Dropped Names
Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them
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Narrated by:
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Frank Langella
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By:
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Frank Langella
About this listen
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.
What, for instance, was Jack Kennedy doing on that coffee table? Why did the Queen Mother need Mr. Langella's help? When was Paul Mellon going to pay him money owed? How did Brooke Astor lose her virginity? Why was Robert Mitchum singing Gilbert & Sullivan patter songs at top volume, and what did Marilyn Monroe say to him that helped change the course of his life? Through these shared experiences, we learn something, too, of Mr. Langella's personal journey from the age of 15 to the present.
Dropped Names is, like its subjects, riveting and unforgettable.
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Los Angeles, present day. When an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind ends up in Christine McAllister's vintage clothing boutique by mistake, her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie.... Los Angeles, 1938. Violet Mayfield sets out to reinvent herself in Hollywood after her dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart, and she lands a job on the film set of Gone with the Wind.
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Pass on this
- By Lulew on 03-24-17
By: Susan Meissner
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American Rose
- A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee
- By: Karen Abbott
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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With the critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City, best-selling author Karen Abbott “pioneered sizzle history” (USA Today). Now she returns with the gripping and expansive story of America’s coming-of-age - told through the extraordinary life of Gypsy Rose Lee and the world she survived and conquered. America in the Roaring Twenties. Vaudeville was king. Talking pictures were only a distant flicker. Speakeasies beckoned beyond dimly lit doorways; money flowed fast and free.
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Well done biography of a complicated Icon
- By Moire on 01-27-11
By: Karen Abbott
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The Mother of Black Hollywood
- A Memoir
- By: Jenifer Lewis
- Narrated by: Jenifer Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Jenifer Lewis keeps it real in this provocative and touching memoir by a Midwestern girl with a dream whose journey from poverty to Hollywood will move, shock, and inspire listeners. Told in the audacious voice her fans adore, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Yet, supported by loving friends and strengthened by "inner soldiers", Jenifer never stopped entertaining and creating.
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I could barely finish it.
- By Manning Fam on 06-17-18
By: Jenifer Lewis
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No Cunning Plan
- By: Sir Tony Robinson
- Narrated by: Tony Robinson
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Sir Tony Robinson is a much-loved actor, presenter and author with a stellar career lasting over 50 years. Now, in his long-awaited autobiography, he reveals how the boy from South Woodford went from child stardom in the first stage production of Oliver!, a pint-size pickpocket desperately bleaching his incipient moustache, to comedy icon Baldrick, the loyal servant and turnip aficionado in Blackadder.
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Great audible book as read by Sir Tony Robinson
- By Michael Thomas Fortson on 04-15-21
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What Fresh Lunacy Is This?
- The Authorised Biography of Oliver Reed
- By: Robert Sellers
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Oliver Reed may not have been Britain's biggest film star - for a period in the early 70s he came within a hairsbreadth of replacing Sean Connery as James Bond - but he is an august member of that small band of people, like George Best and Eric Morecambe, who transcended their chosen medium, became too big for it even, and grew into cultural icons. For the first time Reed's close family has agreed to collaborate on a project about the man himself.
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Ollie!
- By GK on 12-28-14
By: Robert Sellers
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Daring
- My Passages - A Memoir
- By: Gail Sheehy
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Candid, insightful, and powerful, Daring: My Passages is the story of the unconventional life of a writer who dared - to walk New York City streets with hookers and pimps to expose violent prostitution; to march with civil rights protesters in Northern Ireland as British paratroopers opened fire; to seek out Egypt's president Anwar Sadat when he was targeted for death after making peace with Israel.
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Enjoyed unexpectedly
- By Corinne O'Rourke on 09-06-23
By: Gail Sheehy
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There Are Worse Things I Could Do
- By: Adrienne Barbeau
- Narrated by: Adrienne Barbeau
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Adrienne Barbeau never set out to be a sex symbol, and she never planned on giving birth to twins when she was 51, but both those stories and a lot more are detailed in this witty, revealing memoir. With humor and fearlessness, she shares her romance with a superstar, her marriage to a famous film director, her marriage to a much younger man and her successful battle with infertility.
