The Hollywood Book of Death: The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More than 125 American Movie and TV Idols

by James Robert Parish

Book Overview

Discover the tantalizing details of Hollywood's famous and infamous fatalities

The death of a celebrity is often as fascinating as--and sometimes more fascinating than--a star's actual life. From the grisly end of Sharon Tate at the hands of the Manson family and the mysterious demise of Bob Crane to the peaceful passings of Lucille Ball and George Burns, The Hollywood Book of Death is a captivating and appealingly packaged...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809222272
• ISBN13: 9780809222278
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Bizarre Read

This had all the bizarre,and perverse stories I have read in a long time. I have read accounts of some of these deaths but they weren't quite as sordid as these.

Grave Matters

Celebrities. There has always been an incredible fascination with the ins and outs of a celebrity and everything that goes with it. It's been that way for decades and decades. While some may be interested in what they do or spend, nothing is more interesting and fascinating than the tale of a star who's time has come and gone and are no longer with this. This decent sized book tells the tale of over 125 celebrities who have passed on to that big silver screen in the sky. Some big names, some you have probably never heard of before in your life. The big name stars that are featured in this book like Mary Pickford, W.C. Fields, River Phoenix, Bela Lugosi, Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard, and a ton of others, are always interesting to read about. But it is the people you are not familiar with that comes across as more intriguing. The book is divided into a couple of different categories dealing with the way of death. There is the first section, "Accidental Deaths", which is pretty much self explanatory. People in this section include Sonny Bono, Grace Kelly, Brandon Lee, and a dozen others. Then there is the "Alcohol And Drugs" section, where such celebs as Belushi, Barrymore, Farley, and Holden among others will be found. There is "In Obscurity", a section with lesser known performers, although Martha Raye is in here along with Clara Bow and Hedy Lamarr. This section deals with entertainrs who, well, went into obscurity. The book rounds out with "Murders", "Natural Causes", which does have a lot of people in it but does not fill up the book at all like an earlier review said. Plus, there is "Puzzling Deaths" and "Suicides". Some entertainers get a lenghty enough tribute, while some others don't. But I found each one to be appropriate to the level of star they were talking about and gave as good enough of information as there needed to be. There were definitley some doozies in here in regards to the person themself and their demise. Their is definitley bizarre and sordid stories in here as the title of the book says. While some may of died of old age or some other kind of natural cause, there is still usually enough interesting things and facts written about them that still makes it worthwhile, even when the ones that died normally, well, died normally. Plus you get fun little tall tales about people like John Barrymore. As legend has it, his body was borrowed from the morgue and taken back to Errol Flynn's house by his buddies and propped up making it look as though he didn't die. This, of course, sent Errol running out of the house. There are a few odds and ends like that here and there, and it's part of the fun that this book has between it's pages. The author, James Parrish, put together a nice and interesting book that is sure to be eaten up by any fan intrigued by the subject. I know I was.

It's About Their Lives & Deaths

For film buffs or those into the Hollywood/movie industry, or the casual observer who grew up with a television set in their home. Providing 100 years of Hollywood/LA and the actresses and actors that used to be. As people have many ways of departing this world, the author broke chapters into the way in which they exited: natural, homicide, drugs & alcohol, puzzling (unexplained), suicide, and accidents i.e. This is not about death per se but even moreso of the life and career of these people. In addition to 125 people, hundreds of movie titles are listed. It's not gloomy or morose. One can learn more about recent and long-past actors/actresses and their works here. It's an easy informative read.Those into movies are aware of likes of Jane Mansfield and Sal Mineo, but additional coverage into a hundred of others tie old and new Hollywood together back to the beginning of the 1900s. Strait-to-the-point insights into their professional and private lives, and street addresses of Hollywood and Los Angeles are presented where the end came for these folks. You can find where they are buried as well. From this book you can take a ride or stroll through the Hollywood area and know more of what happened and where in the past. What became of Alfalfa from "The Little Rascals" and hundreds of others you've heard of. You can find out here.

Fun and informative read

As every James Robert Parish book on Hollywood history, The Hollywood Book of Death is highly informative and fun to read. The book discusses numerous Hollywood celebrities who have died -- sometimes mysteriously, sometimes scandalously -- without resorting to sensationalism. That in itself is a feat in the ever more sensational literary world. Parish's writing is concise, incisive, and always entertaining. More than a book about death, Parish's latest is a book about the lives of Hollywood celebrities, mixing important career information with the relevant aspects of the stars' and directors' private lives. A solid, good read for anyone interested in the history of American motion pictures.

A BOOK TO KEEP BESIDE YOUR TV SET

You're sitting there watching some great old movie on Turner Classics, when a familiar face stops you -- who IS that sweet old woman? and you realize that it's Auntie Em from "The Wizard of Oz." You gradually remember her name -- Clara Blandick -- and then you wonder whatever happened to her. So you pick up THE HOLLYWOOD BOOK OF DEATH, and it makes you sad to read that Auntie Em killed herself because she was in so much pain from arthritis. But then you start flipping the pages, and you just can't stop reading. You find many of your old favorites, including stars who died accidentally or were murdered, or died from booze or drugs.You start reading the group of "Puzzling Deaths," and when you look up several hours later, you realize that you forgot to watch that movie you really wanted to see. How many books can do that to you?