In Search of Donna Reed

by Jay Fultz

Book Overview

This work on Donna Reed reveals a woman whose intelligence and force of character often put her at odds with the roles she portrayed both on and off the screen. Always angered by the treatment of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877456259
• ISBN13: 9780877456254
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: University of Iowa Press
• Length: 236 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Mr. Fultz: I only wish I could have gone with you!

I rediscovered Donna Reed less than a month ago. I had forgotten just how good she was in It's a Wonderful Life. The more I saw, the more I looked. The more I looked, the more I realized just how far the public perception of her is from reality. I found a copy of Jay Fultz's "In Search Of Donna Reed" online and ordered it. By the time it arrived I had become immersed in IAWL facts and all I could find out about this woman who had seemed to appear and shine so brilliantly for a moment and then disappear. My only memory of her show was that it seemed loved and hated-I never saw it, so you can guess where my dad stood. Soon I would learn that, for some strange reason she was, and still is, the undeserving victim of a very determined slander campaign. I picked up the book and met Miss Mullenger. She was the sweetest little girl who just seemed to get better with age. Her performance in It's a Wonderful Life is so much like the Donnabelle Mullenger I met in this book-bringing the sense of quality that, I think is one of the reasons it endures. She is the reason Mr. Stewart's anguish is real, because I can see it reflected on the very real face of Donna's Mary. The hurt she felt at his hands two years later was one answer I was seeking, they had such perfect "chemistry" in IAWL, why is this the only film they both star in? According to Jay, she would say to "ask Miss Allyson." Two days after I met her, I felt as if a near and dear relative was at death's door. Even though I KNEW that twenty years had passed, reading (at work) Mr. Fultz's account of the death of this remarkable woman awakened in me a sense of loss so powerful that I had to finish reading it in my car... While looking for a way to contact Mr. Fultz, I came across what was called a review of this book in a popular magazine (I won't say it's name, but it covers the movie and TV industry) . The hate in it for Donna and for anyone who would praise her was simply appalling. They didn't even try to discredit the research, but rather selected biased facts from her life and even lied in a subtle way to attempt to trivialize her contributions. I now realize that those who don't like Donna Reed are almost always those who don't know her. They mock her TV show as "bland" but never say how many thousands of troubled children must have found refuge in her "home" each week, as evident by the letters she received from a tiny fraction of the 35 million plus viewers at her peak. We see a Donna Reed who fought studio and sponsor desires to maintain the stereotype she fought against in the movie industry, and that her fight for women's rights cost her more than many who have gotten better press at far less personal cost. In Search of Donna Reed is backed by over twenty five pages of detailed notes of sources: interviews, documents, letters, an amazing amount of material that show Mr. Fultz to be a dedicated researcher fully capable of producing an honest account that is worthy of the memory of Donna Reed

Perfection!!!!

A biography of a truly beautiful woman! Some celebrities went trough life with everything handed to them on a silver plate, not Donna Reed, she realy had to work for everything she stood for back then and today, not only has a superstar but also as a human being. From her early years in Denison Iowa to her movie and televison career to her activist days to being a devoted mother and wife, get to know about some of her life struggules and pleasures in Jay Fultz's A-1 bio of a wonderfully private person that didn't let fame get the best of her. Under that star image is a down-to-earth extremely intoxicating person with a very charitable heart and giving nature. In my heart she definataly was one of the greatest woman that ever walked God's green earth and is the closest thing to human perfection!.....Rob J.

Perfection!!!

... Ever since I saw the movie "It's a wonderful life" 9 years ago, I have been captivated by this truly amazing woman! Since then I have purchase many items about Donna Reed Mullenger, her biography (In seach of Donna Reed, which was truly a work of art, and I sure can relate to the feeling Mr.Fultz has for her!) also many movies staring this wonderful creature. I only wish I would have known her personnally... Anyway, I sure would like to see more DVD movies available to the public, staring the beautiful Miss Reed.

Tribute to a Classy Lady

In this long-awaited biography of Hollywood's consummate lady, this 1998 volume reads like the proverbial breath of fresh air. Author Jay Fultz recreates an era and a family that at once reminds the reader that it is indeed those examples of grass roots beginnings that oftentimes begets greatness and achievement. In addition to relating the tale of Donna Reed's film and television career, Mr. Fultz also shows clearly the making of a devoted American citizen, spawned by a classic example of the American family, i.e., practitioners of hard work, faith, and patriotism. The book shows that Miss Reed infused her work in Hollywood with elegance, grace and charm, but never forgetting that she was a person of intellect and ideas and strong beliefs about the world around her. More hosannas should be aimed at the legendary lady that was Donna Reed, and Jay Fultz's biography makes a great beginning.

Searching for the woman behind my name

Reading "In Search of Donna Reed" literally took me back to Iowa. In 1996, I traveled there from my home in Pennsylvania to learn more about the woman's whose (adopted) name I shared. Growing up Donna Reed in the 1960s was no treat and the name caused me much embarrassment. But as I grew older and learned more about the woman, I felt better about it. I decided to go to Iowa much as I had decided to seek out my family's ancestral town in Germany. Though I was certainly not related to Donna Reed, I felt a kinship to her born out of the shared name. As a young reporter, I vowed I would one day try to interview her. Instead I waited too long and saw her name flash across my computer screen with the word "obit" behind it. A strange sensation, to say the least. I decided I needed to learn about her first-hand. In Iowa, I got the chance to meet and/or interview her widower, children, friends in Denison and co-stars. Certainly, the woman I got to know through their eyes is indeed reflected in Jay Fultz's writings. I regret that in life she did not get the acclaim she should have been accorded not just as an actress, but as an activist and businesswoman. "In Search of Donna Reed" is a solid read and a fine way to learn more about her essentially wonderful life.