The Hollywood Book of Extravagance: The Totally Infamous, Mostly Disastrous, and Always Compelling Excesses of America's Film and TV Idols [NOOK Book]

Complusive reading about compulsive stars

Nothing exceeds like success and in Hollywood they take it to a level all of their own. Who did what and how over the top they went is an endless fascination, and Parish documents the worst examples in the latest of his line of always-interesting books. Parish knows his stuff and is able to share what he knows in an involving and authoritative way. I gobbled this book up from cover to cover.

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Fast, Fun and Furiously paced

Fast, fun and furious, September 28, 2007 By reelplanet This is a great fact-filled read which has you snapping through it at a furious pace. Winderful insights into the foibles of our favorites both contemporary and vintage. Parish knows where the bodies are buried and doesn't mind telling us.

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A reviewer

Jim Parish's irreverent history of the misdeeds, quirks, and catastrophes of the famous and the not-so-famous from film and television continues with the Hollywood Book of Extravagance. Once again, Parish's eye for the telling anecdote and revealing story has made for compelling reading. The book's colorful cover includes a handsome and well-built Marlon Brando lounging by the pool, probably in the late 1960s. Given that we know Brando would in the not-too-distant future succumb to the temptations of fast food and god knows what else, we are already getting a vivid look at the book's central theme: Extragance can be hell on a person. Parish cleverly divides the book into headings such as 'So Much Ego' 'so Much Partying' So Much Neurosis' and 'So Much Romance', which enables him to capture the various shades of extravagance on constant display in tinseltown.

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Entertaining, Cautionary Tales of Old and New Hollywood

Prolific Hollywood author and biographer, James Robert Parish, has just published a fascinating gallery of sketches of the great and near-great Hollywood celebrities from the past 70 years through today in his latest book, THE HOLLYWOOD BOOK OF EXTRAVAGANCE. Let's be honest: there were many great stars of Hollywood's Golden Age who were quite sensible and level-headed (Rosalind Russell, Irene Dunne, Ray Milland and Fred MacMurray easily come to mind) but really, who wants to read about THEM? Far more entertaining are the celebs whose lives and careers flared brightly and often briefly though fate, but more often through mismanagement and by their own personal demons. Such circumstances may have ultimately made for a hellish life to live, but these are the stuff of the biographer's dream - and the reader's delight. Parish reviews the familiar names such as Marilyn Monroe, Richard Burton, Frank Sinatra, and Joan Crawford, but for the true film aficionado are the cautionary tales of Veronica Lake, Betty Hutton, Oscar Levant, Macaulay Culkin, Burt Reynolds, and many other celebs - some quite forgotten today but celebrated (or notorious) in their own day. A highly recommended book that will make the actors you see on Turner Classic Movies become three dimensional for their follies and foibles.

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Another winner from James Robert Parish

All his books are winners and this is another one. Very interesting and informative. Topnotch!

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The Excesses of Hollywood by a Major Film Historian

James Robert Parish, one of filmdom's leading historians, offers a thoroughly engaging account, star by star, of the excesses, larger-than-life personalities, and pecadilloes of these Hollywood greats of the past and present. From Clara Bow, Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton to Warren Beatty, Julia Roberts, and Drew Barrymore, Parish provides biographical overviews connecting the accomplishments and personal lives of each star to the addictions, tribulations, and indulgences that marked, and in many cases, marred their lives. Parish is unfailingly knowledgeable on all aspects of Hollywood 'and television' history and his prose is lively, funny, and wisely reasoned in positing the psychological drives that fed the stars' behaviors. The text is well-illustrated and includes a useful bibliography, but film lovers will devour this chronicle of Hollywood's most compelling excesses. This is a must read!

Factual Extravagance

Most writers would simply exploit the excesses of the rich and famous in a book such as 'Extravagance,' but Parish would rather offer a context for the actions of his subjects. This book includes both old and new personalities, from Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson to Jude Law and Paris Hilton.

