The Kid Stays in the Picture: A Notorious Life – A Bestselling Hollywood Memoir and Gold Standard of American Cinema Storytelling

In this tell all tale that Robert Evans has published, he holds no punches while reliving his own life in prose. This autobiography took me days, even weeks, to read. It has been said that Jews own and control Hollywood, and one single clue in this book makes me think of a millionaire club in Illinois for Jews only. No doubt in my mind now. Evans is world wide famous as an actor and a producer. His life story has more pluses and minuses than the song My Way. His friends are world famous too, both in film and politics. One friend in particular stands out for me and that is Jack Nicholson. I had not realized that Nicholson was Irish until I read this book. He is one seriously great guy! Little did I know. The movie The Cotton Club is especially interesting to me. It is a very important film in his long years of producing films at Paramount Studios. Chinatown, Love Story, and the Godfather are early successes of his. I remember Thr Cotton Club was a good flick imho but apparently, it could have been much better had it gone his way instead of the director’s way. Francis Coppola was the director who took control of the movie. Evans dishes the dirt on his Hollywood friends and pals in a way that said to me that everything we had heard about it is true. Even back in ‘57 we heard stories that later proved correct about actors, actresses, and musicians. If confession is good for the soul, Robert Evans comes clean in a self deprecating way often to make him both believable and almost likeable. From being King of the hill to penniless is not easy for anyone but he writes of it to know that he is a survivor. His own Jewish family is cause for both respect and admiration in this often self deprecating autobio. Not to worry about handsome Robert Evans who dates every glamorous star in Hollywood! He has his shtick together! Recommend for fun and entertainment only!

Robert Evans, I had heard about him via the gossip rags all related to one woman or another, nothing positive, mind you. It wasn't until Liz Smith spoke so knowingly of his auto biography that it rang any real interest. The book is twenty years old, and doesn't really ring any bells but it does read well. He takes us from his birth and young days of a supportive and loving family. He wanted to go to an entertainment high school, but had to settle for a school near the bad side of town to show he could do anything and win. He started as a two bit actor, model, salesman of certain things, meeting the high and the low. The low, including the mobsters are glossed over, but the feel is that they were a lot more involved. His time as an actor in Hollywood sounds like he was the biggest star known, but, of course, not. Maybe some of the drugs inhaled over the years went to the brain. At any point, it sounds like he made it with every actress known to man, and, maybe so. He names names, his wife, Ali MacGraw, who left him for another man, Phyllis George, another wife who left him, fourteen women in all, all now rich, he attributes to him. Politicos were many, even Henry Kissinger, who interrupted an important political event to be by his side. What did he gave on these guys? It is said he was to be part of Heidi Fleiss's trial for prostitution. It is an interesting portion of the book, but, I think represents exactly his above board ego. He is a great writer, but did he write this all himself? He was a big man behind the scenes in Hollywood, without him, 'The Godfather' and 'Chinatown' would not have been made. A few stories from those films, but not enough to keep us interested. He gave away a little, but not much, which makes me wonder, if what he has is so big that he could not stay in thus town if revealed. What does come out, is the over powering ego, not to my liking, but, then, this is his book. Recommended For The History. prisrob 01-27-14

This book was clearly written by Joe Ezsterhas for Robert Evans ... It reads very similar to Ezsterhas' own memoir Hollywood Animal which was written years later. It is a very interesting and self excoriating account from Bob Evans' own mouth about how he became one of Hollywood's most influential players ... Ever. Having known many people who worked with Bob Evans during his time at the top of the Hollywood food chain, this book humanizes him and shows a softer side than you will hear from those who were actually in the trenches which Evans commanded. To say that Evans lived a life of decadence is the mildest of understatements. While the book dishes the dirt ... Some of it reads as though a Public Relations firm put it together to soften the edges of one of the most hedonistic 'carnal-vores' ever to roam The Hollywood Hills. For fans of 1960s-1970s film, this tells a lot of the stories behind such pictures as Love Story, The Godfather, Chinatown, etc. It does a good job of showing just how many problems a producer has to deal with and includes a bevy of characters such as Dustin Hoffman, Francis Ford Coppola, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Sidney Korshak and a ton of executives who were once the kings of Hollywood and household names bigger than Coke or Pepsi but now mean nothing to those who weren't there at the time. Evans may not be as relevant as he was to the scene but the man was responsible for saving Paramount, making some of the best known movies in history and (by his own accounts) bedding some of Tinseltown's top starlets. This is a page turner. While Evans does tend to self depricate ... I am sure there are other sides to every story. The thing that most surprised me about the book is that while Evans is a shamess self promoter and horn blower, the book doesn't seem to brag as much as I thought it would. Instead it tells the tale of Hollywood excess and the often clichéd, 'Be careful what you wish for as you might actually get it' line. I can't say that I'd ever want to be married to or related to Bob Evans after reading the book ... But I wouldn't mind him advising my career if even half of the producing stories he tells are accurate. This is a great read and I'd recommend it to anyone who even has a remote interest in the inner workings of Hollywood.

It's well written (as is the sequel, The Fat Lady Sang). Just like equestrian George Morris's autobiography this book shines a light on a world that has passed. More or less. But if anybody is curious as to how the Me Too Hollywood developed, this book explains it. It also explains Harvey Weinstein and his predatory behaviour. If you are a woman you will need a strong stomach. The attitude towards women, the language used about women, the status of women, as demonstrated by one of the big Hollywood men, is gross beyond description. Forget about all the modern day producers/moguls mouthing their feminist credentials. You only have to look at many current films/tv series to see that the world of Robert Evans is still alive and kicking women in the teeth. Even so, it's a compelling book. It helps to understand things. But I cannot bring myself to look at the documentary version.

Great! Thoroughly entertaining. Life is stranger than fiction.

This engrossing book tells the story of Robert Evans who started out as a not-too-succesful actor and wound up as the head of Paramount Pictures, turning out some of the their top box office hits in the 1970's. Evans rubbed elbows with and became friends with the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Roman Polanski and famed Hollywood fixer Sidney Korshak. This is a fast-paced story of a wheeler dealer who knew how to schmooze with the best of them and was able to get the right stars for the right movies. Then came the 1980's and cocaine and the unraveling of Evans' world. Even so, he was able to climb back up on top once again. His life was a roller coaster ride and you will not be bored. A fascinating book.

le Hollywood des années 70 à 90 comme on l'imagine vécu et raconté par un protagoniste de premier plan.

Good