Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #436279 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Synopsis
Touching, revealing, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, NOBODY'S PERFECT is as close to an autobiography as we'll ever get from the film legend Billy Wilder. Having been introduced to each other by Groucho Marx in the mid-1970s, Charlotte Chandler became the biographer of this legendary screenwriter/director. Charlotte made frequent trips to Hollywood to spend time with Wilder and his wife, Audrey. At every visit the tape-recorder was left on, and their conversations were preserved. Over time, Wilder introduced her to his friends, who also were taped for inclusion in the book. The result is an amazing wealth of riches, conversations that are as fresh and vital now as when they were recorded. Included are such greats as Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Ginger Rogers, Kirk Douglas, Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Henry Fonda. The portrait they present of Wilder is both loving and complex, an amalgam of adoration and respect. For Wilder, these were actors, and as long as they did their job well, he wanted to be with them. A case in point is Marilyn Monroe.

Wilder made two films with her, SEVEN YEAR ITCH and SOME LIKE IT HOT, and both times he spoke openly about the difficulty working with the emotionally unstable star, 'Marilyn was like smoking,' Wilder revealed. 'I knew she was bad for my health, but I couldn't give her up.'

Customer Reviews

Superbly written insight into a wonderful director
I have been a fan of Billy Wilder films ever since I saw 'Some Like It Hot' when I was 17. Since then I have watched many of his films. Some are wonderful ('The Apartment', 'The Seven Year Itch') and some not so great. I was thrilled to receive 'Nobody's Perfect - a Personal Biography' for Christmas, and couldn't wait to learn more about the life of director/writer Billy Wilder.

I do not usually enjoy biographys - I find they can get weighed down in petty details without exploring the character of the person who is being written about. This book, however, has completely changed my mind about biographys. It is written with real passion and flaire, giving us a great insight into how Billy worked.

I found this book impossible to put down. It is written in a very fast-paced way and it is mainly written in Billy Wilder, and his friends and collegues, own words. The first few chapters are about his background, where he grew up etc. Once Billy Wilder is in the movie industry, every movie he worked on has a chapter dedicated to it. There is also a synopsis of the plots of all his movies, which I find very useful.

This book generally focuses Billy Wilder's work, as opposed to his private life. However, Billy Wilder loved making movies so much that his work WAS his life in many respects. It has interviews with many of the actors, writers and producers Billy worked with over the course of his career, including Jack Lemmon, I A L Diamond, Christopher Lee and Shirley McClaine. These interviews are incredibly interesting, but even more so are the interviews with Billy himself.

I would really recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the movie industry. It is a highly informed, well written piece of work which once you start reading you really can't put the book down!