Roddy McDowell

An Actor's Life -- From "How Green Was My Valley" to "Lassie" to "Planet of the Apes"

Author:    Samuel Garza Bernstein

Genre:     Biography/Entertainers

Hardcover; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9780806544267

Citadel

352 Pages

$29.00; $24.65 Amazon

May 26, 2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sincerity, erudition, charisma...Roddy McDowall.

Here is the ncomprehensive, first-ever biography of the award-winning child star, Planet of the Apes movie icon, beloved film legend, and Hollywood renaissance man whose career spanned 60 years.

As one of the very few naturally gifted child actors who graduated into adult roles with relative ease, Roddy McDowall exuded charm throughout a glorious Hollywood run that included film, television, and Broadway.  John Ford's 1941 classis How Green Was My Valley put Roddy on the map at 12-years-old.  It won Best Picture over Citizen Kane and is Clint Eastwood's favorite film of all time.  But Roddy's biggest claim to fame was yet to come.

The phenomenally popular Planet of the Apes film series, which ran from 1968-1973, introduced him to a whole new generation of fans.  In a career spanning 60 years, Roddy was also a professional photographer, producer and director, starstruck movie lover himself, and film preservationist.  Among his treasured friends: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Angela Lansbury, Judy Garland, Julie Andrews, Lauren Bacall, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brand, Natalie Wood, and Rock Hudson.  Openly gay among his peers, if not the public, Roddy was a trusted keeper of secrets as well.  Loyal and authentic to the end, everyone in Hollywood loved Roddy McDowall.

Exhaustively researched and featuring exclusive interviews with those who knew him best, this first-ever biography from author Samuel Garza Bernstein charts the extraordinary trajectory of the London-born, award-winning actor -- from a childhood in front of the cameras, to a break from the studio and his controlling stage mother, an awkward adolescence and growing awareness of his sexuality, to eventually shaping the life and career that Roddy wanted for himself.  Professionally and personally, he was a success.  This intimate and fascinating journey of resilience, transformation, and reinvention is a long-awaited and illuminating tribute to a true Hollywood legend.

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First off, I want to say that I am a huge classic film buff, and own thousands of them.  I don't care for the movies made today; and I feel that I should say that before reviewing this book.  that being said, I have always been a fan of Roddy McDowall.  

From his sad face in How Green Was My Valley to his obvious enjoyment of Planet of the Apes, there was always a charisma surrounding him.  His acting was wonderful, his timing impeccable.  Just a minor role in Midnight Lace tells you all you need to know.  When he looks malevolently at Doris Day, you do believe that he would have no problem doing her harm.  (Spoiler: he doesn't).

He always drew me in while watching his films.  The magnificent oration in Cleopatra (which I learned, sadly) had part of it cut), was indeed something worth watching.  He gave the best performance of the film, and that is saying something, since he was surrounded by actors such as Rex Harrison, Elizabeth Taylor, and Richard Burton.

The author has done justice to Roddy with this book.  He begins when Roddy is just a child in England; his mother, Wineifrede, wants to be an actress but has neither the looks nor form for it, so she begins to groom her two children, Roddy and his older sister Virginia, for starring roles.

When they are sent to America by their father during World War II, Roddy is just twelve years old.  His mother, still starstruck, goes to Hollywood and eventually a director sees Roddy's potential.  Eventually, How Green Was My Valley not only becomes a starring vehicle for the young Brit, but it wins Best Picture that year at the Oscars.  Roddy's star is born.

Unfortunately, as often happens, child stars don't always morph immediately into teenage roles, and Roddy was no exception. Although his childhood films were wonderful (some made me cry), his later films weren't as successful; but when he became a man his career once again took off.

So did Roddy...right for New York, and a new world of theater opened up.  He loved Broadway, and Broadway loved him.  Roddy loved being around people, and his many friends (too many to list, but most were A-listers themselves) surrounded him, protected him, and enjoyed his many dinner parties.  He never lacked for companions, nor companionship.  I have no doubt most people know that Roddy was gay, although it didn't define his life.  I don't think, 'this is a gay actor,' I think, 'this is a great actor who also happens to be gay'.  I never cared, and I still don't.  This was a handsome, enigmatic man whose face could carry any emotion and convey it to the audience.  His words only added to the charm.