Over the Top in Hollywood

The prolific and always informative Mr. Parish takes us behind the scenes to reveal both the personal and professional 'perks' of movie and television stars, containing all the 'dish' that should be on dvd extras but never is. Meaning, all the stuff the studios and stars don't want you to know. Due to his typically dilegent research, Mr. Parish's reportage is excellent and factual. A fun book that will leave the reader shaking his/her head in gobsmacked wonder at the 'artistic temperment' 'or extravagance' of stars.

Delightful

This is a fun-to-read book. Cleverly and clearly written, it includes fascinating details about Hollywood celebrities whose antics are guaranteed to make you feel like maybe you're not such a nut job after all. Not only does it include profiles on better known stars like Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, Elizabeth Taylor, Mel Gibson, Errol Flynn, and Warren Beatty, but it also has sections on near-forgotten celebs like Oscar Levant, Gale Storm, Veronica Lake, Betty Hutton, Jean Arthur, and Al Jolson.

Too Much, Too Soon!

Parish's newbook of Hollywood history could easily be titled 'Too Much, Too Soon.' To parphrase Anita Loos, many STARS were lucky to have made it in the movies because they were not qualified for 'anything' else. And once they got that first taste of fame, many went into paroxysms of unrestrained excess. Read about it here in over 75 star profiles

Parish Does it Again!

James Parish is probably the most reliably enjoyable show business writer out there. The Hollywood Book of Extravagance is another in an impressive line of entertaining books that act as easy references for a wide variety of Hollywood tales. For those of us who can't resist the more lurid aspects of the movie business, a quick guide to the excesses of the stars is welcome indeed. And Parish covers an amazing amout of territory - from Elizabeth Taylor to Dick Haymes (who? look him up!) to Demi Moore to Martha Stewart. Highly recommended!

terrific insight in Hollywood behavior

Parish has written so many great Hollywood related books but this is a whole new take on the excesses of showbiz. But this goes beyond drugs, alcohol and partying. Analyzing power and neuroses in a book of this kind is a welcome addition. Well done.

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

Don't just do it, go ahead and over do it. That's the spirit behind this crash course in wretched excess--the latest in 'The Hollywood Book of....' series from Jim Parish, an expert on all-things Hollywood from break ups and scandals to box office bombs--and now over-the-top extravagance. They're all here--the divas, the prima donnas, the child stars run amok. From Mae West to Macaulay Culkin, from Bela Lugosi to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the celebrities that Parish profiles all have one thing in common: their appetites and ambitions are (or were) larger than life.

Nothing New Under the Sun

This fascinating book shows us that the Hollywood out of control we see daily in the news is really part of a long tradition going back to the roots of Hollywood. The book makes for enjoyable reading and is divided into sections such as So Much Partying (from W.C. Fields to Charlie Sheen), So Much Rich Living (from Gloria Swanson to Paris Hilton) and So Much Ego (from Al Jolson to Madonna). Each chapter contains background, photos, and detailed information on the extravagance involved. It is also interesting to note which stars overcame their extravagances and which ones were done in by them.

True Tales of Hollywood

Nobody documents Hollywood better than James Parish. This time he¿s turned his keen eye on the compelling excesses of the movie (and television) industry. It has a dizzying array of characters ¿ are there any sane people in that industry? ¿ and shows us how being today¿s tabloid fodder is not a new role for the Hollywood folks. Big names, little names, forgotten names ¿ Parish has wisely included them, and documented their extravagant behavior. It¿s an easily readable book darned good fun, too. The book¿s division into chapters, each titled ¿So Much¿ something, and then individual ¿cases¿ under that lends itself to leisurely reading ¿ and some good laughs at bad behavior.

A Book With Remarkable Scope

As was the case with his other books in this series, Jim Parish¿s ¿Hollywood Book of Extravagance¿ has remarkable scope¿covering performers from Buster Keaton and Gloria Swanson in the silent movie days to recent headliners like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. It is a great book to pick up and dip into when you have a few minutes. The stories about performers like Woody Allen and Judy Garland are well-known, but still make for interesting reading. What I found particularly enjoyable were the accounts of some of the ¿forgotten¿ stars like Zachary Scott and Oscar Levant. But every one of the stories in this latest book from Jim Parish is entertaining. JLK

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