Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them - Frank Langella Audiobook

Written by Frank Langella
Read by Frank Langella
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: HarperAudio
Release date: March 27, 2012
Duration: 09:57:45

Rita Hayworth dancing by candlelight in a small Mexican village; Elizabeth Taylor devouring homemade pasta and tenderly wrapping him in her pashmina scarf; streaking for Sir Laurence Olivier in a drafty English castle; terrifying a dozing Jackie Onassis; carrying an unconscious Montgomery Clift to safety on a dark New York City street.

Captured forever in a unique memoir, Frank Langella’s myriad encounters with some of the past century’s most famous human beings are profoundly affecting, funny, wicked, sometimes shocking, and utterly irresistible. With sharp wit and a perceptive eye, Mr. Langella takes us with him into the private worlds and privileged lives of movie stars, presidents, royalty, literary lions, the social elite, and the greats of the Broadway stage.

Through these shared experiences, we learn something, too, of Mr. Langella’s personal journey from the age of fifteen to the present day.

Dropped Names is, like its subjects, riveting and unforgettable.

“Actor Frank Langella’s warm, soothing baritone intimately recounts his encounters with the famous and infamous. From Britain’s Queen Mum and America’s wealthy Astors to an unconscious and devastated Montgomery Clift, each brief chapter offers up a special person and a series of insights. Lovingly told and expertly paced, this memoir of a great talent is a must-listen. Among the most noteworthy of the vignettes is that of actor Raul Julia, whom Langella admired and loved for his immense personality. If there is a reservation, it is in encountering the vast number of Langella’s contemporaries who have transitioned to the afterlife–some quite painfully. Otherwise, this precise and articulate work is pleasing in all respects.”—Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award

For those of us old enough to remember most of those mentioned, this is a real treat. Somewhere along the line I missed giving Oliver Reed his own few minutes of reminiscence but he is in there.