How to Grow Old Disgracefully
Anne Clements, Lady Eyre, writes in her prologue that she "tidied up" only some punctuation in Gingold's autobiography, appearing after the actress's death in 1987. True to the acid-tongued, droll comedienne's public persona, the book contains the unabashed story of a life that ended just short of her 90th birthday. For 78 of those years, Gingold worked on the stage in her native England and, from the late 1940s, in the United States. Her notoriously quick wit made her a favorite guest on TV talk shows, and she is also remembered as a gifted actress in films: The Music Man , Gigi , etc. Apart from performing, Gingold's other passion was amorous dalliance, and she clearly relished telling in this memoir about the many men she was involved with, husbands and lovers. This is a delightful, sometimes sad, story about a singular person and many of her legendary associates: Noel Coward, Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Judy Garland et al. Photos not seen by PW.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.