I have a copy of "SUCH DEVOTED SISTERS: THOSE FABULOUS GABORS, and it's a very good book. It tells about their childhood in Hungary, then coming over here to the United States during World War II, and getting themselves established as international superstars.

Although Zsa Zsa's life has been full of scandal, Eva had very little scandal in her life. I can certainly understand why Eva was devastated after hearing that her last two husbands had cheated on her and were having affairs, and never remarried again after that. She hated cheating and lying, and because she was very hurt by these last two divorces, she managed to pull herself together and move on.

This book needs to be updated because a lot has happened since this book was first published in 1985. Zsa Zsa was arrested for slapping a Beverly Hills police officer in 1989, went on trial for it, was found guilty, and sentenced to three days in jail. Their mother Jolie's third husband died in 1990.

It should also tell about Eva's untimely illness and sudden death in 1995. On June 20 of that year, she went to Mexico on a week's vacation, and while she was there, she fell and broke her hip. She was then taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los
Angeles, and upon be admitted, her lungs will already filling up with fluid. She was diagnosed with viral pneumonia and given antiobotics and medication, but then she fell into a coma and died on July 4, America's 219th birthday. Unfortunately, her longtime friend and companion Merv Griffin was in Atlantic City at the time of her death, but he did go to the funeral, which was held on Saturday, July 8 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills.

Jolie died on April 1, 1997 at the age of 101, and Magda died of a kidney infection just two months later, on June 6, just three days before her 80th birthday. Isn't it ironic that Eva died on the Fourth of July, Jolie on April Fools' Day, and Magda on the anniversary of both the D-Day invasion and the day that Bobby Kennedy was killed.

With the deaths of Eva, Jolie, and Magada (their father, Vilmos died back in the early 60's. He stayed in Hungary, and did not come to America.), Zsa Zsa is now the only surviving Gabor. Zsa Zsa has sort of stayed out of the spotlight ever since Eva died. I have read in the tabloids that she misses her mother and sisters dearly and just simply talks about the old days. Zsa Zsa should understand that Eva, Jolie, and Magda are in a better place today, and that she will one day see them again. In fact, in a 1997 article of "THE GLOBE", which was published at the time of Magda's death, Zsa Zsa said that there'll be so much fun in Heaven when all the Gabors are there, and guess who's going to be there with them; me.

I had been a big fan of Eva since 1966 when I first saw her on "GREEN ACRES", and when I heard the news of her death, I couldn't believe it at first. But then in August of '97, my cable company added TV Land to it's lineup, which at the time was airing the reruns of "GREEN ACRES", and I just started crying on and off. I just couldn't accept the fact that my very favortie actress and the idol of my youth, Eva Gabor, was now deceased. No other actor or actress in Hollywood will ever take her place as my favorite performer of all time. Although she's gone now, Eva is definitely not forgotten, and she shouldn't be forgotten by Hollywood either. I plan to visit Eva's grave at Westwood Memorial Cemetery the next time that I go out to Los Angeles. When I lay flowers at her grave, I just want to let her know that I was her Number One fan, that I truly and deeply miss her, that I think about her all the time, and that I'll see her in the next life. To me, EVA GABOR STILL LIVES!!

There are many Marilyn books out there, but this one really makes you wonder if it was or was not suicide. Some things that this book speaks about I had NO IDEA and had never read or heard about before.

I found some parts to be very repetitious when referring to her drug use, but the book will really get your mind going about "what really happen"!!!

As the daughter of a Marylin Monroe fan (my father was a real Marylinholic as well as my brother) , I have to say that the image of Marylin Monroe always pursued me. She is a model of feminity for me. In fact, this is the very first book that I read about her...I had started with the biography of the Kennedy's clan... What I have to say is that she is more than a human being, she is a concept already established in our society's mind. This book makes us understand why a mythological person was killed and how our culture can destroy the most complexed icons it can create and glorify. Marylin is portrayed as a normal person who became a victim of what she terribly pursued all her life : celebrity! Nobody judges her low morality and little honest behaviour but it is discouraging to see how a life loses its bright due to suffering and depression. This a terrible story because one more time the United States powerful and public persons do not want to deal with mercy, tolerance and love. Marylin was the heart of this love and they couldn't resist it. That is the reason why she always thanks her public, that unknown and beloved mass that never applicated treason onto her... The part dedicated to analyze the celebrity and scandalous private and cinematography life of Liz Taylor is just fantastic. It is true, she is a legend but Marylin is a myth. Really.

This book details the account of the final months of the legendary screen actress Marilyn Monroe. The Inside Power Struggles between her and 20th century fox studios. The studio that originally launched Marilyn into superstardom and enormous fame was now trying to ruin her career. Something's Got To Give was the film which caused so much tension between Monroe and the studio. She didn't even want to make the film, but Fox studios forced her to. This book also chronicles her diffuculties on the set with director George Cukor and other crew members as well.
Her Professionalism on the set despite all the headaches and unprofessional behavior by the studio. The controversy between Cleopatra and Something's Got To Give. Why Elizabeth Taylor was exonerated and Marilyn Monroe was shunned. Marilyn's 36th birthday celebration on the set, and why the crew members wouldn't let her have a party until she put in "a full day's work." Her devastating ordeal with "Tippy", and finally her public humiliation after being fired from the movie. Why The suicude theory is hard to believe because of all the evidence at her death scene. I even saw a picture of Marilyn after she died, and she looked terrible. She looked nothing like she had when she was alive. Her hair was all scraggly and she looked like she'd been beaten up. I have a very hard time believing that Monroe committed suicide, because she was planning on going back to work on Something's Got To Give at the time of her death. The Kennedy brothers were a big part of Marilyn's life. They eventually ended up tossing her aside like a used kleenex. Joe Dimaggio was the only person who seemed to have respect for Marilyn and her memory. He never desecrated her life or treated her like dirt as so many others had. Marilyn was truly one of a kind, and there has never been anyone like her before or since.