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Excellent book
- By Jill on 01-05-10
By: Adrienne Barbeau
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In Black and White
- The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This biography of entertainment legend Sammy Davis, Jr. is an enthralling portrait of one of the most recognizable figures from the golden age of American show business. Davis, a guarded man who protected his private life with great vigor, lived an extraordinary life in the limelight, while also forging new uncharted paths across racial lines.
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Sammy Plus
- By James Gordon on 07-02-06
By: Wil Haygood
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Some Girls
- My Life in a Harem
- By: Jillian Lauren
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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A jaw-dropping story of how a girl from the suburbs ends up in a prince's harem and emerges from the secret Xanadu both richer and wiser. At 18, Jillian Lauren was an NYU theater school dropout with a tip about an upcoming audition. The "casting director" told her that a rich businessman would pay pretty girls $20,000 if they stayed for two weeks to spice up his parties. Soon, Jillian was on a plane to Borneo, where she would spend the next 18 months in the harem of Prince Jefri Bolkiah....
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Boring, Pretentious Book
- By Marcos on 04-23-11
By: Jillian Lauren
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I Blame Dennis Hopper
- And Other Stories from a Life Lived in and out of the Movies
- By: Illeana Douglas
- Narrated by: Illeana Douglas
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1969, Illeana Douglas' parents saw the film Easy Rider and were transformed. Taking Dennis Hopper's words - "That's what it's all about, man" - to heart, they abandoned their comfortable upper-middle-class life and gave Illeana a childhood filled with hippies, goats, free spirits, and free love. Illeana writes, "Since it was all out of my control, I began to think of my life as a movie, with a Dennis Hopper-like father at the center of it." I Blame Dennis Hopper is a rollicking, funny, at times tender exploration of the way movies can change our lives.
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Loved Every Moment of this Book!
- By Susan Van Allen on 01-20-16
By: Illeana Douglas
What listeners say about Dropped Names
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Katie
- 12-12-13
Enchanting, Lots of unexpected bursts of laughter.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This was a wonderful account of Mr. Langella's life in movies & theater. Laced with stories of his celebrity friendships. It was truly a great read.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Dropped Names?
I enjoyed his account of Jackie Kennedy & Bunny Mellon.
Which scene was your favorite?
Its hard to say which scene was my favorite. I can say that I laughed out loud...a lot.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes this is a book I wanted to listen to in one sitting. I tried but...daily life pulled me away.
Any additional comments?
I have a friend who is an actress (Broadway/off Broadway) who has done a few things with Mr. Langella. I adored her stories and impersonations she did of him. I have long since been curious of who he really is and what is life is like.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-15-17
highly entertaining stories from Broadway and film
It’s a little surprising how many people Frank Langella has run into in his not particularly mainstream film career. He is probably better known in Broadway circles, but mostly it seems he has had the most incredible luck when it comes to chance encounters that lead to lifelong friendships, that is, if his narrative is to be believed, and I think it probably is. Mostly.
I always liked him, always enjoyed his work, and if I now feel a little less drawn to him, due to the necessarily egocentric narrative of this memoir, oh well... after all, he has apparently plenty of people who adore him without the adoration of fans!
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- Carolyn B. Meredith
- 08-10-12
Good dish, bad delivery
Would you listen to Dropped Names again? Why?
Doubtful. I don't think I could tolerate Frank Langella's monotone droning on and on for another 10+ hours. He has some good stuff to say about people who are well known but dead (so he's safe that they won't dispute what he says about them). He is tough on alot of people and outs more than a few. Remarkably, he always comes out as being the one everyone turns to - from Elizabeth Taylor to Bunny Mellon - for comfort. He's always "Frankie" or "Baby" and it wears thin after a while.
