Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography: The Lost Manuscript
by Sharon Rich
Publisher: Bell Harbour Press
ISBN: 0-9711998-8-4
Binding: Trade Paper
455 pages
Description:
“Perhaps the most unbelievable note I ever received backstage was
between the second and third act of [the opera] Romeo and Juliet. It
read: ‘Please sing “The Indian Love Call” during the next
intermission.’”
So
writes Jeanette MacDonald in her unpublished autobiography. Read the fascinating story of Jeanette’s ill-fated autobiography plus the incomplete, unpolished edition dating from summer 1960. Written in
collaboration with movie magazine writer Fredda Dudley Balling, the
typewritten manuscript has Jeanette’s hand-written comments and
corrections all over it. She crossed out certain sensitive passages and
entire pages but the full manuscript is reproduced so that today’s
reader can experience it uncensored.
How
much did the beloved MGM singing star reveal? Did she tell the truth
about her life? Her career? Her purported first marriage to Bob
Ritchie? Her Hollywood marriage to Gene Raymond? Her romance with
co-star Nelson Eddy? What did Fredda Balling think of their collaboration...and the final book? Why did Jeanette need a ghost writer and why was
this mysterious book never published?
MacDonald
biographer Sharon Rich answers these questions. She has fully annotated
the manuscript, providing reality checks, extensive background data and tragic new information about Jeanette’s health problems in her final years. Also included is Fredda Balling's correspondence about the project and working with MacDonald. The book
includes a filmography, photos and a rare color picture gallery.
Reviews:
"Another great Jeanette MacDonald book!"
Read a Sample
