Backstage, You Can Have: My Own Story
by Betty Hutton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Betty HuttonContributor: Carl M Bruno
Contributor: Michael H Mayer
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-07-15
ISBN: 0578032090
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: The Betty Hutton Estate
Book Reviews of Backstage, You Can Have: My Own Story
Book Review: At Long Last - The Autobiography of Betty Hutton
Summary: 5 Stars
The book Betty Hutton fans have waited decades for - first announced in the early 1970's - is finally here, her autobiography!! And what a knockout read it is, starting with her traumatic childhood raised with her sister Marion in poverty by a beloved yet troubled, alcoholic, promiscuous mother (their father having flown the coop early on - although Betty claims she later learned her real father was a famous unnamed musician), her rough childhood included time at a seedy boarding house loaded with prostitutes (Betty earned extra coin as a child being a lookout for cops for one hooker) and a temporary stint with a sadistic "guardian" as her mom was on the lam herself for bootlegging. OLIVER TWIST seems candy-coated in comparsion!! Betty doesn't even get to her feature film career (which began at age 20) until page 151! This horrendous background surely made it's mark on the adult Betty Hutton, a lovable, incredibly talented but deeply troubled woman who constantly made erratic and impulsive poor decisions and was a textbook case of self-destructive behaviour.
Betty's climb in show business was remarkably swift despite her horrific childhood, a popular "girl singer" in Vincent Lopez's orchestra by her mid teens, on Broadway before 20 and a famous movie star soon after that. She was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood by the mid 1940's and starred in such essential films as THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK and THE PERILS OF PAULINE and went on to top that with the blockbuster film version of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN and headlining the 1952 Best Picture Oscar winner THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH. And then - her film career was over just as suddenly as it begun when she walked out on Paramount in 1953 after unsuccessfully demanding her current husband be her next director and to her shock the studio made no attempt ask her back. Betty was able to continue on making a good living in television and with personal appearances, plays, and concerts for the next 15 years but the hectic pace got her addicted to pills from which she repeatedly relapsed in later years even after she claimed to have beaten the addiction. By the end of the 1960's she was broke (having flittered away millions) and in no condition to work; by 1972 she was homeless. Taken in by a male couple (co-author Bruno and his late partner Gene Arnaiz Jr) during this period, she later was under the care of Father Peter Macguire whom she met in 1974 while he cared for her and others in a Massachusetts rehab. Betty followed him back to the rectory, taking a position as cook and joined the Catholic church. For the next two decades, she bounced back and forth between the rectory and the guys in California. For the most part she had conquered her demons and on rare occasions accepted a gig, like a two-week stint on Broadway as Miss Hannigan in ANNIE in 1980, but her main interest was continuing her education and going to college, ultimately landing a spot at Salve Regina teaching film acting. Betty's final years were under the loving care of co-authors Bruno and Michael H. Mayer who had to deal with her battle with pills up to the very end.
The autobiographical part of this book by Betty wraps up by page 338, interestingly about the time (1973) when she first announced she was writing the book. Co-authors Carl Bruno and Mayer pick up the story in the final chapters spanning the early 1970's up until Betty's death in 2007. They are clear-eyed about her demons but write with compassion and love and clearly have always been a supportive force in Betty's life. They are also tastefully discreet, not really going into Betty's relationship with her three daughters and gently describing a few of the no doubt many bad times when Betty was out of control in her addiction. Certainly Betty was truly blessed to have them, Father Macguire, and Arnaiz in her life during her last decades.
Betty's superstitious personality was the main reason she was such a procrastinator in getting her book finished, believing a book published signaled the "end" of a life. The Betty penned chapters are beautifully cohesive, it's hard to believe quite a bit of it may be a cut and paste job they did from her bits and pieces she wrote over the years. She is remarkably frank with her candor, always one of her most endearing qualities. The 70 plus photos of Betty through the years are well produced and terrific rare shots.
Don't let the fact that this book is not from a major publisher scare you away, it's a solid book, as good or better as anything done by a film star from one of the major publishing houses. It is sad that Betty did not live to see the book being published but perhaps deep in heart she didn't want it to be out in her lifetime. Now we finally have the book but sadly we no longer have Betty but then the magic of Betty Hutton will always be around as long as there are people who appreciate the talent of this brillant entertainer.
Summary of Backstage, You Can Have: My Own Story
Betty Hutton was the top grossing female star at Paramount during much of the 1940s. At the top of her career, she was one of the most celebrated actresses in Hollywood, starring in such movies as "Annie Get Your Gun" and "The Greatest Show On Earth". Without warning, her career and world collapsed virtually overnight. Betty's tumultuous childhood came back to haunt her, and along with it, an addiction to prescription pills that almost ended her life. Betty disappeared from the public eye, until in 1974, when she was discovered living with and caring for priests in a Catholic rectory in Rhode Island. Interest in her and her life returned to the forefront. She began writing this book in 1970, as a means to explain the chain of events that led to her downfall. Sadly, she never finished writing it. After her death in 2007, the Betty Hutton Estate picked up where she left off, and has finally completed her book. Almost 40 years after it was first started, Betty's real story is ready to be told! Includes 70 photos...Memoirs Books
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