-esque time (including now). I was intrigued by how she dealt/coped with terrifying and dangerous situations. Wow! I also loved how loyal she was to her husbands and was so impressed with her refusal to give in to Howard Hughes' offerings of anything she wanted in the world, since she didn't love him (the icing on the cake were the little lines at the end of those sentences, something like.. "I would do it all over again... I think"). :) I smiled most of the way through and could hardly put this book down! I definitely recommend it!

A peek inside old Hollywood
I thoroughly enjoyed this auto-biography by Ave Gardner.She really said what she thought.Her writing style seemed to be her true personality, since she was from rural N. Carolina. She was the definition of a "broad".She was a great beauty, but she seemed to definitely dwell on her looks.She may have thought she didn't have much else going for her.Having recently read Gene Tierney's autobiography, I noticed that difference between the two.Tierney was fabulously beautiful, but didn't mention her looks but a few times,(possibly because it was so obvious). Ava Gardner also drank heavily.I'm amazed she was able to keep her looks for being such a heavy drinker.But in her films, around the age of 40, when she should have still been gorgeous, not having had children, she began to have a droopy face.That had to be the result of all that alchohol.It saddened me that she felt the need to abort the child she concieved with Frank Sinatra, even though they were married!It's no wonder she died a lonely woman.

a DAMN good book!!!
If you can imagine what Ava Gardner was like, then this book is a must.It reads just like you'd imagine it would.This is absolutely the best-of-the-best autobiography I have read to date.I have read Marilyn Monroe's and Maureen O'Hara's, and they weren't nearly as captivating.When I think of Ava Gardner, I use to think of sexuality and booze.Now after having read this book, I still think that.She has quite the sense of humor and makes numerous witty retorts in regards to her life and the studio system that she fervently disliked.This is most evident in her words on husbands Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra, and how they were in bed.Also, not to be ignored is her unique relationship with "the Aviator" himself, Howard Hughes. Ava is the only woman who could have turned him down, and gotten away with giving him a scar to remember her by.She also discusses her love of Spain, which made me want to visit the place instantly, even though I have yet to do so do to limited means (I don't have a job and still live with my parents - get the picture?).This is probably the best book I have ever read. ... Read more

Product Description
At age nine, Ava Gardner went to the Howell Theater in Smithfield, North Carolina, with her mother Mollie to see her mother's favorite movie star Clark Gable starring as a safari leader in Africa with Jean Harlow in Red Dust. Twenty years later Ava would find herself in Jean Harlow's role in a remake of that story Mogambo, with none other than Clark Gable.

That such a thing could happen to a country girl from North Carolina was beyond the imagination not only of Ava but of everybody who knew her. But people learned to expect the unexpected from Ava. By 13, she'd decided she wanted to be a movie star, and at 18 she joked with friends that she was going to marry the biggest star in Hollywood. She did both, and went on to become one of the most famous women of the 20th century.

How did a shy, tomboyish farm girl do that?

Doris Rollins Cannon spent years interviewing family, friends, teachers and others who knew Ava to determine the forces that drove her, the values that guided her. She found they were firmly grounded in her North Carolina roots.

"She endured in a profession in which only the strong survive," Cannon writes. "And she survived, not because she overcame her rural North Carolina background-but because she drew her strength from it."

Much has been written about Ava's legendary life, but the material in this book, never before told, adds a new and moving dimension to her story. It includes letters and photographs never before published. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Love Letter to Ava
"Grabtown Girl" is a love letter written by Doris Rollins Cannon to the legend of Ava Gardner and her North Carolina Tarheel roots. It is a wonderful read from start to finish.

When I was a boy growing up in NC, (I was born in in 1960) I was always fascinated with the Hollywood MGM stars of the 40's and 50's. When I was about 12, I found out Ava came from Smithfield. I tried to find any photo, article or book on her I could find. At that time Ava, was living in London and not making very many motion pictures so I was eager to learn about her NC roots and how she got to Hollywood. I read all the old biographies that were in the library but they only briefly covered the NC years.

