Tony Curtis, Maureen McCormick, and Robert Vaughan Release Hollywood Memoirs

Most people under the age of 20 probably would not recognize the names of Tony Curtis, Maureen McCormick, and Robert Vaughan. A few might find the names vaguely familiar, having seen them somewhere while watching hundreds of movies and television shows over the years. Perhaps they have the Trivial Pursuit Silver Screen version and have seen them as an answer or part of a question.

But most people a little older will remember Tony Curtis as the friend of Dan Tanna of ABC's "Vega$," the crime drama about a private eye played by Robert Urich. But at one time, just about everyone knew who Tony Curtis was - and not just the father of Jamie Lee Curtis, either. He was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, starring in over 100 films, including "Sparticus," "Some Like It Hot," and "Operation Petticoat."

Tony Curtis appeared on "The View" and NBC's "Today" on Wednesday, October 15, promoting his knew memoir, American Prince.

Curtis has written a tell-all autobiography that chronicles his rise to the top of Hollywood's elite, where he called as friends and acquaintances such greats as Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and Jack Lemmon. American Prince also discusses Curtis' disappointment with Hollywood for not casting him in more serious roles. He rails about the how he was passed over for Paul Newman and Marlon Brando for several roles. Curtis believes there may have been several reasons for this: his extreme good looks, that he was from New York, or that he was Jewish (Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz).

Curtis writes about working with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe on "Some Like It Hot." He told the New York Daily News that he regretted saying the now famous "It was like kissing Hitler" line. He admitted that he was truly aroused by the voluptuous Monroe and that he carried a torch for the blonde bombshell. He told the Daily Mail in April that he had been flippant in his answer to how Marilyn Monroe kissed because he had thought the question rather stupid.

Curtis, by his own account, has slept with over 1000 women. He has been married six times. The 83-year-old actor's most recent marriage has lasted for 10 years. He says that now it is about communication, that his need for sex that drove him most of his life has finally subsided.

The "golden boy of the golden age of Hollywood" admits that he was insecure around women and made up for it by trying to sleep with as many as he could. In a nod to Freud, Curtis admits that it all went back to a schizophrenic mother that beat him. Not being able to deal effectively with the complicated relationship with his mother was exacerbated by insecurities about himself and his acting because he never won an Academy Award.

Tony Curtis is just one of several actors with memoirs hitting the shelf in recent days. Robert Vaughan, who starred as Napoleon Solo on the 60's show "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", has produced a memoir entitled A Fortunate Life. The younger generation will no doubt not recognize Robert Vaughan's name, either, but would probably know who he is if prompted by mentioning the countless law firm commercials he has starred in of late. A Fortunate Lifechronicles Vaughan's rise to fame and, according to Livemint.com, the book reveals much about Vaughan's acting and political involvement. He also does a bit of Hollywood name-dropping - like teaching an acting class that included Jack Nicholson and being friends with James Coburn and Steve McQueen - where he reveals that he dated Natalie Wood when she was 17. And, of course, he dishes up some sexual exploits, albeit in the reserved Robert Vaughan fashion that so fits his public persona.

Maureen McCormick is also a name no one would recognize today, but just about everyone would immediately know the name of Marcia Brady. MaureenMcCormick, who played the unflappable Marcia Brady from the classic sitcom "The Brady Bunch," also recently released a memoir, Here's The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice. In it, the former television star spills details of the pressures of Hollywood life and her fight against drug addiction. The television icon of the ideal teenage girl reveals how she traded in traded in the "perfect" television family for a life in the fast lane that hit low roads even the paparazzi did not travel. McCormick reveals how she went so far as to trade sex for drugs. Given the Marcia Brady image was so prim and proper, Maureen McCormick's memoir, guest appearances, and media revelations have been the catalyst for an internet firestorm of interest.

The attention shown the new books of Curtis, McCormick, and Vaughan are proof that people are still interested in their lives. No doubt much of that interest reveals around the many affairs and the various colorful escapades. And nothing sells like sex and dirt when it comes to the rich and famous, even in the stories told by the almost forgotten. Still, these three acting icons deserve much more than to be forgotten.

Tony Curtis memoir American Prince is published by Harmony.

Robert Vaughan's memoir A Fortunate Lifeis published by Thomas Dunne Books.

Maureen McCormick's memoir Here's The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice is published by William Morrow.

American Prince, A Fortunate Life, and Here's The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice list for $25.95 and hit the bookstores on October 14, 2008.

Sources:

Livemint.coAmazon.com

Dailymail.co.uk

Livebloggingtheview.com