Patricia Bosworth's books include critically acclaimed biographies of Diane Arbus and Montgomery Clift and a memoir, Anything Your Little Heart Desires. She is a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and writes regularly for The New York Times and Mirabella. She lives in New York City.
Marlon Brando, best known for his roles as the motorcycle rebel who epitomized restless youth in The Wild Ones and as the powerful Don Corleone in The Godfather, has mesmerized audiences for the last 50 years. Although many biographies have been written on Brando not to mention an autobiography Bosworth (Portrait of Montgomery Clift) offers a fascinating look into his charismatic genius. Though she gives a glimpse into the personal conflicts that influenced his work, Bosworth focuses her attention on Brando's professional achievements. She creates a sensitive portrait of a man so uncomfortable with his celebrity status that he embarked on a course of self-destruction. Bosworth shares with us the eccentric lifestyle that influenced the personae Brando created for his on-screen characters and explains the emotional tolls it took on him. She also provides a useful filmography. Fans wanting more details of Brando's personal life may find Peter Manso's epic biography, Brando: The Biography (LJ 11/15/94. o.p.), more satisfying. Bosworth's book is recommended for all libraries. Rosalind Dayen Broward, Cty. South Regional Lib., Pembroke Pines, FL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Ever wonder how much of Brando was in Stanley Kowalski? When Brando's alcoholic mother followed him to New York, he would come over and urinate in her kitchen sink to annoy her, as she would complain to anyone who would listen, "why doesn't he stop this shit?" Acclaimed as a great, even magnificent actor after his Broadway debut in Streetcar Named Desire, only to ride a roller-coaster of artistic highs and lows since, Brando embodies all of the glories and contradictions of the American star/artist. Bosworth, author of acclaimed biographies of Diane Arbus and Montgomery Clift, has written an informative biography of Brando that, because of the limited format of the Penguin Lives series, hints at but cannot do justice to the great unruliness of Brando's career and life. She provides a fine, detailed sketch of his New York days when he took acting classes with "Harry Belafonte, Elaine Stritch, Gene Saks, Shelley Winters, Rod Steiger and Kim Stanley," and presents a great portrait of the craziness on the set of Last Tango in Paris (co-star Maria Schneider announced that they got along "because we're both bisexual"). But in only 228 pages, she can't approach the complexity of her earlier work. Yet even with these limitations, the book offers a vivid reminder of the personal and professional highlights of Brando's life, including his disastrous marriage to Anna Kashfi and its effect on his son, and how he resurrected his career (which had barely survived 10 flops) with Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. (Sept.) Forecast: Given Bosworth's prominence and past critical acclaim and the intrinsic interest of her subject this book is unlikely to be ignored. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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