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My First Five Husbands..And the Ones Who Got Away
“This book is about men I have known, in both the Platonic and Biblical senses. Some I knew only slightly, some quite well. Some I’ll love always, some I no longer like very much, and there are a few I’d like to strip naked, tie to a Maypole, smear with sweet syrup near a beehive, then stand back and watch. I’ll describe a goodly number of these hot dudes—and duds—keeping ...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
September 9th 2008
by Broadway
(first published 2007)
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I loved this book. I felt as though Blanche Deveraux herself was sitting on a wicker sofa, detailing every sordid moment of her life to me, as she sipped a mint julep and buffed her nails. She's extremely funny and a wonderful story-teller, allowing over 70 years to pour out in scintillating, well-timed prose. Definitely a modern thinker and irrepressibly optimistic, McClanahan makes even life's hardest knocks seem colorful and uplifting in a fiddle-dee-dee sort of way. She's awesome.
As a big fan of the Golden Girls, I was interested in getting to know more about Rue McClanahan and how much she was like Blanche. It took me a while to finish this book because in a lot of ways it was sad. Rue is a really bad decision maker when it comes to men and relationships and I stopped reading the book about 1/3 through because I didn't want to know what stupid thing she was going to do to ruin her life next. I did finally decide I wanted to know how it ended so I finished it. She do...more
3.5-4 stars -- a much more "story-like" memoir than the last two I read (Tiny Fey & Betty White), and I have to say I enjoyed this format more than the others. McClanahan relates her life story from growing up in rural Oklahoma, to trying to break into the stage & film business, to her success as a Golden Girl, tying together the chapters of her story with a "men of my life" ribbon. She's refreshingly candid but you can't forget while you read that you're only hearing one hal...more
Hm, what DID i learn from this book?
well, first thing i can tell you is if you're looking for the dirt on the Golden Girls, you gotta look elsewhere.
then i can tell you that she's not exaggerating. she's been married 2049029042 times (i had to go back and forth to check names because i was getting them all confused) and has even more little loves here and there. i think she sounds like a sweet person, but she goes out of her way to make herself look good. i was going to...more
well, first thing i can tell you is if you're looking for the dirt on the Golden Girls, you gotta look elsewhere.
then i can tell you that she's not exaggerating. she's been married 2049029042 times (i had to go back and forth to check names because i was getting them all confused) and has even more little loves here and there. i think she sounds like a sweet person, but she goes out of her way to make herself look good. i was going to...more
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Rue McClanahan apparently didn't have to stretch far to play Blanche Devereaux. I really want to be angry that she put her career -- and romances -- over her son's well-being. I want to hate that she had an abortion so she could continue working as an actress. I want to roll my eyes repeatedly over the horrible mistakes she made with men. But, dang, she still ends up being likeable. I imagine it's because of her candor and honesty. She's quick to admit that she's messed up -- and messed up plent...more
The Golden Girl's memoirs may lack in flow with her scattershot account, but her charm, self-deprecation, and spirited outlook more than outweigh this minor flaw. In fact, the scattershot telling is a large part of the book's charm.
You hear Rue's voice loud and clear. Reading McClanahan's book is like listening to a favorite, chatty aunt. McClanahan never takes herself too seriously and sprinkles her stories with fun Southern sayings. What a hoot!
But the experience ...more
You hear Rue's voice loud and clear. Reading McClanahan's book is like listening to a favorite, chatty aunt. McClanahan never takes herself too seriously and sprinkles her stories with fun Southern sayings. What a hoot!
But the experience ...more
Honestly. I just want to read something I can enjoy. Something I understand. Something about someone honest and forthcoming and funny and true.
Something comfortable and lovely without being saccharine or trite.
This book made me happy and I was sad when I finished it and couldn't read it anymore.
If a woman can handle 5 marriages (several to near-sociopaths), a Tijuana abortion, breast cancer, and Bea Arthur and still manage to be funny and endearing and fascinating, well, then, ...more
Something comfortable and lovely without being saccharine or trite.
This book made me happy and I was sad when I finished it and couldn't read it anymore.
