Scan barcode
erickibler4's review
4.0
What a wonderful, warm, flawed human being. Gene Wilder reads the audiobook of his own memoir in his own gentle voice. I most enjoyed the parts about his training as an actor, and his creative process. In a way, the book seems too short after his career takes off. People seem to pass by in a blur: Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Mike Nichols, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Sellers, etc.
There are some interesting insights into Richard Pryor, although Pryor remained a bit of a mystery to Wilder. They weren't really friends outside of work, as you might imagine, although Wilder credits Pryor with adding improvisation to his acting arsenal.
There's a lot in the book about Wilder's relationship with Gilda Radner. He describes her as charismatic, but often needy. And this neediness resulted in a lot of stress in the relationship.
Perhaps the saddest part of the book is the dissolution of Wilder's relationship with his adopted daughter, Katharine. She stopped speaking to him in the 70s, under a misapprehension that he was having an affair with Madeline Kahn during the filming of Young Frankenstein (he wasn't), and she remained estranged from him until the day he died.
Wilder's own fight with cancer followed closely on the heels of the illness and death of Radner, but his fourth and final wife, Karen Webb, saw him through to recovery. Wilder lived another eleven years after this book was written.
There are some interesting insights into Richard Pryor, although Pryor remained a bit of a mystery to Wilder. They weren't really friends outside of work, as you might imagine, although Wilder credits Pryor with adding improvisation to his acting arsenal.
There's a lot in the book about Wilder's relationship with Gilda Radner. He describes her as charismatic, but often needy. And this neediness resulted in a lot of stress in the relationship.
Perhaps the saddest part of the book is the dissolution of Wilder's relationship with his adopted daughter, Katharine. She stopped speaking to him in the 70s, under a misapprehension that he was having an affair with Madeline Kahn during the filming of Young Frankenstein (he wasn't), and she remained estranged from him until the day he died.
Wilder's own fight with cancer followed closely on the heels of the illness and death of Radner, but his fourth and final wife, Karen Webb, saw him through to recovery. Wilder lived another eleven years after this book was written.
featherkayla's review
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion
tlcollier1's review against another edition
3.0
Because I’ve loved a few Gene Wilder movies and felt like I knew him, I didn’t want to give this book a low rating. In my opinion, the best part of the audio book is that he read it which probably added at least a star.
Yawn.
He sure is charming when he talks about all the women he had sexual encounters with, all the people who stopped speaking to him but he didn’t know why, and the women he was married to and cheated on, left because he couldn’t handle the situation, or married by mistake. Yawn.
It was several hours after I finished that I realized the subtitle was about movie making as art rather than the single line about a gift of watercolors “and he never stopped painting.” Yawn.
My favorite movies of the author’s got the shortest mention if they were mentioned more than the couple of lines that showed the connection to who he got to know that introduced him to the next woman he was with. Yawn. Come to think of it, I had some good naps while listening to this book.
I’ve read many autobiographies and memoirs. If you want a more bawdy but enjoyable read, try something by David Niven. If you’re looking for substance, humility, and an acting life well lived, Michael Caine hands down.
Yawn.
He sure is charming when he talks about all the women he had sexual encounters with, all the people who stopped speaking to him but he didn’t know why, and the women he was married to and cheated on, left because he couldn’t handle the situation, or married by mistake. Yawn.
It was several hours after I finished that I realized the subtitle was about movie making as art rather than the single line about a gift of watercolors “and he never stopped painting.” Yawn.
My favorite movies of the author’s got the shortest mention if they were mentioned more than the couple of lines that showed the connection to who he got to know that introduced him to the next woman he was with. Yawn. Come to think of it, I had some good naps while listening to this book.
I’ve read many autobiographies and memoirs. If you want a more bawdy but enjoyable read, try something by David Niven. If you’re looking for substance, humility, and an acting life well lived, Michael Caine hands down.
lilysnape's review against another edition
3.0
I would've loved this more if there weren't so many glaring publishing errors, like missing or duplicate lines.
marstune's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to this one and as someone who loves Gene Wilder I could listen to his melancholy voice all day. Something about the way he speaks just makes everything mean more, if that makes sense. I think he's a beautiful writer and doesn't hold back in his memoir. He lets you get behind the scenes from classic films he was in to liaisons (while single and married) and is just honest. It's refreshing and sad, but also it seems to have a happy ending for him through it all. If you're looking for a book that's a love letter to Gilda, this isn't it. Sure he definitely loved her, even through all her neuroses and illness, but the book is really about his quest to find himself, the wonderful people he's been fortunate enough to meet and work with and the many women he has loved along the way.
aeschlimank's review against another edition
3.0
He lived a fascinating life, but I’m unsure i would be floored by this book if I didn’t adore him already. I wish he had focused more on the details of his artistic process and less on his sexual prowess. It’s like every 5 pages he’s hooking up. We get it Gene, you’re a babe and irresistible to the ladies. Ultimately, it’s a fast read as the writing style is brief and choppy.
arisantillanes's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
I know he’s been gone since 2016, but listening to him read this autobiography/memoir was like having him as a close friend for a few days. I have a hard time finishing books like that. I guess I don’t like goodbyes.
thewanderingbibliotaph's review against another edition
5.0
Not exactly what I had expected, but I enjoyed the stories and getting a better picture of Mr. Wilder's life, at least from his perspective.