On the face of it, this is a popcorn book: one to be dipped into for gossipy goodies. Who can resist flipping through it to see what Langella has to say about Jackie O. or Princess Di? But the book gains richness and depth by being taken as a whole, as a revelation that fame turns everyone…politicians…royalty…writers …and socialites…into actors, strutting and fretting their hour upon the stage.
—The Washington Post
Splendid. . . . As much a memoir as a primer on the vicissitudes of an actor’s life, the book is a collage based on real-life situations that offer touching insights into stars like Rita Hayworth, and into the practical magic that informs Langella’s signature sensibility.” — The New Yorker
“With his first book, Dropped Names, the theater and film veteran. . . reveals a first-rate gift for gab that translates wonderfully onto the page.” — USA Today
“Rarely have I read a book about celebrities that is as insightful, candid, revealing, and as well-written as this one. Frank Langella’s memoir is not the usual author’s ego trip, but rather his remembrances of the many accomplished men and women that he has come to know.” — Gay Talese, author of A Writer's Life
“A delightfully unabashed page-turner about people we wish we had known in the throes of work, love, and growing old.” — A.R. Gurney, award-winning playwright
“Engaging. . . .Not just Langella’s “famous people I have known,” but a heartfelt love letter to the theater and to the days when stars were stars, not merely celebrities.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Dropped Names is a sizzling platter of stellar vignettes—pungent, for sure, but poignant too. . . . Mr. Langella is surgically precise, and eloquent. . . . The human condition in most of its vagaries is beautifully rendered between these pages.” — Liz Smith
“ If Frank Langella’s memoir simply did what its title promises, it would be deep-dish gossip. But his memories of the stars he’s encountered during a lengthy career on Broadway and in film shed perceptive light on the costs of pursuing and maintaining fame.” — Detroit Free Press
“Langella’s uncommonly eloquent book is enjoyable for the panoply of great names who turn up. . . . A natural raconteur, he seems to fit precisely Henry James’s famous description of the novelist as one ‘on whom nothing is lost.’” — New York Times
“Frank Langella’s DROPPED NAMES is a different kind of memoir. . . . Not many of his peers could write such an eloquently dishy book.” — Los Angeles Times
“The 65 chapters in this satisfyingly scandalous memoir paint Broadway and Hollywood as teeming with vulgar, neurotic and irresistible company, and Langella as relentlessly affable in the face of nonstop groping by celebrities in far-flung locations.” — New York Times
Frank Langella’s DROPPED NAMES is a different kind of memoir. . . . Not many of his peers could write such an eloquently dishy book.
A delightfully unabashed page-turner about people we wish we had known in the throes of work, love, and growing old.
Langella’s uncommonly eloquent book is enjoyable for the panoply of great names who turn up. . . . A natural raconteur, he seems to fit precisely Henry James’s famous description of the novelist as one ‘on whom nothing is lost.’
If Frank Langella’s memoir simply did what its title promises, it would be deep-dish gossip. But his memories of the stars he’s encountered during a lengthy career on Broadway and in film shed perceptive light on the costs of pursuing and maintaining fame.
Splendid. . . . As much a memoir as a primer on the vicissitudes of an actor’s life, the book is a collage based on real-life situations that offer touching insights into stars like Rita Hayworth, and into the practical magic that informs Langella’s signature sensibility.
Dropped Names is a sizzling platter of stellar vignettes—pungent, for sure, but poignant too. . . . Mr. Langella is surgically precise, and eloquent. . . . The human condition in most of its vagaries is beautifully rendered between these pages.
Rarely have I read a book about celebrities that is as insightful, candid, revealing, and as well-written as this one. Frank Langella’s memoir is not the usual author’s ego trip, but rather his remembrances of the many accomplished men and women that he has come to know.
With his first book, Dropped Names, the theater and film veteran. . . reveals a first-rate gift for gab that translates wonderfully onto the page.
Splendid. . . . As much a memoir as a primer on the vicissitudes of an actor’s life, the book is a collage based on real-life situations that offer touching insights into stars like Rita Hayworth, and into the practical magic that informs Langella’s signature sensibility.
Frank Langella’s DROPPED NAMES is a different kind of memoir. . . . Not many of his peers could write such an eloquently dishy book.
With his first book, Dropped Names, the theater and film veteran. . . reveals a first-rate gift for gab that translates wonderfully onto the page.
The 65 chapters in this satisfyingly scandalous memoir paint Broadway and Hollywood as teeming with vulgar, neurotic and irresistible company, and Langella as relentlessly affable in the face of nonstop groping by celebrities in far-flung locations.
A delightfully unabashed page-turner about people we wish we had known in the throes of work, love, and growing old.
Tony and Drama Desk award winner Langella doesn't so much tell his own story as relate encounters with others—and not just theater folks like Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Olivier but John F. Kennedy, William Styron, Brooke Astor, and more. Fun for all.
Stage and screen stalwart Langella recalls his encounters with celebrity, both in and out of the spotlight. Early on in this engaging memoir, the author notes his difficulty in conveying the "glory" of a chapter's subject, Noel Coward, to a contemporary audience, "as wit, intelligence, and style have lost ground to stupid, vulgar, and loud." Curmudgeonly tone aside, Langella's stories of 65 noteworthy people illustrate his point that the celebrities of today can't hold a candle to the distant, mysterious, shining lights of yesteryear. The book is organized into a separate chapter for each "dropped name," in chronological order of their death. Among those appearing, some in brief encounters, others in lifelong relationships, are many of film and theater's greatest, including Laurence Olivier, Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor and Rita Hayworth, to name just a few. Freed up, perhaps, to kiss and tell by the death of his subjects, Langella pulls no punches, expressing scorn for talent wasted (Richard Burton) and egotism misplaced (Anthony Quinn, Actors Studio guru Lee Strasberg), and providing scandalous detail on many on-set or backstage dalliances. Some of the stories are humorous, others fascinating, and some--notably the section on Hayworth--heartbreaking. Though often relegated to a supporting role in these stories, Langella's voice commands the reader's attention. However, he does not ignore his own flaws, including moments when his arrogance let him down or his ignorance led to humiliation. Through it all, the author's respect for the craft of acting and those who attempt to practice it at the highest level is evident, and his focus on the importance of real connection between not just actor and audience but between human beings, elevates the book above mere name-dropping. Not just Langella's "famous people I have known," but a heartfelt love letter to the theater and to the days when stars were stars, not merely celebrities.
