Mamie Van Doren - You Thought I Was Dead

 

Of course, Mamie was one of the gorgeous blond bombshells of the 1950's that every male of any age was in lust with. I discovered this book - with the clever and not-untrue title - via a random ad on Facebook and log and behold, our library carried it!

She opens with her claim that she is the first women to sing rock'n'roll on the silver screen and I can't verify that, but certainly can't deny it, either. To most people, she is known for her early teen-sploitation movies where her presence lit up the screen. Apparently, she published an autobiography in 1987 that was edited more heavily than she cared for and so she tells some tales here that had not seen the light of day previously. 

She starts the story proper as a poor, unwanted (conceived pre-wedlock, although her parents did marry and stayed married) child who bounced around in fairly squalid conditions but eventually ended up back with her (alcoholic) parents. Although they, too, had reservations about her upkeep, it sounds like they realized a bit of their responsibility and started to (begrudgingly) take better care of her. And, her dreams came true when the war effort brought her family to Los Angeles, home of the movie stars like her idol, Jean Harlow, who she wished to emulate.

Fast forward a few years and, as a 14 year old that undoubtedly looked older, she was "discovered" by the talent scout for the Florentine Gardens (I did not know much about its history when I lived in LA) and became part of their revue - as a flower girl, not quite as glamourous as the showgirls but still, she was on TV! Here she had a few escapades and became friends with the woman who became the victim in the Black Dahlia murder, which quite obviously traumatized her!

She started attracting the attention of famous men in LA, from Vic Damone to Howard Hughes - and even Quincy Jones! (She seems to have had terrific taste in music, from rock'n'roll to jazz'n'be-bop). She talks quite a bit about her relationships - understandably, as that kind of thing certainly sells and most of the men are gone by now - and has a truly horrible story about Jack Webb, of all people. Even Che Guevara makes an appearance!

Not surprisingly, she spends a long time on her tour of Viet Nam during the war, entertaining the troops in hazardous hot spots. She was in real danger multiple times and had to be flown out of places in a hurry, but she did her shows - until she was attacked by a solider in a show at an Officer's Club in Saigon and had to be hospitalized! Of course, Jane Fonda's anti-war rhetoric was well known over there and Mamie repeatedly makes a point of saying that she didn't agree with her, although I still think that Fonda was really misunderstood, but that's just the old hippie in me.

Although in the 60's she was a staunch Republican - friends with Nixon, even - she does have the good sense to have left the current party due to its extreme views. And also to her credit, she championed AIDS causes early on as well as the Gay community in general, and even cut disco singles and performed in gay clubs.

From there she moves to the end of the book pretty quickly - she got married, settled down, brought up her boy from her first marriage and lived a quiet(er) life. 

This is a fun, light-hearted (overall), kiss'n'tell book and a quick read. Fans of Mamie and her era should definitely check it out!