I finally met her sister Myra that lived in Winston-Salem near me in 1981 and begin to hear some of the Gardner family stories. Myra would tell me how it would upset her how Hollywood would always get Ava's bio wrong and how MGM would embellish stories about her "dirt poor" background. Myra stated this upset her when they would write things about their parents that was not factual but she knew Hollywood would say anything about Ava for publicity right or wrong.

But it was not until Mrs. Cannon took years and years of information, research, and interviews with the Gardner family and friends that this book was written to state the truth. It is a wonderful read not only for the " North Carolina native" but for anyone of any age that is interested in the story of Ava before, during and after all the stardom. Many of you have read the same old "Ava Gardner Hollywood/Madrid years" over and over. I know there is a new book out that just recycles a lot of the same gossip, romances, late nights, lovers, etc. So if you want something different, a factual account of Ava's life and her interactions with her family and friends, this is a wonderful experience. You will see that Ava was a true Tarheel throughout her life. The North Carolina state motto fit her perfectly! "Esse quam videri" To be, rather than to seem.

The Real Ava - A Valid Hometown Tribute
"Grabtown Girl" is a most candid tribute to Ava Gardner that focuses on her relationships with the people she knew and loved in her beloved North Carolina before and after she became a world-renown actress. It is interesting to discover the diversity of the people who had such a profound and everlasting impact on Ava's life, from her most cherished childhood friend in elementary school to a most trusted friend during her adolescent years who later became a prominent N.C. businessman.

The author includes extraordinary, never before published photographs and letters.I appreciate how Ms. Cannon ingeniously captures the core of Ava's innermost being, her heart and soul, via authentic documentation.This is the stuff good books are made of.

"Grabtown Girl": what a treasure, what a gift!This is, in fact, the "real deal" and that's what I call "priceless!"Once you begin reading "Grabtown Girl," you may find that you are unable to put it down until you read every single page from start to finish!

Interesting, but not too substantial
It's difficult to juxtapose a breathtakingly beautiful legendary movie goddess with a simple country childhood, so it's therefore hard to portray Ava Gardner in both worlds.

I give the author credit for being very straightforward with the simple known facts about Ava's childhood and early life in North Carolina.She didn't indulge in wild speculation, nor did she attribute thoughts or qualities to Ava that coudn't be verified.Instead, she told the simple story of Ava's simple life, documented by interviews with Ava's childhood friends, some family members, and letters written by young Ava.

This book portrays a rather sweet and simple childhood for Ava, not too many traumas (other than losing her beloved father at a young age).They were not dirt-poor hillbillies, which is the image that Ava sometimes invested herself with when it suited her purposes.Piedmont-area North Carolina is not hillbilly country.

I would have liked the book to have had much more substance, and I was particularly interested in knowing more about the lives of her siblings, of which only the briefest of portraits were given in this book.

New Perspective For Life Story of a Star
This biography is intensely researched and informative.The story is exactly what the title states, "Ava Gardner's North Carolina Childhood and Her Enduring Ties To Home".This biography puts most of its focus on Ava's childhood and how it shaped her attitudes toward her life and her fame.Although the last third of the book overviews her life as a star, if you are looking for a detailed account of Ava's Hollywood life, this is not the book for you.This is simply the story (told mainly through antecdotes and memories of family and friends) of a woman with strong roots who happened to become a movie star but who never forgot where she came from. The author introduces the reader to Ava's North Carolina family and friends and I love the fact that she tells the reader what happened to everyone mentioned in the book. I have a whole new respect and perspective for Ava Gardner.I was really struck by the fact that even though Ava became a big star, she never thought of herself as any better than anyone else and continued to be a loving and supportive friend, sister, and aunt. The book is short (about 130 pages, I read it in two nights, maybe took 3 hours total) and has some great pictures throughout.I highly recommend it!!!