He was involved in many charities, and did what he could for the preservation of film.  So many films are lost forever by those who never thought that future generations might enjoy them.  Roddy did care.

Yes, I am fond of Roddy, but it did not color my reading of the book.  There was extensive research done, and interviews with friends who survived him.  Their thoughts were kind.  In fact, I could not find any negative thoughts at all.  This was a man who took care of his family, forgave them their faults, held his friends close and kept their secrets. 

The last part is actually difficult for me to write.  It's about Roddy's last days and his death.  I cried through those pages, and I am crying now while I relive it.  It is the pain that his friends felt upon losing him; and even in his last days he showed his love.  I only wished I could have met him.  At least I have his films.

In the end, this is a wonderful biography that gives Roddy McDowall the justice he deserves.  It makes me want to be a better person myself.  Do yourself a favor:  Watch a few of his movies and then read this book.  You won't regret it.  Highly recommended.

I was given an advance copy of this book by the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Roddy-McDowall-Actors-Valley-Lassie/dp/0806544260/ref=

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8564535382

More on Samuel Garza Bernstein's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ASamuel%2BGarza%2BBernstein&s=relevancerank&text=Samuel+Garza+Bernstein&ref=

Ronald Colman

Hollywood's Gentleman Hero

Author:    Carl Rollyson

Genre:    Biography/Hollywood

Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9798887714387; 9798887714370

Bear Manor Media

568 Pages

$46.00; $36.00; $9.95 Amazon

March 27, 2024

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ronald Colman, the silent film star who showed a generation of actors how to perform for the talkies, remained Hollywood's gentleman hero for more than two decades.  He appeared with many of the screen's leading ladies, including Lillian Gish, Joan Bennett, Kay Francis, Loretta Young, Ida Lupino, Greer Garson, Jean Arthur, and Ginger Rogers.  As the epitome of the Hollywood gentleman, he immortalized the self-sacrificing hero in his signature role of Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities.  Not as well known are Colman's major contributions to radio comedy and drama with appearances on Jack Benny's show in company with his wife, actress Benita Hume, who co-starred with him in The Halls of Ivy, the Peabody award winning radio series about a college president and his enchanting wife.  An Academy Award winner for A Double Life, the story of an actor playing Othello, who confuses his life with his role.  Colman achieved a sublime performance.  Then in the early days of television Colman created several characters who express an eloquent testament of a man and actor whose legacy is finally and fully recognized in this biography.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

First off, I will tell you (as I've said many times before) that I absolutely love anything to do with the Golden Age of Hollywood, including actors/directors/studios, etc.  I've been watching these films with my parents since I was a small girl, and developed a healthy admiration of the actors and the films themselves.  I have seen more of them than I can count, and own thousands, including most of Mr. Colman's pictures.

Saying that, of course I was interested in reading this biography, and I will tell you that it is very well researched, and quite a tome as well, topping over 500 pages.  But -- and that is a big but -- the first section of the book lists synopses of his films with almost everything to do with the plot (they aren't really synopses, but lack of a better word--), giving the plot, the characters, the actors, etc.; so you know everything about every single film, even if you've never seen it.  Now you don't have to.  I'm not saying that this is wrong, but here comes the but-- in the second section of the book the author downright repeats everything in the first.

The difference is that in the second section we learn about Ronald Colman himself, from his upbringing (which is rather sparse, unfortunately), to his life in Hollywood, his friends (which I knew from reading Warner Baxter's bio, but that is neither here nor there), and how he met and married his first wife, Thelma Raye, an unhappy marriage, to his very happy one with his second, Betina Hume.

The third section focuses on his legacy year by year.  There are events, anecdotes, and references; some of it is quite worthy to read.  The fourth section lists the 'supporting players', those actors who were in his films and bits of information regarding them.

There are around a dozen or so photographs in one section of this book, and many of them are worth viewing if you have not seen them before.

All in all, I did enjoy this book and learning more about Mr. Colman.  I have always found him to be attractive, suave, disciplined, and oh, so expressive in his face.  You can see the emotions play across his face in every role, and, it has been said and I will reiterate, he had one of the most beautiful voices in Hollywood.  Not deep like Gregory Peck, but lyrical and feeling.  You could learn a lot just listening to him talk.  

