"RJ"In Hollywood, those two letters mean only one thing: Robert Wagner.
RJ's very name conjures up images of mid-century Hollywood and the galaxy of stars he knew and loved. And Robert J. Wagner's recollections of all of them are here in his new memoir, Pieces of My Heart.
Wagner tells about his encounters with Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Robert Mitchum, Tony Curtis, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Laurence Olivier, Joan Collins, Steve McQueen, David Niven, Cary Grant and many others.
Battling a revolving door of boarding schools and a well-to-do father who wanted him to forget Hollywood and join the family business, Robert Wagner could have taken the easy way out. But he knew that he needed to break free. So, sixteen-year-old Wagner started like any naïve kid would—walking along Sunset Boulevard, hoping that a producer or director would notice him.
Success did not come overnight.
But he did attract attention and he did break into the movies.
Before long he was deep into a four-year love affair with Barbara Stanwyck. She was 45. He was 22. She taught him a great deal. And he was smart enough to pay attention while respecting and honoring the very private nature of their relationship. The story is all here.
Still to come would be the great love of Wagner's life: Natalie Wood. That story is here as well: their romance; their first marriage; the breakup; the years in-between; their second marriage and Natalie's tragic and untimely death.
Nothing is held back.
Here, RJ reveals himself as a class act and a true gentleman as he tells his own story.
It's fitting that the word "heart' is such a big part of the title of this book because Wagner's heart is true. He teaches us that a real man needn't be afraid of love and sentiment, feelings and friendship.
This is surely one of the best "star" memoirs of recent times.
Thanks, RJ!
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