Excellent Book
It's a great book. Just great! 5 stars for the Author and the Book! ... Read more

Product Description
An anthology of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry about Ava Gardner including work by Margaret Atwood, Robert Graves, Allan Gurganus, Pere Gimferrer, Mario Cabre, Peg Boyers, Margaret Myers, David Lloyd, Alain Souchon, Suzanne Vega, Kirpal Singh, Virgil Suarez, Alton Rivers, Jim Harrison, Michael S. Harper, and Clarence Major. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not a review, but to tell you what this book is like, and what it is
I found this book via the WIKI entry

[...] underFurther reading


For a famous star, with thousands of fans, this very interesting sounding book is quite mysterious.

Touches of Venus... a collection of reminiscences like the Sinatra work of Mr. Gigliotti?

I found this, which whetted my appetite: [...].

But since I must buy the book from the publisher, I'd appreciate a link here on this page giving me the literary equivalent of a "COMING ATTRACTION" trailer.

OK, here it is. I went to the web again.

[...].

Ava Gardner
Touches of Venus
Gilbert L. Gigliotti, Editor
Gilbert L. Gigliotti is Professor and Chairman of the English Department at
Central Connecticut State University.
He is the editor of Sinatra: But Buddy I'm a Kind of Poem (Entasis, 2008), and
author of A Storied Singer: Frank Sinatra as Literary Conceit (Greenwood,
2002), the foreword to The Gospel According to Frank (New American, 2009),
and an essay in Frank Sinatra and Popular Culture (Praeger, 1998). He is a
sought-after speaker on the singer's life and career and has curated several
exhibitions of his extensive Sinatra memorabilia collection.

Since 1993, he has hosted "Frank, Gil, and Friends," a weekly radio program
on WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain/Hartford and on-line. Trained as a Neo-
Latinist, he has published articles on the classical influences and Latin
writings of such writers as Cotton Mather, Philip Freneau, Girolamo
Fracastoro, John Beveridge, and Louis Rou. He blogs at connecticuthalfwit.
blogspot.com.

OK, here's the request I made, found....


03 MAY 2010

"Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus" is now available!

My third book, Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus, has just been published by Entasis Press in Washington DC. The website is [...].

The book is an anthology of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and song lyrics, each of which treats Ms. Gardner in some direct (or indirect) way. It is, in concept, a sequel to my 2008 volume Sinatra: But Buddy I'm a Kind of Poem, which looks at the many different Sinatras that poets and songwriters have created over the years. And, while Sinatra, not surprisingly, also makes appearances in this volume, the focus always remains on Ava and her compelling mix of talent, strength, beauty, insecurity, and, yes, excess.

Some selections see the actress as a symbol of beauty or tenacity, others as a marker of times past and glories gone, and others as an unattainable dream or a keen reflection of the strong women in their own lives. In selection after selection, the power of Ava's work in film also rings out: Mogambo, Pandora..., On the Beach, Show Boat, Night of the Iguana, and The Barefoot Contessa, etc., a body of work that resonates still.

The authors whose works are included are quite varied: from the very well known (Margaret Atwood, Robert Graves, Allen Gurganus, Suzanne Vega, and Ava's own Mario Cabre) to those perhaps known primarily in poetry circles (Michael S. Harper, Virgil Suarez, Peg Boyers, Kirpal Singh, and Pere Gimferrer), from Ava's contemporaries to those from almost every generation since.

Reflecting Ava's own cosmopolitanism, the anthology also boasts authors not just from North America, but from all around the world: Spain, France, England, New Zealand, Greece, India, and the Philippines.

I'm pretty sure there's no other book on Ms. Gardner like this: It celebrates not just who she was, but the meanings the world has made of her -- not to mention the fascination her life, her films, and her spirit still hold for us all.

As Lee Server, the author of the internationally best-selling biography Ava Gardner: Love is Nothing of Ava, writes about the collection:

For nearly a hundred years she has inspired and inflamed her idolators, from matador to billionaire, guttersnipe paparazzo to head-in-the-clouds poet. Professor G.'s unique anthology--a rich mix of hymn, recollection, random invocation--is a divine tribute to the Goddess of sex, glamour, and passion.

