R.I.P. Patricia Bosworth

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Big Magilla
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Re: R.I.P. Patricia Bosworth

Post by Big Magilla »

"Tell-all" is a euphemism for "unauthorized biography" which most of Bosworth's biographies were. Only the one she wrote on Jane Fonda was with the subject's permission. The rest were all dead and thus beyond the ability to either grant or deny their permission.

I will say, however, that she was not a trashy writer. She was no Kitty Kelly. Her father had been Clift's lawyer in the 1940s and she had access to his family members and friends. The documentary, Making Montgomery Clift was put together by Clift's nephew born after his death and the nephew's wife. He was the cinematographer, she was the editor. They are credited it with co-directing. There is no writer's credit but the film apparently uses voice recordings made by Monty's brother. How many others in the documentary had firsthand knowledge of him I don't know but Eleanor Clift, who will be 80 this year, only married Robert the year before Monty's death the year she turned 24 so most of her knowledge would have been secondhand. I think it's safe to say both Bosworth's biography, as well as the one that came later, and the recent documentary all tell a part of the story of a very complex life.
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Re: R.I.P. Patricia Bosworth

Post by Precious Doll »

'Tell all and more' would be more appropriate but I would not have said that over a year ago.

I read Bosworth's book on Clift decades ago and enjoyed it. However, something that I paid little attention to when I first read her biography on Clift was that she claims he may have been a paedophile. It's only referred to vaguely in one paragraph of the book but it is highlighted in the documentary Making Montgomery Clift (2018) with much angst about Bosworth including that paragraph without any actual proof.

It's worth noting that Making Montgomery Clift is co-directed by one of Clift's nephews and that Robert Anderson Clift and his brother try in vain to reinvent their uncle as something he was clearly not (they like to believe he bedded both Marilyn Monroe & Elizabeth Taylor for fucks sake). Actually, its a pretty shameless documentary but Patricia Bosworth comes out of it looking like a complete ...t. Maybe that is justified, maybe not but it left me deciding to remove her book from my collection.
Last edited by Precious Doll on Sat Apr 04, 2020 8:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: R.I.P. Patricia Bosworth

Post by Mister Tee »

"Tell-all" makes her sound a bit sleazy. I read her Montgomery Clift bio, and it was a very good, respectable effort.
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R.I.P. Patricia Bosworth

Post by Big Magilla »

Minor actress, better known as a tell-all biographer of the stars, dead from the coronavirus at 86.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... 6PTMik5KAg
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