Oh Humphrey, you had it right....
For Christmas, my daughter gave me the ultimate book about the heavy drinkers of Hollywood:
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| Do you think there's a message in that? No, me neither... |
Subtitled "Stumbling through Hollywood History", this little gem is chock-o-block full of the alcoholic escapades of Hollywood's greatest drinkers of the 20th century.
They're all there: W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn, Liz and Dick, and many, many, more, along with a few surprises, like Mary Pickford, who hid hard liquor in an empty bottle of hydrogen peroxide she stashed in her medicine cabinet during Prohibition.
This is a rollicking good read, though you most definitely come away with the understanding that if you drink 3 bottles of scotch daily you will likely die young...
For good measure, the author includes sidebar stories of the many drinking establishments of the golden age of Hollywood, some of which still exist and wait to be drunk at. (they're calling you, Tabs, though I suspect you've been to them all!)
Oh and how about some recipes to go along with all of this? Want to know the recipe for Robert Mitchum's hangover cure, The Eye Opener? It's in here.
I've never been particularly drawn to Los Angeles - too much traffic and too many people for my liking - but I confess that if I had a time machine I would immediately set the dial for 1938 Hollywood, hie myself down to The Brown Derby or the Trocadero and start searching for Jimmy Stewart and Hank Fonda. We'd throw back drinks, watch Bogie battle with wife #2 in the booth next door and see who Joan Crawford was seducing tonight. And then? What happens in 1938 Hollywood stays in 1938 Hollywood....
I thought of GSL when I read this. If the Lion's Den doesn't have a House copy, you must remedy that immediatement, mon ami!
I give this book 4 stars out of 5, but only for drinkers or people who love to read wonderfully trashy stories about readers. Which is pretty much everyone I know, but might not be you!
Have a great Tuesday! xoxo Wendy