NOW, THIS SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD TO ME.
I like biography, literary and famous people gossip and recollection, and Ava Gardner.
If you do too, now you know more about what Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus by Gilbert L. Gigliottidelivers. ... Read more

Product Description
A lavishly illustrated biogrphy of Ava Gardner, the actress who earned herself the epithet of "the most beautiful animal in the world". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Ava Gardner - Venus, Barefoot Contessa & Kitty Collins in one.
This is a marvelous book and tribute to a very talented and beautiful woman. It is sad that she is not here with us today. She still had so much to share with us. It would have been so fulfilling to have her read, treasure and enjoy this work of love, admiration and respect.I have read and reread it numerous times, while also enjoying the vast amount of photos. Her presence on the screen was breathtaking and awesome. A little while ago, it was my privilege to see her on the big screen in the movie "Show Boat" -it may not have been her voice on screen but it was for sure her fabulous face, warmth and presence. After her "singing" the two songs, we in the audience were silent. It was as if should any one dared to applaud, the spell would be broken.The other stars got their well earned applause. However there was something in Ms. Gardner's performance that we just couldn't and wouldn't make a sound for fear it would break the spell she cast over us. How often does that happen in the movies!
I wanted to write to the author, expressing my joy in reading this work of art. I hope he will see this review so that he will know how much it means to me (if I may be so bold to say).He was absolutely thorough in writing this magnificent volume, although there were some very minor and unimportant errors.If he writes another book about Ms. G., I would order two or three copies for my friends and myself or maybe just for myself. Thank you, Mr. Dagneau, for giving us a fabulous work of a star who was underrated very unfairly because of some scripts and lack luster direction in some of the films.Although she still came through it all with glamour and just being herself.

She remained true to her family and friends even though she traveled all over the world, meeting royalty, celebrities, poets, and, yes, bull fighters, as well as everyday people. It mattered not who they were; if she knew and trusted you, that's all she needed to know and cling to. She must also have had an intriguing mind to have had so many friends in all walks of life; yet she was still basically Ava, with a thirst for knowledge, excitement and adventure.She knew that at the end of her journey, she would return her to home....to be at rest with her family with no fanfare or statues. I still feel very badly that she and Frank Sinatra could not have remained together.When I hear his songs, in my heart I believe he is still singing to only her and that we're invited along to share the moment.

Thank you, Ms. Gardner, for giving us such beauty, joy and simplicity;for leaving us movies and books (your own and some you never knew that had been written about you because we wanted to keep reading about you) and for sharing those moments with us.Thank you, Ms. Gardner.

Ava Gardner: Beautiful, Wild, Innocent
Hollywood both discovered and suffocated Ava Gardner. Despite many memorable portrayals, Gardner had never dreamed nor sought to be re-made by the moviemaking factory. Gilles Dagneau has assembled a fascinating and revealing account of the career and life of one of Hollywood's most beautiful, talented and elusive stars. Dagneau's research provides an engrossing read accompanied by a wealth of movie stills, publicity shots and candids through the years. His chronological review of her career and the filmmakers and actors with whom she worked is interwoven with the events in her turbulent off-screen life. Never comfortable with the trappings of stardom and the media curiosity that dogged her through 75 films, three husbands and three continents, she continually professed disinterest in acting but left a wonderful cinematic heritage which Dagneau has detailed in a devoted homage. The in-depth filmography (1941-1986) is especially helpful, along with an index of names and suggested reading. This is a book for film lovers and those who appreciate a revealing look behind the scenes at the real people who inhabit the images created by Hollywood.

Finally, a book befitting the bedazzling star!
The sub-title, "Beautiful, Wild, Innocent," only scratches the surface of Ava Gardner's many charms. Fortunately -- no, incredibly! -- Gilles Dagneau manages to capture the complex essence of the comely actress in this tribute's well-chosen words and pictures. Sharp, succinct analysis links Ms. Gardner's star turns to her own dramatic life-changes. Thus, Dagneau provides invaluable critical and psychological context to bolster previous examinations of her on-screen bravado and off-screen tabloid fodder. Wisely, while convincingly countering Ms. Gardner's self-proclaimed "averageness," the author accompanies his case with a stunning selection of photographs reminding readers of why they fell for Ava in the first place. Love at first sight? Most likely. A lasting love? Undeniably. Those who concur would be well-advised to purchase Gilles Dagneau's critical, yet kind Valentine. Fall in love, all over again.

