Do You Sleep in the Nude?

by Rex Reed

The book this grade is well kept and is in great shape to read and collect. Sturdy spine, all pages intact. Solid cover. Might have limited shelve wear. Might (very rare) have very limited highlights and notes.

Genres: Media Tie In, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published March 1, 1969

About the author

Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.

Reviews

[Matt Heimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once upon a time (more specifically, the late 1960s), there was a magical land called America where celebrities in the performing arts apparently had either no publicists or very stupid publicists. Unhindered by handlers, minders and image-shapers, the enchanted celebrities hung out with journalists like Rex Reed and said and did things that were shockingly funny, sad, and revealing.

This collection (one of two or three of Reed's work recently reissued) includes mind-blowing profiles of Barbara Streisand, Warren Beatty and Peter Fonda; there's also a sharp portrayal of segregationist Georgia Gov. Lester Maddox, in which Reed shows that he was more than just a star-chaser. Also, I believe all of these pieces were published before Reed turned 34. Sigh

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most amusing parts were the snarky profiles of people he didn’t like: Michelangelo Antonioni, Barbra Streisand, Warren Beatty, etc. Reading this book more than 50 years after it was written, I’m struck by the blatant expressed racism. I wonder if that was preferable in some ways to the insidious ness of racism today.

[Richard O. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reed's campy style of movie reviewing was my teenaged idea of good writing. His film experience was visceral, not intellectual, not Cahiers du Cinema. He did remark astutely that Jane and Peter Fonda might have switched gender roles. But I was reading about the Chicago mob and sports bios back then, so my taste is hardly to be trusted.

[Noah McClintock · Rating 3 out of 5]

If his goal was to make most of his interviewees sound miserable, then he succeeded. Some of it was entertaining, I will admit.

[Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating time capsule of the mid-sixties.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Antonioni leadoff was great: completely nailing that overblown European bozo to the wall. But then after a while everybody started sounding the same. Perhaps it was Rexie's style or the way he clumped dialogue together. Anyway, it proved a fun, Tom Wolfeish sort of read. And the section at the end about Lester Maddox was wackier than all the rest. It definitely gave you the feeling of what it felt like to be living in those times, or to be plunged from some Manhattan apartment right into the middle of them (rather than just clucking a scolding tongue over some historical incident in a book).

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interviews with Sandy Dennis, Peter Fonda, Ava Gardner, Barbra Streisand, etc.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old familiar and loved territory.

[J. D.]

A fun read about the personas of celebrities, mainly actors.