Would you be willing to try another book from Frank Langella? Why or why not?
No. I think he's said all he has to say that's interesting.
What didn’t you like about Frank Langella’s performance?
His ever present droning monotone. He's an actor, for Heaven's sake! The only time his tone changed was when he was portraying a female.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
From "Dropping Names" to throwing names in the gutter.
Any additional comments?
I've heard worse.
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Overall
- Lapsed Pollyanna
- 01-08-15
Luscious and lascivious
The combination of funny and poignant stories of the rich and famous with Mr. Langella's soothing voice adds up to an audio book you don't want to end and will never forget...If you like it bawdy.
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- ZacharyKindle Customer
- 08-18-17
DROPPED NAMES
Would you listen to Dropped Names again? Why?
No, I was disappointed that the book mainly centered around his sexuality, and time at the beach. Don't get me wrong, I could care less, but give a break, I don't need to hear it every chapter.
Would you recommend Dropped Names to your friends? Why or why not?
No, see above 🔝
Which scene was your favorite?
His quiet time with Jackie...
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I did..
Any additional comments?
I thought it was interesting about the comments on Cary Grant and Richard Burton. As I get older the stories he tells about Liz and others etc. being alone at the end should not be published to show how wonderful he was!!! 😠
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- PT
- 05-10-12
Very Enjoyable
Not as "sexy" as its billing--or, rather, it was more discreet than I expected. Which I actually appreciated. Made it seem much classier.
I felt the author was being honest and sincere, no more and no less. He evaluated everyone for their good and bad traits alike. As a professional (technical and business) writer I am sensitive to bias and loaded language. Mr. Langella seemed quite straightforward.
I was never a fan, although the latest movie I saw him in gave him a very full-blooded part that caught my interest. His voice, of course, is among the finest speaking voices recorded.
His subjects are just about all dead. Besides avoiding libel problems, this allows for stories that are complete with endings. Beyond that, there are moments of poignant memory that are very touching. A couple of passages made me catch my breath.
A good read, and not especially scandalous. Told with considerable dry humor. What more could you want?
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10 people found this helpful
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- Jerold
- 05-18-12
Highly Entertaining Fun Gossip
Where does Dropped Names rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?
Langella has written a good entertaining book. Mr Langella does a good job presenting a positive presentation of the many celebrities he has met in his life. A really good celebrity memoir more interested in the people Mr Langella has met in his life.
What did you like best about this story?
I enjoyed Frank's celebrity chapters as opposed to chapter and boring chapter on the writer's point of view as an actor and celebrity.
What does Frank Langella bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?
Mr Langella brings his personal interest and confident voice in reading his own book.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, this is a book I wanted to listen entirely in one sitting.
Any additional comments?
Frank Langella's personal stories and commentaries regarding Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Charlton Heston, Jackie Kennedy, and Raul Julia were particularly fascinating. Very nice of Mr Langella's admission of Raul Julia as his boyfriend. His commentaries were so honest and enjoyable. I feel as if Mr Langella has been a life long friend.
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4 people found this helpful
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- DS
- 02-15-13
good hollywood story
While Frank Langella is best known for his movie work, he was first and foremost a stage actor. He knew everyone, befriended most of them and has a lifetime of stories to tell about them all. I enjoyed this very much.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Linda
- 08-04-14
A WONDERFUL BOOK FOR TEARS
Any additional comments?
As I listened to this book, I welled up with tears many times. I guess I really needed to feel some emotion because once completed, I felt rejuvenated, like I had revisited every wonderful moment I have ever seen on screen. I was very surprised by my reaction. I highly recommend this book. Frank Langella's writing is so humble, as is his soft voice. I could hear the emotion in some of the recollections. I loved this book.
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- Don
- 02-02-24
Thank you Mr Langella
If you grew up in the 50’s,60’s and 70’s you will recognize these men and women who graced his life. And to hear him read his wonderful life experiences makes this book even more spellbinding! I loved it! Beautifully written!
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