Gorgeous book about a gorgeous and amazing woman
For anyone who has ever longed to know more about this glamorous and enigmatic movie queen, this book has it all. From Ava's discovery and rise to fame, to the height of her success as one of the world's best-loved and most talked about actresses, to the demise of her star from the skies, this oversize, full-color book examines the personal and professional lives of a woman who came to be worshipped, adored and desired by millions.

From her many love affairs and marriages to such stars as Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra, to her ever-evolving physical beauty, to the many aspects of her true personality that often caused her to rebel against the norm and behave in ways that caught the eyes of the camera, and public, off guard, this is a complete chronology of her life, accompanied by dozens of photographs both candid and posed that reveal a star of mythological proportions. We follow her meteoric career from its dawn to its zenith of success, and then to its decline as an aging Ava struggled to maintain her career, and her dignity.

Film director Gilles Dagneau (with editing and translation by Sandra Eiko Tokunaga) pays homage to Ms. Gardner with honesty, respect and a bit of wild rebelliousness, showing all sides of a woman many viewed as just a beautiful sex object, or a glamorous movie queen. We get so many insights and glimpses into the world of movie-making, and all that it entails, and we really get an understanding of Ava's often quirky behavior as she deals with the differing worlds on and off the movie set. We also see Ava through the eyes of the many famous directors, producers and stars she worked with, and how her charismatic presence effected them. We learn what she was paid for many of her films, about her wardrobes, the history behind the roles she played and the directors she was molded by, her many tumultuous love affairs and the hearts she left shattered in her wake, and her strong views on life that often colored her on-set and off-set actions in ways that made her both wild yet innocent, vulnerable yet tough as nails.

The book is divided into sections of Ava's life, from her early days as a movie-set novice, to the dawn of her true career rise in the late 1940's, to the height of her radiance in the fifties, and through the waning and sunset of her career, and life, through the sixties and into the 1980's. There is also a detailed filmography of Ava's great body of film work, and suggested reading list.

Readers who thought they knew "the Barefoot Contessa" will no doubt learn so much more about the woman and her work, and those who never knew her will be entranced and highly entertained. The stunning photos include set shots, posed movie stills, personal snapshots, and tons of behind the scenes pictures most folks have never seen before. In fact, the photos tell just as thrilling a story as the rich and detailed text does.

"AVA GARDNER: Beautiful, Wild, Innocent," is such a glorious celebration of the life of one of our greatest movie stars, but also of an era of entertainment that has long since died - a time when the stars on the movie set not only rivaled those in the sky, but often outshined them.

MARIE JONES, Book Reviewer, BookIdeas.com ... Read more

Product Description
In this compelling rags-to-riches story, Jane Ellen Wayne charts the life and loves of the gorgeous green-eyed beauty, Ava Gardner. Spotted by an MGM scout who saw her photograph in a shop window, Ava's career took off when she was hired by movie mogul Louis B Mayer after a screen test. In this sizzling biography, the role of Ava's Men - including Howard Hughes, Clark Gabel, Robert Taylor, and third husband and love of her life Frank Sinatra - is central to a revealing and candid account of a great star, a sultry sex goddess, hell-raiser, diva and MGM's final screen legend. Shortly after arriving in Hollywood, Ava met and married film star Mickey Rooney. The marriage that lasted a year and a week. Her second husband was band leader Artie Shaw, one of the "swing era" greats. The marriage was also short-lived. Ava's third and last husband, and great love of her life, was singer Frank Sinatra. They were married in 1951 and divorced in 1956, unable to survive the pressure of their careers and their jealousy of each other. "People Magazine" classified Frank and Ava's marriage as one of the Romances of the Century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a charming book
i am not a big fan of the author's especially after the book on grace kelly but her book on ava gardner was very engaging...she tells of some very interesting stories, especially the one of the time in africa whenthey were making mogambo and she lifted the natives cloth ... Read more

