PATRICIA NEAL AN UNQUIET LIFE_BRAND-NEW 2006 HARDCOVER/DJ

Description: The internationally acclaimed actress Patricia Neal has been a star on stage, film, and television for nearly sixty years. On Broadway she appeared in such lauded productions as Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest, for which she won the very first Tony Award, and The Miracle Worker. In Hollywood she starred opposite the likes of Ronald Reagan, Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Paul Newman, Fred Astaire, and Tyrone Power in some thirty films. Neal anchored such classic pictures as The Day the Earth Stood Still, A Face in the Crowd, and Breakfast at Tiffany's, but she is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Alma Brown in Hud, which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1963. But there has been much, much more to Neal's life. She was born Patsy Louise Neal on January 20, 1926, in Packard, Kentucky, though she spent most of her childhood in Knoxville, Tennessee. Neal quickly gained attention for her acting abilities in high school, community, and college performances. Her early stage successes were overshadowed by the unexpected death of her father in 1944. Soon after she left New York for Hollywood in 1947, Neal became romantically involved with Gary Cooper, her married co-star in The Fountainhead, an attachment which brought them both a great deal of notoriety in the press and a great deal of heartache in their personal lives. In 1953, Neal married famed children's author Roald Dahl, a match that would bring her five children and thirty years of dramatic ups and downs. In 1961, their son, Theo, was seriously injured in an automobile accident and required multiple neurosurgeries and years of rehabilitation; the following year their daughter, Olivia, died of measles. At the pinnacle of her screen career, Patricia Neal suffered a series of strokes which left her in a coma for twenty-one days. Variety even ran a headline erroneously stating that she had died. At the time, Neal was pregnant with her and Dahl's fifth child, Lucy, who was born healthy a few months later. After a difficult recovery, Neal returned to film acting, earning a second Academy Award nomination for The Subject Was Roses. She appeared in a number of television movie roles in the 1970s and 1980s and won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Dramatic TV Movie in 1971 for her role in The Homecoming. Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life is the first critical biography detailing the actress's impressive film career and remarkable personal life. Author Stephen Michael Shearer has conducted numerous interviews with Neal, her professional colleagues, and her intimate friends and was given access to the actress's personal papers. The result is an honest and comprehensive portrait of an accomplished woman who has lived her life with determination and bravado. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Screen legend Neal's life was filled with tragedies and triumphs, and Shearer unveils an impressive portrait of the actress, revered for her roles in such memorable movies as A Face in the Crowd and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Born in Kentucky in 1926, Neal began her drama studies at the age of 11 in Knoxville and was a professional by age 19, possessing a fiercely ambitious drive when she arrived on Broadway as an understudy in 1945. After she won a 1947 Tony Award for Another Part of the Forest, Hollywood beckoned. Over five decades, she made more than 30 feature films, including her Oscar-winning performance in Hud. After her emotional affair with Gary Cooper led to an abortion, she married writer Roald Dahl in 1953. Neal suffered massive strokes in 1965, yet made her much-publicized screen comeback three years later in The Subject Was Roses. In addition to extensive interviews and a detailed appendix, the book benefits from Shearer's access to Neal's personal archives of reviews, scrapbooks and letters. She also supplied at least 50 of the 123 photos seen here. Readers of As I Am, Neal's 1988 memoir, will seek out this biography for more of the actress's absorbing and inspirational story. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "This impressively researched biography of film actress Patricia Neal covers an immensity of material." ―(Salt Lake City) Deseret News" "Shearer delivers an inspiring look at the professional triumphs and personal tragedies that define one of Hollywood's legendary stars." ―Des Moines Regiser" "Patricial Neal has traveled the road from tirumph to despair in ways few of us can imagine. There is sincerity and dedication behind this work." ―Paul Newman" "Screen legend Neal's life was filled with tragedies and triumphs, and Shearer unveils an impressive portrait of the actress. . . . Readers of As I Am, Neal's 1988 memoir, will seek out this biography for more of the actress's absorbing and inspirational story." ―Publishers Weekly" "Digs into the amazing first 80 years in the life of one of our national treasures. . . . Neal is still a great force of nature, and Shearer's book documents all her ups, downs, traumas and triumphs." ―Robert Osborne, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters" ""A tour de force biography." ―Louisville Courier-Journal" "Her life has had so many tragic twists it makes for compelling reading." ―Variety" "A solid biography." ―Washington Post Book World" ""Shearer explores Neal's fascinating acting career and personal life, her marriage to children's author Roald Dahl, and her amazing dedication and bravado that has marked her film legacy." ―Celebrity Café" ""A rich record of a life, and of the time and places in which that life was lived." ―Toronto Globe and Mail" ""One can see plainly while reading this book that it was a real labor of love. Anyone interested in movies as well as U.S. social history will treasure this volume about an extraordinary actress and lady." ―Bowling Green Daily News" "Thorough, engaging look at the life of Patricia Neal."