This is a wonderful book on Ronald Colman, and I enjoyed reading it and will definitely add it to my collection.  There will never be another actor like him.  Read the book, watch his films, and enjoy every moment.  You will not regret it.  Recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Ronald-Colman-Hollywoods-Gentleman-Hero-ebook/dp/B0D31TJSCL/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7939223116

More on Carl Rollyson's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/stores/Carl-Rollyson/author/B001IZTA16?ref=

Virginia Bruce

Under My Skin

Author:    Scott O'Brien

Genre:     Biography/Entertainment

Hardcover; Digital Book (Paperback Available)

ISBN #:    9781629330273

BearManor Media

504 Pages

$43.14; $9.95 Amazon

October 8, 2008

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In Born to Dance (1936), Virginia Bruce tempted James Stewart while introducing Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin."  Thyat same year she dazzled as the archtypical showgirl in the Oscar-winning "The Great Ziegfeld."  Fans and critics saw her poied for major stardom at MGM.

Delve into her turbulent life and career.  In James Robert Parish's Foreword, he notes Virginia's quiet charisma, the haunted, distracted lookj of her eyes, her vibrant voice, and her "off screen life...far more exciting and exotic than any role she experienced on camera." 

Love was very important to Virginia.  She fell hard for screen idol John Gilbert during their filming of Downstairs (1932).  When the virile, yet deeply troubled Gilbert proposed marriage, Hollywood held its collective breath.  The merger ended in divorce, but provided the basis for the Selznick's A Star Is Born (1937).  Virginia's career took off, but the question was, "Did Louis B. Mayer have it in for her?"  Mayer had hated Gilbert.  After a brief, idyllic, yet tragic second marriage to director-producer J. Walter Ruben, Virginia's career focused more on radio, and an occasional "B" film.  Her marriage to a young Turk, Ali Ipar in 1946 provided another unusual twist to Virginia's life, and ultimately a bittersweet ending.

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I love classic films and own thousands of them.  I also read as many of the Golden Age of Hollywood biographies that I can find, and own hundreds.  When I saw this one of Virginia Bruce, I knew I had to read it.  I also think that Scott O'Brien is a wonderful biographer.  He does his research, and he never diminishes his subject, nor shows disdain for them.  His biographies are honest, warts and all.  Which made me rather sad to read this, but nevertheless happy that I did.

I love Virginia Bruce.  Her voice, her stature.  I think she was one of the great natural beauties of Hollywood.  But above all -- those sleepy eyes.  Her eyes were most expressive, and as much a part of her beauty as anything else.  It is what drew me first when I saw her in a film with Ricardo Cortez (another actor I am fond of).

Virginia never put her career first in her life.  She wanted love, and she fell hard for silent actor John Gilbert.  He had a wonderful smile, and charisma on screen.  Off screen, he'd been married three times, and Virginia was his fourth wife.  She'd loved him when she first met him when they were working on a film together, and married him without hesitation.  Unfortunately, John had his own demons he could not fight, including the fact that his wife's star was rising while his was fading.  Even after the birth of their daughter, Susan Ann, John couldn't think of anything but his career.  This was his own downfall.  

When they divorced, Virginia was crushed.  But his death soon after left her with more than just memories.  Their daughter became her whole life, and she would dedicate it to Susan Ann, even at the cost of her career.  Virginia could have been a greater star if she had pushed a bit, but she didn't like contention and took the roles offered to her.  While they may seem insignificant by today's standards, watch the films.  She is mesmerizing in her performances.  

Virginia found love again with J. Walter Ruben; they fell in love while on the set of another of her films which he was directing, and she married him as soon as it was completed.  Her life, it seemed, had taken another turn, and she was finally happy, welcoming a son, Christopher Ruben.  Although her happiness wasn't to last.

When she fell in love with Turk Ali Ipar, it was a mistake; but Virginia would not hear anyone telling her so.  In my opinion, this man was a scoundrel.  He destroyed her life and she was never the same again.  In the quest for love, Virginia found the ultimate heartbreak, although she would never describe it the way I have, nor the way Mr. O'Brien has categorized it.  He did not offer any judgement; but I have no such qualms.  Ipar was exactly as I described him, and Virginia would have been a much more well-known star without him.  She could have soared, but didn't.