Product Description
This biography of one of the screen's most loved actresses, Ava Gardner, whose career has spanned five decades is as dramatic and compelling as many of her famous roles. In this unique bio-bibliography, the actress's marriages to three of the entertainment business's most influential contributors are chronicled as are her dozens of classic roles in a comprehensive filmography. This bio-bibliography is made complete with a careful list of sources and a generous view of her life through pictures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful biography
As a big fan of Ava, I really enjoyed this book.It gave good details of her beginnings and later life.A very good read. ... Read more

Product Description
Evangelist Ava Gardner shares her personal history of how she received the HIV/AIDS virus from her Minister Husband, Bernard, and how Jesus has transformed her life. Sis Donna Selvaraj is inspired through the Power of the Holy Spirit to format, edit and minister with Evangelist Ava from the Heart of Heaven. Evangelist Ava journeys beyond her own personal struggle and heartache so the Lord Jesus can use her to not only write a book of love, hope and forgiveness, but to tell ALL of God's children, saved and unsaved, that Jesus says, "HIV is Heaven In View" for the person struggling with HIV/AIDS -- AMEN!!! Evangelist Ava is able to take a Spirit-filled journey back through approximately 18 years to WONDERFULLY and JOYFULLY tell the world of the "saving grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." The three-part ministry book ministers to 1) Persons struggling with HIV/AIDS; 2) Pastor's wives unwittingly caught up with the "downlow" lifestyle; and, 3) Bishops, Pastors or Ministers bound by the homosexual or "downlow" lifestyle. This is a Healing and Deliverance Manual for ALL of those who are affected by the HIV/AIDS disease and lifestyle. Jesus says, "I came to have life so that you can have life and life abundant" [John 10:10]. AMEN and GLORY HALLELUJAH!!! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Ava and the Officer: Goddess and London Fog Magic
Another Ava Gardner book - how marvelous. It is fascinating to me that there is still interest to read about her, whether it is in magazines, books, newspaper articles, or to see her movies and to hear her recordings.

When I bought, and before reading, this book, I wondered how can the author capture the many depths of Ava Gardner - her magic, wit, intelligence, beauty, loves, temperment (oh yes), fears, acceptance of the inevitable, etc. Which one would appear and when? It probably depended on the person/s around her and the place.Yes, I believe he did accomplish this very well.

As I read, when the officer first saw her stepping out of a taxi cab,he couldn't see her face because of her wide brimmed hat, yet he knew it was Ava Gardner, this brought me to tears. There was also laughter at her antics, i.e., how she went about to save his career. Did she succeed? Would she sacrifice to be without him? She was vulnerable; however, if she wanted some one or something, she was on a mission of determination to accomplish it. She may not have won every time except maybe in playing chess.

I do believe she was a fascinating and unselfish person. My opinion is based upon reading her bios and other books, as well as from my conversations with some of her relatives and friends when I had attended the Ava Gardner Film Festival in Smithfield, NC.

I also believe the author wished he had known her.This is a very well written story and a lot of interest for us Ava Gardner fans. Wish there could be a sequel.



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Product Description
Garbo and Crawford. Ava, Hedy, Judy, Liz epitomized Hollywood's golden era. With a trembling lip or sultry eye, with a tear or song or husky whisper, these women held moviegoers across America in their sway from the hard times of the 1930s through the booming postwar years to the early sixties. They were royalty and box office, and led pampered public lives-furs, jewels, designer gowns; limousines, flash bulbs, handsome escorts-that captured the national imagination. They also signed seven-year contracts with a morals clause, and the more they slipped, the more the secret abortions, efficient cover-ups, legal legerdemain, and dropped charges bound them to the wizard in their Oz, Louis B. Mayer. The slips are here along with the successes. Here, too, are the Blonde Bombshell Jean Harlow, Million-Dollar Mermaid Esther Williams, Sweater Girl Lana Turner, and bad girl Ava Gardner ("She can't act. She can't talk. She's terrific," declared Mayer after her screen test). From Jeanette MacDonald and Norma Shearer to Princess Grace and Dame Elizabeth Taylor, the sixteen portraits in this lively, photograph-filled volume, each accompanied by the star's filmography, tell the tales that have long lay hidden behind the gossip and the glories of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's glamorous golden girls. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Terrible
Not worth the time it takes to read.She misquotes lines from movies, and as it's entirely possible to watch these and quote them accurately, you have to assume she spent as much time with these lines as she did with the rest of the material here.It's really laughably bad.

Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

don't waste your $$
I can't make head nor tail of this book as it does not include footnotes...are we meant to think that she could read the minds of all of these long-dead stars and knew exactly how much or how little one enjoyed sex with one man vs. another, etc...also it is written poorly, with many rather damning claims simply stated in a sentence and then no more about it. I am not sure who this woman is or was, but this is not among the sort of books one should use for any sort of research...i wonder if she has been sued by any of the estates of these stars...i did not know you could simply write things that he or she allegedly said (or thought) and not be required to list a source...

Sensationalist gossip masquerading as an informative biography.
It's not often that I venture forth to offer a review on Amazon, but I was so upset with this book that I had to speak up. I checked this book out of my University library to help with research for a film exhibit I am working on. I was hoping to find an at most academic and at least intelligent, or reliably informative retelling of the lives of these famous actresses within, how they were perceived by the viewing public, and the effect they had on the film industry during their tenures as stars. What I got was a sensationalist account concerned only with detailing every sexual encounter these women ever had, and taking delight in citing most of them as gay or bisexual, something that is not offensive to me but seems particularly overemphasized in this book.

Why is it important to know that several of these women didn't wear underwear on the set? This book is full of lascivious quotes from male film stars about the sexual appetites of all of these women, and time and time again I found myself questioning the legitimacy of these sources, not to mention the bias of what these men were saying considering attitudes about women at the time. Perhaps even more offensive, in Wayne's account none of these women are allowed to succeed on their own without men. Instead Wayne depicts their careers as driven primarily by sex, and there is no real examination of how these women succeeded based on their own talents or business savvy. They need men to land roles in films, they need men to fulfill whatever emotional void is in their life, and don't forget they prey on men like the vamps many portrayed on screen to fulfill their rampant sexual appetites. But I kept asking, over and over, so what? The dreaded question that every historian or biographer should strive to answer to justify the time and money spent into publishing any paper or book. The drivel presented here doesn't even attempt to answer this question.

There's no denying that none of these film stars were saints, but what does this book honestly add to any serious or intelligent discussion of film? Whether or not these actresses were as oversexualized as Wayne takes delight in portraying them, they are fascinating subjects who captured the imaginations of millions through their revolutionary presence on screen, whether through sheer talent, manipulation of their images, or both. They were acting during one of the most fruitful times for women in Hollywood in many cases, when women were allowed to be sexual and independent creatures who strove for what they wanted in their roles on screen. But instead of even attempting to point this out, Wayne is almost offensively interested in cataloging everything that supposedly went on in their bedrooms.

This book read like the worst of gossip columns with no analysis that even the more disappointing biographies I have read for this project made sure to offer. Further, the endless catalog of love affairs reads like a laundry list, making the writing bland and boring no matter how tantalizing the questionable subject matter attempts to be.

pure speculation
i have read the book and i keep wondering if any of this really true. it is just pure specualtion. idle gossip. but it was fun reading it. why was so much attention given to grace kelly when she only made a couple pictures with MGM. katharine hepburn was a much bigger star and the author gave her a couple of pages. just not enough.

Not Worthy for the Collector
Miss Wayne clearly did not investigate the rumors that fills this book.Many of her facts are not validated and that many more are known to be just rumor.The typographical errors abound, i.e. Wiltshire Boulevard in Los Angeles - it is Wilshire Boulevard.Her dates are deplorable - i.e. Esther Williams and Fernando Lamas were married for 22 years from 1969 until his death in 1982 - that's 13 years, Miss Wayne!

As an avid collector of classic movies and the literature of the Golden Age of Hollywood, this book has no value to this or any other collector! ... Read more