Fallen Angels: Lives and Untimely Deaths of Fourteen Hollywood Beauties

by Kirk Crivello

Looking at the lives and deaths of Hollywood's female stars, the author contrasts their glamorous images with the tragedies that each suffered

Genres: Film

284 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1988

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an eye-opener for me, as I didn’t realize the extent of suicides, accidents, and fatal illnesses that engulfed so many female Hollywood starlets between the 1940s-1980s. I knew about Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Natalie Wood, but the others were a surprise, mainly because I had never heard of them. It’s an interesting book if only because it illustrates the high pressure and false hopes that many of these actresses had to endure at a time when women were used up fairly quickly by the industry. And there were many, many more from the Silent Film Era and the Golden Age Thirties who aren’t even included in here. It seemed predictable to lose control of one’s self-esteem and one’s career.

The majority of the deaths are attributed to relationship break-ups and career declines. These resulted in overdoses, whether accidental or intentional. Many of these women seemed to be crying out for help, although it’s difficult for later generations to comprehend why taking one’s life was so important. I mean, you lost your glamour roles, but you could still have older roles. Why die for what is basically a lay-off redundancy? But the world was different back then, which is another reason I enjoyed reading this book: It made me appreciate the freedoms most of these women lacked and as a reminder to not give away those rights so arbitrarily.

Marilyn Monroe was probably doomed from birth, as both her mother and her maternal grandmother suffered from schizophrenia. Jayne Mansfield was desperate for attention. Natalie Wood didn’t seem all there, at times. Others made relationship mistakes, tolerating abusive men who dominated their lives and finances. And yet the truly tragic were, in my opinion, Sharon Tate (murdered by the Manson Family) and Suzan Ball (cancer after leg amputation).

The last chapter of the book is filled with brief bios of other actresses who also had shorter-than-expected lives. The author seems to have done the research on all the women, but there were several proofreading errors, which is unusual for a book published by a major press of the 1980s. Still, an interesting “side-read” for me.

Book Season = Year Round (heartaches in the Hollywood jungle)

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many years ago I read a very interesting article by Kirk Crivello
and I must admit when I saw he had written this book and the name
of Peggy Shannon appeared in the "blurbs" I bought it - wanting
to know more about "that red headed girl". I was disappointed, she
was restricted to a paragraph in the last chapter entitled "Shattered
Dreams". Saying that, I thought it was a well written and well
researched homage to some beautiful actresses who were all over
come by the pressures of fame.
A few observations - I would have preferred a chapter on Peggy
Shannon, Thelma Todd or even Bella Darvi than Inger Stevens, who
was troubled but certainly her only career highlight was in the
TV show "The Farmer's Daughter". Natalie Wood's death to me seemed
just a tragic accident and not the result of being unable to
handle fame.
The actresses I felt were the most tragic and sad were Gail Russell
and Susan Peters. Russell should never have become an actress, she
was working toward a career as a commercial artist when a Paramount
executive saw a photo of her (she was still at high school) and
whisked her into a movie career. She got rave reviews from the start
but her shy and demure nature got in the way and she found that she
could only face the cameras or an audience with the help of a drink
or two or three.
Susan Peters - I was actually crying when reading her chapter, she
was so beautiful inside and out. A real out doorsy girl who from
the first you just knew would have been a big star, she had already
been nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Random
Harvest". She was involved in a hunting accident and at the end she
just gave up on life. I usually don't like books that dwell on the
downside and sadness of tinsel town but this book was a beautiful
tribute to some actresses who were engulfed by the Hollywood myth.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the dark side of Hollywood.I gave it a 4* rating because there were some spelling mistakes and I thought the book title was a bit dramatic because nobody is perfect.Still a good book to read though.