In the end, her life did leave a legacy with her films.  If you have not seen any of them, I urge you to do so.  She deserves at least this.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Virginia-Bruce-Under-My-Skin-ebook/dp/B07354WNXQ/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6866073065

More on Scott O'Brien's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/stores/Scott-OBrien/author/B002BLLB6I?ref=

Bing and Billie and Frank and Ella and Judy and Barbra

Author:    Dan Callahan

Genre:     Biographies/Music

Hardcover; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:    9781641609227

Chicago Review Press

384 Pages

$26.99; $10.99 ($5.99) Amazon

September 5, 2023

⭐⭐⭐

Crosby, Holiday, Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Garland and Streisand were the major interpreters ofthe American songbook, and this is the interlocking story of their lives and careers.

Here is the epic tale of how these artists dominated American popular music over a fifty-year period, a roller coaster ride that gains momentum through the 1930s and '40s a crest of magical creativity in the 1950s and early '60s, and then crashes down by the early 1970s, a half century when the great American songbook dominated the airwaves and the fight for racial equality came to the forefront.

Ella was beloved in her time, and she is still beloved.  Frank is still the king of the songbook, but Bing's legacy is just as vital once you start listening to his unprecedented 1930s output.  The best songs from Judy's greatest triumph, her 1963-64 TV series, are shared endlessly online.  The legend of Billie grows by the year, and the basis of this should be appreciation and wonder for her own great artistry in the 1930s.  Barbra is a living legend and still a commercial force to be reckoned with, the last exemplar of the songbook and its glories.  All six of these singers reach out to us and show us new ways of expression and new ways to dream.

Their song is largely ended but the melody lingers on.

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First off, I must say that I am an old soul.  I love classic films and watch them repeatedly.  I love old music and Big Band, and have many albums that I listen to on a regular basis.  I have heard of -- and listened to -- all of the people mentioned in this book.  I am a huge fan of Bing Crosby and Billie Holiday, not so much Ella Fitzgerald (but the woman could sing), and I don't care for Barbra Streisand at all.  (I have to wonder why she is even in this book, considering she doesn't fit in the category of the others).

But saying that, I have to be honest about this book.  It's all over the place.  The chapters are all mixed up in a way that they shouldn't be.  First, you read about the beginnings of Bing, then Frank, etc.; when it should have been episodes devoted to each one individually.  All Bing, all Frank, etc.  The way it is written, you barely get a sense of what's going on when you're 'thrown into another person.'  It's disconcerting, and not good writing.

I did also feel that the author was doing a minor 'hit job' on a few of these (and I won't say who, because others might not have read the book yet); but things were said that never needed to be, and might change the opinion of others who like the music; i.e., color their world to the personality of the singer.  Most we knew: studios fed Judy drugs, Billie was a heroin addict; but some things did not pertain to their music and didn't need to be there.

As far as the music goes, each artist has their own style: Bing had a pure voice, one that will never be heard again, and the only other singer I can say that about is Perry Como.  The notes were pure, the songs lovely to listen to.  Frank put himself into his music, and it carried a different tune.  Billie used her whole heart, and the sadness and desperation shows in the songs -- while some were heartrending, others were pure beauty.  Ella just wanted to sing, and sing she did, and it comes out in the song.  Judy had a huge voice for such a small girl, and she put everything into it, heart, soul, and as loud and lovely as she could.  Again, I can't mention Barbra as I don't listen to her at all.  Sorry.

In the end, I would have liked to have read this differently, with a fullness to each person's story, but it wasn't written that way.  Most of the book is analysis and exposition, not the love of the subject.  While this is there, the heart is not.

I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the publisher but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Bing-Billie-Frank-Ella-Barbra-ebook/dp/B0C1T91B28/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6051865129

More on Dan Callahan's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dan-Callahan/author/B0053V2V7G?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref

Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided

Author:    Scott Eyman

Genre:     Biography/Entertainers

Hardcover; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:`9781982176358

Simon & Schuster

432 Pages

$29.99; $14.99 ($49.99) Amazon

October 31, 2023

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The remarkable, must-read story of Charlie Chaplin's years of exile from the United States during the postwar Red Scare, and how it ruined his film career, from bestselling biographer Scott Eyman.

Bestselling Hollywood biographer and film historian Scott Eyman tells the story of Charlie Chaplin's fall from grace.  In the aftermath of World War Two, Chaplin was criticized for being politically liberal and international in outlook.  He had never become a US citizen, something that would be held against him as xenophobia set in when the postwar Red Scare took hold.