If a woman can handle 5 marriages (several to near-sociopaths), a Tijuana abortion, breast cancer, and Bea Arthur and still manage to be funny and endearing and fascinating, well, then, ...more
I read this book because I have long been a fan of, "The Golden Girls" however I was disappointed. This says more about my expectations than about the book itself. I couldn't help wondering what McClanahan could have become had she not bothered with these particular men. Being born in 1934, she felt pressured in the 1950s to marry because, "that's what you did". She seemed to rush from one sad disaster to the next in one headlong dependant lunge in the belief it would work ne...more
I'd like to thank everyone who helped make this award possible. The rest of you will be in the book.
Rue McClanahan's Emmy Award Acceptance Speech, 1987
Let me preface this by saying that it's deeply satisfying to wake up to a Mooch alert - an email telling you in so many words that a book on your wishlist is now waiting for a new home. I really enjoy Bookmooch and I wish more of the books I wanted were given up by other people. I really urge you to give it a try - I got rid of titl...more
Rue McClanahan's Emmy Award Acceptance Speech, 1987
Let me preface this by saying that it's deeply satisfying to wake up to a Mooch alert - an email telling you in so many words that a book on your wishlist is now waiting for a new home. I really enjoy Bookmooch and I wish more of the books I wanted were given up by other people. I really urge you to give it a try - I got rid of titl...more
The Golden Girls is one of my favorite shows so I borrowed this from a friend. I read it in a weekend.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is
Eating habits are hard to change, but it can be done, and with some added exercise, you can change your weight, which matters a lot more than your age. Regular sexual activity is excellent exercise. So is lifting weights. It all depends on what's available. Dumbbells are pretty easy to come by, but since many of them are married,...more
One of my favorite quotes from the book is
Eating habits are hard to change, but it can be done, and with some added exercise, you can change your weight, which matters a lot more than your age. Regular sexual activity is excellent exercise. So is lifting weights. It all depends on what's available. Dumbbells are pretty easy to come by, but since many of them are married,...more
I've always half-jokingly called the character "Blanche Devereaux" a personal hero of mine. After reading this memoir, I've discovered that there's some actual merit to the claim that goes beyond my love of "The Golden Girls." Ms. McClanahan presents the story of her life in a hilarious, self-deprecating, and charmingly loquacious fashion. A veteran in the war of love and one of the most hard-working ladies on stage and television, she gives, through her stories, practical ye...more
Emma
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everybody
Recommended to Emma by:
Monica
Shelves:
autobiography,
2010
It's one of the best (if not THE best) autobiography that I have ever read. Plus it doesn't sound condescending, it's just a fellow human being talking to the reader with the good fortune that she can make you cry and laugh but most of all you go through her journey (certainly from her point of view - after all it's her autobiography)... and what a journey!
Hopefully people by reading this book will notice that she isn't just Blanche Deveraux - Blanche was just a character of the many that ...more
Hopefully people by reading this book will notice that she isn't just Blanche Deveraux - Blanche was just a character of the many that ...more
2008-I think I was expecting this book be like Blanche's autobiography...not that her and Rue are all that different! I was a bit sad that Golden Girls was only mentioned in like two chapters, this is, after all, how most people know her. Overall not a bad biography, but be aware she focuses quite a bit on her past theater career as well as her past loves. Also, towards the end she seemed to not put in as much detail about her current husband and what she's up too, which I would have been intere...more
Rue McClanahan, retells her life using the men who have passed through it as markers. With impeccable memory, she recounts the successes and sorrows of life as a struggling actress and single mother.
It doesn't give Golden Girls gossip (I was hoping it would) but it's an interesting look at the woman who molded the unforgettable Blanche Deveraux. Similar in nature (both are brash, humorous, and Southern), I enjoyed the book. I probably won't read it again, but it was a nice (unusually long...more
It doesn't give Golden Girls gossip (I was hoping it would) but it's an interesting look at the woman who molded the unforgettable Blanche Deveraux. Similar in nature (both are brash, humorous, and Southern), I enjoyed the book. I probably won't read it again, but it was a nice (unusually long...more
This books reads like you're having a conversation with Rue in your living room. It was AMAZING seeing all of the things she did in her life -- from off-broadway to broadway to soap to primetime, this lady stayed BUSY!
