In 1994 Robert Evans gave the world one of the best books on Hollywood in The Kid Stays in the Picture, charting his rise from an ordinary kid to the first actor to run a major movie studio. He blundered his way into greenlighting some of the most successful movies ever produced such as The Godfather and Chinatown. Misfortune followed him wherever he went and although he discovered and nurtured some of the most prolific acting and directorial talent of the age he always seemed to be a day late and a buck short.
Still, he was extremely lucky with the ladies as he is fond of telling us on almost every page.
The Fat Lady Sang chronicles Evans’ life after The Kid Stays in the Picture. Since then he has suffered major strokes that have left him confined to a bed, paralysed down one side.
Film lovers will get nothing from this book. All Evans’ contributions to the movie industry are well documented in The Kid Stays in the Picture. Instead, we are left with a slightly pathetic recollection of sexual conquests and anecdotes involving famous people. Though Evan’s recounts his illness and rehabilitation with a certain amount of honesty and directness that makes for some difficult reading, there is nothing of real substance here that add anything meaningful to the legacy of Robert Evans. As one of the last living connection to the great studio age of cinema, he deserves something more.
Release Date: 23 November 2013
Publisher: It Publishing
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