Watch Me: A Memoir
By: Anjelica Huston
Narrated by: Anjelica Huston
Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Entertainment & Celebrities
A Story Lately Told
Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York
Writing with an exuberant love of language and detail, Anjelica Huston shares her enchanted childhood in Ireland, her teen years in London, and her coming of age as a model and nascent actress in New York.
Impossible to stop listening
By Bil Antoniou on 09-17-15
By Myself and Then Some
By: Lauren Bacall
Narrated by: Lauren Bacall
The epitome of grace, independence, and wit, Lauren Bacall continues to astound generations with her audacious spirit and on-screen excellence. Together with Humphrey Bogart, she produced some of the most electric scenes in movie history, and their romance on and off screen made them Hollywood's most celebrated couple.
Wish it had been unabridged
By Grace on 04-28-14
The Autobiography
By: Joan Collins
Narrated by: Joan Collins
Her role as Alexis Carrington Colby in Dynasty brought her to peak stardom, a role which might have been created for the tempestuous, strong-willed, and passionate woman that she is. As might be expected, in this memoir, she tells the truth; from her romantic adventures - sometimes desirable, sometimes disastrous - with some of the most famous and interesting men in the world, to the inside story of her fascinating and erratic acting career. Joan Collins candidly divulges her past imperfect in a book that is, like herself, outspoken, witty, daring, and full of life.
Joan the great!
By VJG on 07-26-21
The Price of Illusion
By: Joan Juliet Buck
Narrated by: Joan Juliet Buck
From Joan Juliet Buck, former editor-in-chief of Paris Vogue, comes a dazzling memoir: a fabulous account of four decades spent in the creative heart of London, New York, Los Angeles, and Paris, chronicling Buck's quest to discover the difference between glitter and gold, illusion and reality, and what looks like happiness from the thing itself.
Narcissistic name dropper
By Marlette on 12-03-19
There Was a Little Girl
The Real Story of My Mother and Me
By: Brooke Shields
Narrated by: Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields never had what anyone would consider an ordinary life. She was raised by her Newark-tough single mom, Teri, a woman who loved the world of show business and was often a media sensation all by herself. Brooke's iconic modeling career began by chance when she was only 11 months old, and Teri's skills as both Brooke's mother and her manager were formidable. But in private she was troubled and drank heavily.
Interesting, but sounds a little entitled at times
By Karen on 12-09-14
Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found
By: Allegra Huston
Narrated by: Allegra Huston
When Allegra Huston was four years old, her mother was killed in a car crash. Soon afterward, she was introduced to an intimidating man wreathed in cigar smoke - the legendary film director John Huston - with the words, "This is your father". At the heart of Love Child is Allegra's search for the widely adored mother she never knew - and also a search for where she herself belongs. Allegra grew up in a fragmented, contradictory family: an only child with many siblings; not unwanted, but a perennial problem to be solved.
By Abby Mamacos on 09-28-20
But Enough About Me
By: Burt Reynolds, Jon Winokur
Narrated by: Burt Reynolds
Scandalous, sentimental, frank, and sincere - the ultimate inside account of a television and film icon. Burt Reynolds has been a Hollywood leading man for six decades, known for his legendary performances, sex-symbol status, and storied Hollywood romances. In his long career of stardom, during which he was number one at the box office for five years in a row, Reynolds has seen it all. But Enough About Me will tell his story through the people he's encountered on his amazing journey.
Incredible life!
By Zeppy on 11-24-15
By: Burt Reynolds, and others
The Lonely Life
By: Bette Davis
The Lonely Life details the first 50-plus years of Davis' life - her Yankee childhood, her rise to stardom in Hollywood, the birth of her beloved children, and the uncompromising choices she made along the way to succeed. The book was updated with new material in the 1980s, bringing the story up to the end of Davis' life - all the heartbreak, all the drama, and all the love she experienced at every stage of her extraordinary life.
The One and Only, Bette Davis
By Aphrodite on 02-17-19
Boys in the Trees
By: Carly Simon
Narrated by: Carly Simon
Simon's memoir reveals her remarkable life, beginning with her storied childhood as the third daughter of Richard L. Simon, the co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster; her musical debut as half of The Simon Sisters, performing folk songs with her sister, Lucy, in Greenwich Village; to a meteoric solo career that would result in 13 top 40 hits, including the number-one song "You're So Vain".
DIDN'T GET FAR
By reader on 09-14-17
My Life So Far
By: Jane Fonda
Narrated by: Jane Fonda
She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more. From her youth among Hollywood's elite and her early film career to the challenges and triumphs of her life today, Jane Fonda reveals intimate details and universal truths.
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT!!!!
By Ludimila on 06-29-13
A Fine Romance
By: Candice Bergen
Narrated by: Candice Bergen
A Fine Romance begins with Bergen's charming first husband, French director Louis Malle, whose huge appetite for life broadened her horizons and whose occasional darkness never diminished their love for each other. But her real romance begins when she discovers overpowering love for her daughter after years of ambivalence about motherhood.
up the speed to 1.5 and Candace sounds way better
By Susan on 06-03-15
What Falls Away
By: Mia Farrow
Narrated by: Mia Farrow
Told with grace and deep understanding, as well as humor, Mia Farrow's exquisitely written memoir goes beneath the surface of her amazing life, with all its drama, success, and pain, and exposes the inner workings of a mind and spirit for whom truth, compassion, and faith are essential.