She also had a great sense of humor with how she described the good, the bad, and DEFINITELY the ugly in her love life and relationships.
All in all, it was a fun, fast read -- definitely one I'd recommend to autobiography (and Golden Girls) lovers out th...more
She also had a great sense of humor with how she described the good, the bad, and DEFINITELY the ugly in her love life and relationships.
All in all, it was a fun, fast read -- definitely one I'd recommend to autobiography (and Golden Girls) lovers out th...more
Rue McClanahan's life story is wonderful! I picked this book up over shear curiousity. I am an avid Golden Girls fan, and I am also familiar with some of Rue's other television work...Maude and Mama's Family. She has also appeared recently on Broadway as the horrible Madame Morrible in Wicked. I never knew that her past was sorrid and full of bi-coastal adventures. I loved her personal insights; her wisdom for the ages on love, loss, happiness, and work ethic. The girl has it goin' on! Re...more
A fluffily, funnily-written quick read with lots of self-deprecation (is that a word?), show biz gossip and sex. If you've ever seen the TV sitcom Golden Girls, Rue McClanahan is very much like Blanche Devaroux. I learned a lot about what it's really like to be an actress looking for work on Broadway and in television, and wondered how Rue managed to not get pregnant again, or an STD.
Oh...my...gawd! What a fabulous woman Ms. McClanahan is! I could read her book over and over and OVER! So completely entertaining and full of adventure, struggle and persistence, not just in her delicious career, but also in her many troubled relationships! What a tasty read and a winning lesson about life! Gays and showbiz folk will like it best!
Interesting memoir. Rue didn't always make good decisions, but at least she wrote an honest and funny book. She's not afraid to share her opinions on people or how she lived her life. It was sad reading it after she passed away, because it ends with her in such a positive and happy place in her life.
I like this book because I love Golden Girls. I don't know why, but I was under the impression that she wasn't as promiscuous in real life, but apparently I was wrong. I wasn't especially moved either way by her accounts in the book which was sort of dissapointing, but not horrible.
This book was great. What an eye opener into the crazy lives that actors lead. It is both an exciting and scary life, in my opinion. If you want to know whether Rue McClanahan is like Blanche Devereaux, then this book is for you. Rue gives a great behind the scenes look at The Golden Girls. A must read for any Golden Girls fan.
Rue is a class act. Whimsical and entertaining autobiography about her life and, more specifically, her love life.
I learned a lot about her - her theatrical background was most surprising. Can't wait to discuss it!
I learned a lot about her - her theatrical background was most surprising. Can't wait to discuss it!
I totally love Blanche Devereaux from the Golden Girls so it was no surprise that the actress who brought her to life is awesome. Rue McClanahan is hilarious. Her life not only interesting, but it heart wrenching. I could not put it down.
The pictures were more interesting than the written word. This book definitely went no where & told you nothing....even with the lowest of expectations!
It's kind of what you expect: Rue seems to have gotten inspiration for Blanche Devereaux from her own life... it was an ok, easy read. I mean, she bedded lots of guys and acted her butt all over the U.S., she didn't cure cancer!
For some reason I have always just really liked Rue....from the Golden Girls to seeing her in Wicked...she just seems fun. This book was pretty average. Wouldn't recommend it unless you are interested in Rue...and most people probably aren't...just a play by play of her entire life instead of engaging, unique stories...Only give it 2 stars cause I like her. Otherwise, one.
Great and fun book. I learned so much about perseverance and laughing at yourself, looking back over your "mistakes", and keep on keeping on.
Ok, so it's not incredibly well written, but it's written as I would imagine she would say it. And that is entertaining as hell!
A very intersting book about Edi-Rue's life. I enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who loves THE GOLDEN GIRLS.
A great read for any fan of Rue's. Funny, witty, saucy...just like Rue herself. Golden Girls RULE!
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Rue McClanahan (born Eddi Rue McClanahan) was an Emmy Award-winning American actress, known for her roles on the television sitcoms Maude and The Golden Girls.
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