Howard Hughes died when I was only 12 so I knew next to nothing about him prior to the "recluse" years and I found this book extremely interesting. History has dealt somewhat harshly with HH but this book managed to shed some sympathetic light on the mysteries surrounding him. His strange relationship with his mother, his drive to control and collect, his grand scale successes and equally grand failures touched a chord with me. How sad to have so much but ultimately be so unfulfilled and lonely. Whether you find him an eccentric genius or a man tortured by mental illness, you must agree he left behind a significant legacy.

The only minor complaint I have with this book is chronologically it was occasionally hard to follow since a chapter regarding business deals would then be followed by a chapter on personal affairs that were conducted during the same period of time. It was easy to get confused regarding timeframes.

We can call him a womanizer, low life, skirt chaser or many other names. The fact remains the person was a genius and has opened many doors for the traveler of today. Hughes was a very self centered individual and had feeling only for his self gratification. I found this book difficult to put down, even though I could not like the main character.

Hughes was a man who accomplished most of what he did before my time, so I've only remembered him as a billionaire, eccentric, and recluse, before reading this book. During his time he was a go-getter who tried many adventurous things professionally and both personally and privately.

This book brings to light the details of of the younger Hughes' extraordinary personal life, which I found more interesting than the business side of it. He spent notable time in Southern California and Los Angeles. Many tales bring Old Hollywood and Los Angeles to light. His involvement in the movie business producing films, influenced in part, as an avenue to get to the ladies of the screen. Details of his relationships with the stars of the day are illuminated. Taking dates to the mounted cross atop one of the Hollywood Hills, overlooking the flatlands and lights of LA. He even crashed a plane into 3 houses in Beverly Hills.

His 3rd plane crash, occurred while performing a flying stunt during the shooting of a movie (the stunt pilots refused to do the stunt because they considered it too dangerous). As a result of that crash he was in the hospital with critical life-threatening injuries. This was when HH was introduced to Codeine for the severe pain, something he would become addicted to for most of the rest of his life.

The book later progresses in the latter years of Hughes. Today, it is apparent to contemporary psychologists that Hughes was likely suffering from a form of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Nowadays, OCD is more understood and highly treatable with medication. In HH's time, it was not thought of in biological and physiological terms.

Hughes' first break came when he entered a screening room and stayed in it for 5 full months. He didn't bathe, watched the same movies 30 times over, and survived on a diet of candy bars. Hughes consciously and voluntarily turned over his business affairs to competent managers. These were employees, and were people who made prudent decisions and looked out for HH's best interests. During this time, other sharks started to gather. Such is the case when large amounts of money is involved. Bill Gay, one of Howard's chauffeur, made crafty and cunning political moves to ascend over the years. He got Howard's ear, and became more influential on him. Gay eventually took the reigns of control over Huges' wealth. He then deftly purged the other business managers who served Hughes with dedication and integrity. The former chauffeur and his fellow Mormon henchman took over Hughes and his affairs, isolated him, and squeezed out those who cared for Hughes and wanted the best for him.

It's sad, for during the latter decades of Hughes life it seemed that no one was really there for him, if he had wanted anyone to to be there.

In death, over one thousand--yes, 1000--people came out of the woodwork to lay claim to Howard Hughes wealth after his passing.

To this day, We're still not sure if his death was natural, self-induced, or the intentional doings of others....

Yes, much of this biography has information covered in other books, but this book pulls ALL of that information together into ONE book. Plus,it adds interviews with those who knew Elvis to give a balanced perspective of the King. No, he wasn't an angel, but he wasn't as bad as Albert Goldman's (1980) sensationized bio made him out to be. If you're a fanatical Elvis fan, you will have probably already read most of the books this bio uses. However, if you are just starting out as a "casual" Elvis fan, this is THE book to read to get started knowing about the life of King, from superstar and philanthropist to a poor boy from a dysfunctional family, warts and all. It's a fast, easy read and a book I consider a MUST for all Elvis collectors. The book doesn't hide from Elvis' bizarre side, but also takes a balanced view of his life as the one and only KING of Rock and Roll.

This book was for me, unputdownable. Partly because I really didn't know that much about Elvis in detail, and was glad to find a recent book with all the updated information on his life and death. This book covers everything, although it seemed that it wanted to show negative things more than positive. I came to the conclusion that it was balanced, but perhaps just a little toward the negative. In the end he was really just a poor kid who didn't know what had hit him when he became an icon and his life a public feeding frenzy. It's revealed that Elvis died of a genetic heart condition, but it really seems more like Colonal Tom Parker killed Elvis by acting as though Elvis was a money making machine. I drew my own conclusions about Elvis a long time ago, however this book helped to understand the man behind the phenomenon and legend that is and always will be, Elvis the King.

Others have been disappointed that this book doesn't discuss Elvis' music as much as his private life. But note the title! Taken this way, it is one of the best chronologies of his life. I have read. It was interesting to read it after having just read Guralnick's 2 tomes. In fact I was sorry Guralnick didn't have the latest info on Elvis' autopsy and cause of death. It is a great book for "beginners".