Politics aside, Chaplin had another problem: his sexual interest in young women.  He had been married three times and had had numerous affairs.  In the 1940s, he was the subject of a paternity suit, which he lost, despite blood tests that proved he was not the father.  His sexuality became a convenient way for those who opposed his politics to condemn him.  Refused permission to return to the US from a trip abroad, he settled in Switzerland, and made his last two films in London.

In Charlie Chaplin vs. America, bestselling author Scott Eyman explores the life and times of the movie genius who brought us such masterpieces as City Lights and Modern Times.  This is a perceptive, insightful portrait of Chaplin and of an America consumed by political turmoil.

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I will tell you first that I am consumed by anything Hollywood in the Golden Age.  I don't watch today's films, and probably never will.  The true actors - Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck, etc. and, of course, Chaplin -- have all left us; but their legacies are left behind, in hundreds, if not thousands, of films from the silent era to the 1960's (or such).

I have seen all of these films and own most of them; I am not shy about purchasing a classic film or making a new discovery; this is part of the charm of them.  I can travel back in time whenever I want.  Luckily, or perhaps a fortunate accident, Turner Classic Movies has recently shown two of Chaplin's classics: The Great Dictator and City Lights.  Another channel, FMC, has also runs several of his silents, so I was able to watch the films (again) while reading this book.  Lengthy, but definitely worth the read.

While I have read about Chaplin's troubles, never before have they been laid out in such a way as to make one not only admire him, but feel sorrow for him as well, because of the way our beloved (at least to me) United States treated him -- all because he was not a US citizen, and therefore, he must be a Communist (he was not).  It was sad to read, because by all accounts, even though he was stingy in monetary matters (due to his upbringing), he was extremely generous to friends and coworkers.  

Charlie Chaplin was an enigma unto himself.  Born into poverty, he and his older brother Sydney developed a lifelong bond with each other, and while Syd had done fairly well, Charlie, due to the fact of his visions regarding film, had done much better.  But it didn't come without a price:  His first three marriages failed, and his work was all-consuming.  He would do a hundred takes if it meant a better film.

What others may or may not know is that it was Chaplin, director D.W, Griffith, actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. who created Universal Studios.  They developed and made their own films and those of others, becoming extremely wealthy in the process.  This, of course, afforded Charlie the means to make those films he wished; and what films they were.  While some may not be interested in silent films, none can dispute his "Little Tramp" was brilliant.  It was this introduction into his early films that made me watch the others.

Charlie was married unhappily three times, and it was not until he met the 17-year-old Oona O'Neill (daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill) that he finally found love.  He married her when she turned eighteen, and the marriage lasted until his death.  But even then he found problems as there were those in Hollywood and even Washington, D.C. who found him 'unacceptable' when it came to his private life.  I will not go into the story of Joan Berry here, but you can read the entire tale in the book.  I will say, however, that while Charlie may have had strong sexual proclivities, he never once took a minor where they shouldn't be.. He was not a predator.  In all, he adored Oona and could not have survived without her.

Charlie was given a bum rap. if you will, by this country, all because they were unhappy with the fact that he wouldn't become a citizen (he considered himself a 'citizen of the world'), and didn't have the same sensibilities of others during the Red Scare -- which I will say, ruined the careers of many actors and others).  When he retired to Switzerland, he was happy with his life, but longed to make more films, and did succeed in making two more, although they were not well-received by the critics nor the public.  However, Charlie's brilliance could not stay buried forever, and years later he was received with open arms on all fronts.

Whatever you think about the puckish Mr. Chaplin, love or hate him, this biography will open your eyes to the type of person he was.  It is not fawning over him, but tells the true tale of Charlie's life from birth to death, and everything that occurred in between, giving us a definitive tale of both the man and the genius.  It has given me a renewed admiration.  Highly recommended.

I thank Simon & Schuster for the advance copy of this book.  However, it did not influence this review in any way.

https://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Chaplin-vs-America-Politics-ebook/dp/B0BV157PXK/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5736274891

More on Scott Eyman's Books:    https://www.amazon.com/s?k=scott+eyman&i=digital-text&crid=6IHP5VHHYF2I&sprefix=scott+eyman%2Cdigital-text%2C173&ref=nb_sb_noss_1