Review by Booklist Review
From Vanity Fair contributing editor Rozzo comes this era-defining love story set against the backdrop of Hollywood in the sixties--a time when the film industry was undergoing a major shift. The studio system was ending, and movies themselves were becoming more realistic and more representative of the times in which they were being made--and America itself was changing, too, politically, socially, and culturally. Rather than tell the big-picture story of this era in Hollywood history, the author zooms in on the husband-and-wife due of Dennis Hopper and Brooke Hayward, two actors whose lifestyle and tumultuous relationship reflected the turmoil of the time (their marriage practically spanned the 1960s). Hopper and Hayward's house in the Hollywood Hills became a sort of clubhouse for a new era of movie people and modern artists, and Rozzo details the drug-fueled goings-on there. Extensively footnoted and drawing on current interviews and previously published sources, the book paints a detailed picture of the iconic Hopper and his relationship with Hayward, the daughter of legendary producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A scintillating romance plays out against the febrile backdrop of 1960s L.A. in Vanity Fair contributor Rozzo's luminous debut, a history of actors Dennis Hopper and Brooke Hayward's famed and fraught relationship. The unlikely pair met in New York in June 1961 while performing as the two leads in the play Mandingo; Hayward, a recently divorced "ingenue on the upswing," and Hopper, "a self-sabotaging hard case" who'd staked a name for himself as a Hollywood bad boy, were instantly drawn to one another and hastily married before relocating to the Hollywood Hills. Together they became a formidable force in the art and film worlds, hosting glamorous countercultural salons at their home, where drugs, art, and ideas were exchanged among the likes of Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Joan Didion, and Ike and Tina Turner. But as Rozzo reveals, the couple's stardom slowly began to sour when Hopper's career took a turn, cycling him through "the all too familiar phases outlined in an old Hollywood joke... 'Who's Hopper?'... 'Let's get Hopper!'... 'Who's Hopper?' " As Rozzo traces the marriage's demise, fueled by Hopper's alcoholism and physical abuse of Hayward, he delivers a captivating drama of clashing egos and artistic struggles that captures the oft-volatile vicissitudes of love. Film buffs should snatch this up. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Dennis Hopper and his first wife Brooke Hayward have perhaps not been given proper credit for their contributions to the art and aesthetic of the 1960s, but readers of Rozzo's (contributing editor, Vanity Fair) book will come away deeply impressed by the couple's efforts. Hopper rose to fame writing, directing, and starring in the iconic 1969 road film Easy Rider, but disparaged the majority of his own films as he neared the end of his life; today he's most remembered for playing villains in Blue Velvet and Speed. Hayward's great success, meanwhile, was her 1977 memoir Haywire, about growing up as the daughter of producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan. Hopper and Hayward were the influencers of their day--visitors to their Los Angeles home included artists (Ed Ruscha, Miles Davis, the Byrds), Black Panthers, and Hells Angels, and they had a collection of contemporary art to rival any gallery. Rozzo reveals that the environment was both vibrant and volatile, and Hopper was equal parts enthusiastic, loyal, and destructive; he was also abusive to friends, coworkers, and, ultimately, Hayward. Drawing on diligent research and an excellent array of interviews, Rozzo brings 1960s LA to life in all its joy, creativity, and chaos. VERDICT Rozzo documents a roller-coaster ride of big ideas, big failures, lasting successes, and lost projects. Recommended for anyone interested in the culture of the 1960s.--Bill Baars
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A showbiz tale of the tempestuous marriage at the heart of the birth of modern art in Los Angeles and the messy transition from old to new Hollywood. Brooke Hayward (b. 1937) is the daughter of legendary film and theater agent Leland Hayward and actor Margaret Sullavan, a couple who knew a thing or two about dramatic marriages. As Vanity Fair contributor Rozzo chronicles, Brooke was on her way to becoming an actress, an "ingenue on the upswing," when she met Dennis Hopper, who grew up in Dodge City, Kansas, far from the glamorous life Brooke knew. Hopper, "a self-sabotaging hard case," got his first film credit on Rebel Without a Cause, idolizing troublemaker James Dean. In 1960, Leland, who worked with actors and didn't want his daughter to marry one, was married to the former Pamela Churchill, who at one time was married to Winston Churchill's son Randolph. In July 1961, Hopper and Brooke, by then a couple, showed up on a Vespa at the ritzy Beverly Hills Hotel for lunch with the high-society Leland and Pamela, who was shocked at their choice of vehicle. That anecdote serves as an apt representation of the culture clash between the Hollywood establishment and a younger generation yearning to craft more authentic movies and lives. Hopper and Brooke's house, writes Rozzo, "became the era's unofficial living room. Brooke and Dennis helped introduce Warhol to the West Coast with a spectacular coming-out party, hosted Jasper Johns and Claes Oldenburg, entertained an entire Olympus of movie gods, and gave shelter to Hells Angels and Black Panthers." Hopper, who comes off as a preening jerk, would go on to revolutionize American film by co-creating Easy Rider---although he considered his still photography his most important artistic contribution. Rozzo delves deep into his characters' lives, making a strong case for their enduring cultural influence. Telling all the right tales, this story of "the coolest kids in Hollywood" proves their artistic significance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
