Superb book on the legendary director - probably the one "TV guy" whose reputation was still high. I knew a fair bit about Lumet's career, in part from reading Making Movies but also from seeing the sheer amount of credits he turned out. There was a lot I did know like:
- he was a top child actor, starred in a film
- his dad was a self centered actor, who cheated on the mother
- mother died traumatically young
- sister spent all Sidney's army pay
- Sidney did radar training in the Himalayas during WW2 and hated his war service bc of all the rednecks
- he was married four times, the first to actress/model, the second to Gloria Vanderbilt, the third to Lena Horne's daughter, the fourth did the trick
- one of his daughters became a coke snorting party girl then reinvented herself as a body building neo con
- Bobby Canavale was his son in law for a piece.
A great soap character.
The main had his flaws, and a surprising lack of success directing theatre, but managed to keep relevant and fresh for his career. So many good lessons to learn how to handle a career - work hard, keep working, aim to do good material, all that stuff. Fabulous book.
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