Ava : My Story

Ava : My Story by Gardner, Ava. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781560549796.

Hardcover Edition of Ava Gardners own story with no hold barred. Like a novel but Ava really lived it.In this chatty autobiography, Gardner tells of her upbringing in a poor but proud Southern family, her sudden success in early-40s Hollywood--mainly because of her beauty--and rails against MGM, which played up her cheesecake potential. She neatly sums up the problems in each of her three short Mickey Rooney was a blatant womanizer; Artie Shaw was cool and overbearing; Frank Sinatra (the two were the loves of each others lives) was as jealous as she, leading to drunken marathon fights. Gardner also sketches a creepy portrait of Howard Hughes, who for years stopped at no machination in an unsuccessful attempt to bed and marry her. A shy woman who used drink to feel comfortable socially, Gardner seems very likable, down-home, spontaneous and sadly derogatory toward her intelligence, acting abilities--and even her beauty. Of the seven included "eulogies" from friends and colleagues, Stephen Birminghams best captures the joy and tragedy of Gardners life.