Merv Griffin: A Life in the Closet Hardcover – Illustrated, January 1, 2009

Understand gossip is fun to hear about, but I also found it to be a complete waste of my time. So, after the first couple chapters I tossed the book in the trash. Am sure I would have gained some insights to the rich and famous, but what I was reading didn't matter at all to me.Am not gay nor does the lifestyle interest me.

Verbatim chats had between celebrities 70 years ago? No...not buying that. Ava Gardner being a sloppy drunk? I'll buy that, because in the back half of her life, she was a sloppy drunk. Rock Hudson nailing any man with a pulse? I'll buy that...because I have heard the stories of his Santa Monica Boulevard exploits for years.This book should be seen as fiction, but it is reasonably entertaining. Anyone wanting to know about Merv the Mogul is looking in the wrong place...an unauthorized biography is not going to go there. It is going to go sleazy, dirty, and smutty. If a sleazy smutty giggle is your thing, this book is for you.(Side Note--I am annoyed that the author put the Ethel Merman image in my head).

When Merv Griffin was a talk show, it was looked down upon as a "poor man's Johnny Carson". Then, Mr. G.'s name became quite visible at the end of game show programs. Yet, somehow, I never could quite picture him as an interesting person. That is, until I read this book.If you are looking for historical data or a morale lifting tale, put the book down now. However, if you need something light and full of gossip, how can you resist any book that begins with Merv and includes: Eva Gabor, Erroll Flynn, Tyronne Power, Johnny Weismuller, Ceasar Romero and . . . You get the idea? And then you read that further on, he had an affair with Marilyn Monroe. I didn't want to but I just could not put the book down.It isn't wise (or very nice) to kiss-and-tell but it does make one dandy guilty pleasure of a read. Mr. Griffin was a complicated and driven person. Unfortunately the author merely notes what he did without linking it to any reason. So, perhaps it is a good thing that this is just an addictive candy that you can not stop eating.This book makes no pretenses about what its intentions are. The author is not psychoanalyzing Merv; just reciting a litany of his life, career and sexual adventures. So, pull down the shades, get your favorite junk food handy and treat yourself.

This is complete trash and impossible to put down. The sources are Merv's old friends and Roddy McDowell. I have no doubt Merv told these stories and I have no doubt he exaggerated everything. What's interesting is hearing what are probably all the rumors about the great stars. I'm sure there was a lot of swinging and "pay for play" but I really doubt people were really that into a young, bland Merv Griffin. He's just not that interesting or talented or good looking. He does seem to have tenacity.It's also a sad but important look back at a time when being gay meant being in the closet and "sex" seemed to be limited to oral sex men only when they could find no women. Merv seems like a punching bag and a consolation prize. If this is true, it had to screw him up in the head.But really, by the time you get to the part about John Wayne using Merv's pad for a tryst and finding Gail Russell the next morning coming out of their room and then Gail finding her husband's clothes in Merv's room because it turns out that Merv was with her husband the night before, you start to laugh. I think he desperately wanted to matter to these celebrities and he just made up stories.

I've always loved reading celebrity biographies -- especially if I'm a big fan of the subject's talents. This book about Merv Griffin which I purchased from Amazon is packed with stories about the great talk show host, but I believe that they can't all be for real. If you read any detailed reviews, you know what you are getting into when reading the book -- they really name the names and describe the sexual acts involved. The sources behind this information are questionable, so approach it cautiously.

I found this to be one of the more interesting books I've ever read on the subject of homosexuality in Hollywood and it corroborates many related stories I've read in various other "tell all" books by and about Hollywood. With that said, while one might appreciate the comfortable, conversational tone of the writing, it does cause one to wonder how ofter the author is presenting gossip as reality? I was particularly interested in the "Gay" information about Guy Madison's secret life as I had a crush on him from back in the 1950s; hope it's all true! In any event, it's a fascinating read for the discerning Hollywood aficionado. I adored Merv Griffin and was astounded to learn the extent of his vast business interests and of his many original ideas that he was able to turn into reality.

I bought this book hoping to learn more about Griffin's transformation from a big band singer to a talk show host to a no-kidding show business mogul. But this book is short on the show BUSINESS, which is discussed only in passing. Instead it focuses on Griffin's personal life -- especially his sex life. I realize there is something to be learned by reading about how gay show business people lived a closeted life back in the day. But this book would have been better if the author had devoted fewer words to detailing every single assignation and more to Griffin's business acumen.

Although I enjoyed this book,there were parts in the book that could not be believed.I was saddened that the writer did not show more restraint in putting in accounts that were just here say.I did not know Merv was gay before the book came out. That fact alone and the many people the writer outed was worth the price of the book.A Life in the Closet is a quick read and a fun ride.

Great read. Easy writing style and quite shocking at times. I don't know if everything in this book is true or hearsay but it shines a different light on Hollywood.

Some have written that there was nothing really "new" here. Well, for me there were several surprises! Let's just say more than a few names popped up tied to things I never thought they'd be tied to! I don't doubt Porter's research, as I'm now in the middle of his Bogart bio. This will upset some fans of Merv, if they weren't aware of his secret life, but it is one hell of a read!