By Frank Abignale on 01-08-14
A Lifetime with Carrie and Debbie
By: Todd Fisher
Narrated by: Todd Fisher
In December 2016, the world was shaken by the sudden deaths of Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds, two unspeakable losses. The stunned public turned for solace to Debbie's only remaining child, Todd Fisher. The son of "America's Sweethearts" Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Todd grew up amid the glamorous wealth and pretense of Hollywood. Thanks to his mother, Todd remained down to earth, his own man, but always close to his cherished mom, and to his sister through her meteoric rise to stardom and her struggle with demons that never diminished her humor, talent, or spirit.
Detailed & heartfelt tribute
By Lili on 07-08-18
A Life on the Edge
By: Sheila Weller
A remarkably candid biography of the remarkably candid - and brilliant - Carrie Fisher. Sourced by friends, colleagues, and witnesses to all stages of Fisher's life, Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge is an empathic and even-handed portrayal of a woman who - as Princess Leia, but mostly as herself - was a feminist heroine, one who died at a time when we need her blazing, healing honesty more than ever.
Need a different narrator or director?
By Brad on 12-24-19
By: Bette Davis, Michael Herskowitz
A woman of strong appetites and opinions, Bette Davis minces no words. In frank, no-nonsense terms, she talks about the stroke that nearly killed her and inspires us with the story of her subsequent recovery from cancer - a lively and encouraging account shot through with the star's unique blend of spunk and wit.
Love this look into Bette Davis' life and feelings
By BN on 11-14-17
By: Bette Davis, and others
Jackie's Girl
My Life with the Kennedy Family
By: Kathy McKeon
Narrated by: Aedin Moloney
In 1964 Kathy McKeon was just 19 years old and newly arrived from Ireland when she was hired as the personal assistant to former first lady Jackie Kennedy. The next 13 years of her life were spent in Jackie's service, during which Kathy not only played a crucial role in raising young Caroline and John Jr. but also had a front-row seat to some of the 20th century's most significant events.
Jackie's Girl -- A refreshing inside perspective
By Beth on 05-31-17
By: Debbie Reynolds, Dorian Hannaway
Narrated by: Debbie Reynolds
The definitive memoir by legendary actress and performer Debbie Reynolds - an entertaining and moving story of enduring friendships and unbreakable family bonds, of hitting bottom and rising to the top again - that offers a unique and deeply personal perspective on Hollywood and its elite, from the glory days of MGM to the present.
Loved Loved loved IT!
By: Debbie Reynolds, and others
This Was Hollywood: Forgotten Stars and Stories
By: Carla Valderrama
Narrated by: Carla Valderrama
From former screen legends who have faded into obscurity to new revelations about the biggest movie stars, Valderrama unearths the most fascinating little-known tales from the birth of Hollywood through its Golden Age. The shocking fate of the world's first movie star. Clark Gable's secret love child. The film that nearly ended Paul Newman's career. A former child star who, at 93, reveals her #metoo story for the first time. Valderrama unfolds these stories, and many more, in a volume that is by turns riveting, maddening, hilarious, and shocking.
Hollywood Fun
By Ernie D. Casciato on 01-06-21
Following her "extraordinary" ( Vanity Fair), "evocative" ( The New York Times), "magically beautiful" ( The Boston Globe), "gorgeously written" ( O, The Oprah Magazine) coming-of-age memoir, Academy Award-winning actress Anjelica Huston writes about her relationship with Jack Nicholson, her rise to stardom, her work with the greatest directors in Hollywood, her love affair with her husband, and much more.
Anjelica Huston was 29 years old and trying to create a place for herself as an actress in Hollywood when the director Tony Richardson said to her: "Poor little you. So much talent and so little to show for it. You're never going to do anything with your life." Tony had a singsong voice, like one of his own parrots, but there was no mistaking the edge. "Perhaps you're right," I answered. Inside I was thinking, Watch me."
In A Story Lately Told, Anjelica Huston described her enchanted childhood in Ireland and her glamorous but troubled late teens in London. That memoir of her early years ended when Anjelica stepped into Hollywood. In Watch Me, Huston tells the story of falling in love with Jack Nicholson and her adventurous, turbulent, high-profile, spirited 17-year relationship with him and his intoxicating circle of friends. She writes about learning the art and craft of acting, about her Academy Award-winning portrayal of Maerose Prizzi in Prizzi's Honor, about her roles as Morticia Addams in the Addams Family films, Etheline Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums and Lilly Dillon in The Grifters, and about her collaborations with many great directors, including Woody Allen, Wes Anderson, Bob Rafelson, Francis Ford Coppola, and Stephen Frears. She movingly and beautifully writes about the death of her father, the legendary director John Huston, and her marriage to sculptor Robert Graham. She is candid, mischievous, warm, passionate, funny, and a superb storyteller.