―Great Old Movies About the Author Stephen Michael Shearer, who has worked as a professional actor, has written for The Film Collectors Registry and contributed research to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. STEPHEN MICHAEL SHEARER (born Stephen R. Sypult on January 21) grew up in Illinois, Michigan and Arkansas. At age 11 he wrote his first play, Hellen and Ellen in the Wilderness. For several years he has contributed film research to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He directed his first film, Sylvia and Sally of the Sand Dunes, while in college where he earned a B.S.E. in music and a minor in psychology. He hosted the CBS-affiliate afternoon TV show, "The Movies", while also in school, and wrote film and book reviews for such national publications as Film Collector's Registry. Mr. Shearer is also a former model and actor. He has appeared on television (Dallas, Central Park West, etc.) and has starred off-Broadway (in the Samuel French Award-winning play The Appointment, etc.). He also directed the New York stage success The Last of September. He has acted in films, beginning with Split Image (1982) with Elizabeth Ashley and Peter Fonda, and the more recent Flying By (2009) with Patricia Neal and Billy Ray Cyrus and the documentary The Green Girl (2013). His first book is the critically acclaimed best-seller Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life (University Press of Kentucky, 2006), considered the definitive biography of the beloved actress, his long-time friend and muse. His second book is the stunning biography Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2010). Gloria Swanson: The Ultimate Star (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2013) is his third biography. Mr. Shearer has also penned a series of distinctive biographical profiles for The Las Vegas Review-Journal, "The Legendary Las Vegas Headliners" (2008-2009), and has written a personal novel, September. Mr. Shearer lives in the Twin Cities in Minnesota and New York, and is now writing two new comprehensive film histories. Product details Publisher : University Press of Kentucky (May 19, 2006) Language : English Hardcover : 508 pages ISBN-10 : 0813123917 ISBN-13 : 978-0813123912 Reading age : 18 years and up Item Weight : 1.97 pounds Dimensions : 6.14 x 1.06 x 9.21 inches Customer Reviews the United States Anne Salazar 5.0 out of 5 stars The Definition of the word Lady Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2011 Verified Purchase This is a wonderful book about a brave, strong lady. In fact, for me, Patricia Neal is the definition of the word LADY. It's hard to believe that this is the author's only book, because it is excellent, and thorough, and fair. After she became "Patricia Neal The Actress" she appeared to be sailing along, enjoying her new-found friendships and her professional life, but was somehow compelled to fall in love with married men. She immediately felt bad for her behavior, and in her later years was given the opportunity to make amends to those she hurt. Unfortunately, she married a disturbed women-hating man, and paid the price for years and years until HE finally ended it. Her series of strokes apparently almost completely overwhelmed her, psychologically as well as medically, and her fight back to a kind of health took a lot out of her, during which time she was unable to be a real mother to her children. Her husband forced her into a strenuous life of recovery, during which time he usurped her place in the home in every detail. Over the years she was able to regain a semblance of her acting career as well as the love of her children to the extent that they were able to give it. I'm glad that she apparently found a great and welcome source of peace in her final years. Josef1313 5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Time Spent Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2020 Verified Purchase This bio makes a great companion piece to Neal's autobiography, 'As I Am'. These star bios all pretty much stay within a standard style of presentation, which is chronological. This is a straightforward, plain language account of a life worth writing about. Garrett Miller 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent review of an incredible Icon Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2015 Verified Purchase Great historical review of one of the most interesting Hollywood/Entertainment Icons of the 20th Century. A page turner! enio 5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2014 Verified Purchase a good book and excellent delivery. a pleasure a pleasure to deal with. Kimbah 5.0 out of 5 stars Humbling Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2013 Verified Purchase Patricia Neal had quite a life. I don't think she had many happy times but her tenacity was certainly admirable. addison de Witt 5.0 out of 5 stars The Subject Was Neal Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2009 Shearer's bio on the excellent Patricia Neal is a well researched, heart felt and beautifully executed work. Long a fan of Ms. Neal's, I thought I knew all there was to know about this superlative actress, but I was quite wrong. Gossipy when it has to be, and never over the top, this is a must read book for all fans of Ms. Neal's and/or any of her great films such as THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, HUD and THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES. Here, the subject is Neal and it is covered to perfection. A fine read.

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