Shirley Booth is not very well remembered today but had an impressive Broadway career, with hits including The Philadelphia Story, My Sister Eileen, Tomorrow the World, Goodbye My Fancy, Time of the Cuckoo and Desk Set - all of which were filmed, none with Booth in the roles. Had she done so she'd no doubt have more fans - however she did repeat her performance in Come Back Little Sheba which won her an Oscar. She also starred in The Matchmaker on the big screen and Hazel on the small one... those three roles are the ones most film buffs I think would recall when the name Shirley Booth comes up. (She also had radio success as a sidekick on Duffy's Tavern).
This is an affectionate biography, with solidly sketches details of her life - her parents marriage broke up, she was stage struck early, put in lots of years in stock before making it, cut several years off her age for the press, had a bad marriage to a drunken idiot then a good one to a guy who died of a heart attack very young, was dedicated to her craft, had health issues later in life, lived on her own in retirement, then died of a great old age.
To be honest, Booth doesn't seem to be that interesting a person, and the book could be a little dull at times. Occasionally it felt as though the writer was just reeling off performance statistics and reviews rather than telling a story or analysing her acting ability. The book is strongest in sections on Come Back Little Sheba and Hazel - there is a lot on Hazel.
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