©2014 Anjelica Huston. All rights reserved. (P)2014 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
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What listeners say about Watch Me: A Memoir
mafreund
Fascinating woman. Love stories? Not so much.
I've always been fascinated by Anjelica Huston. She has always struck me as being unique. Not a classic beauty, she's always had an otherworldly beauty that radiates from within. I believe that's why I was so disappointed to see that she allowed herself to be used by that infamous actor love of hers. It was disheartening to realize that Anjelica didn't place more value on her worth. Every time she discovered another infidelity, she stayed on for more. He wasn't worth it. I don't care how fascinating, engaging, or unique any individual is. A narcissist is a narcissist and she was used by a man who didn't value her love or loyalty. Hearing this first hand was painful. I don't think this is something to celebrate or memorialize. It left me feeling demoralized for her.
I have to say that I was also disappointed that this memoir didn't really relate more details of her relationship with her late husband. This relationship was relegated to the last few chapters. From her narrative, I was left thinking that perhaps it wasn't as substantive as I originally thought but, then again, how much do we really know about people who are famous? Actually, I think this is what is at the crux of my disappointment with this memoir. I was looking forward to knowing more about Anjelica. Her stories didn't convey the intimacy (within reason) of who SHE is. Instead, I heard more about all the famous and industry people she new. It was an endless avalanche of name dropping. I was constantly trying to remember who everyone was. Connecting the stories she told was frustrating. It was a pattern of drop a few names, tell a story or anecdote, the move on to the next one that had nothing to do with the previous. Very confusing.
In summary, my opinion of Ms. Huston hasn't changed. She is still fascinating, just not much of a story teller. I wish I had learned more about her through her memoir.
A Portrait Of The Last Great Hollywood Generation
Written in vignettes, both guarded and wise. Anjelica isn't so much introspective as a great observer of life around her, and fills the memoir with lovely imagery and observations that can only come from Irish Storyteller blood. There is much heartbreak and loss as the generations pass, but also hope in the family's children. The memories of Robert Graham are especially moving and brought me to tears on several occasions. Here is a time capsule of the Hollywood Elite of the 70s and 80s, as well as a portrait of an insecure but privileged girl who finally finds her voice, strength, beauty and gratitude.
Just Brilliant
Who knew? Turns out Anjelica Huston runs deep- she's a more-than-able writer, and seems to be an excellent human being to boot. Kind, thoughtful, & measured, this memoir held me rapt. Beautiful evocations of natural landscapes (especially Ireland) run throughout. Huston also details the gentler side of her dad convincingly. And what a life she's had! Such a wide array of lovers, homes, roles- all experienced in very posh circumstances. Great read.
Joseph Hellstern
a very enjoyable story
Anjelica certainly read this with a great deal of passion and sincerity. so interesting to get a behind the curtain View some early life events that have played large across the stage.
Rachel Silver
Wonderfully written excellent story telling
I really enjoyed reading this book. The author has great writing skills and had an excellent way to describe the great loves of her life.
Amazingly honest and insightful
I chose this book because like a lot of you I have always liked Anjelica Houston. Like that Diane lane thing, she has always been an actress women can relate to. She has a way of coming across as soft. Sexy and Sophisticated and mostly like someone you could approach
I loved this book. Too many icons she
Speaks of to name but her relationship with jack is
Laid bare and it left me feeling better to have known the whole story
She is a daddy's girl and we have a love of horses in common.
Icon is the only word that comes to mind
I was dazzled and amazed
Evie O'Reilly
Between her amazing voice and amazing life, tenderly and thoughtfully remembered my heart was both uplifted and broken many times over reading this book. Although I don't want to suggest it isn't also raucously funny and full of adventure too, indeed I laughed a huge deal. Highly recommend!!
Could she be any less engaged in her own story?
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
While I did listen to the entire book I cannot say that had I known what it would be like, I might have passed on it.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Her relationship with Jack Nicholson, which I knew existed but did not know the details. Her relationship with her husband, who died, was interesting only in that if he had not died, she probably would have divorced him.
Would you be willing to try another one of Anjelica Huston's performances?
No, this was terrible. She was reading a book, not telling me a story about her life. I was very disappointed in how she delivered her message. She sounded bored with her own life, and made me bored with it, too.
Could you see Watch Me: A Memoir being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
No, her life is not that interesting.
Do not waste your time
What disappointed you about Watch Me: A Memoir?
the boring story, and the narrator
Would you ever listen to anything by Anjelica Huston again?
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Anjelica Huston?
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Watch Me: A Memoir?
to be honest, I do not think the book was worthy of being a book
I thought she would be a better writer.
Would you try another book from Anjelica Huston and/or Anjelica Huston?
I found this memoir to be lacking in writing chops, word usage and just plain…I thought she would be smarter. Too much who's who in her hollywood world. I expected her to spend more time on an intellectual life and what she thought about the world and her place in it. No. More of a boyfriend journal. She is kind of a poor lucky rich girl. Not interesting at all.