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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 22, 1975)
monday, September 22, 1975 daily nsbraskan Bogart and Garland : Legendary figures By Bill Roberts . Humphrey Bogart, by Nathaniel Bench ley, and Judy,y Gerold Frank, provide two examples of different ways to write a biography of a famous entertainer. Each one is only fairly successful because of the limitations of each approach. Benchley's biography is written casual ly. The author encourages the reader to have a good time with the book. He keeps Bogart 's memorable performances in the reader's mind, which is made easier by the generous supply of good photographs of Bogart's personal and public life. The book is even printed to seem casual. The right margins are not squared off, and there's a double space between paragraphs. The effect is often similar to that of a big hard-cover fan magazine, written the best way it could be done. Author too present Unfortunately, such a thing can only be done so well. The reader sees and hears the author too much. Too many times the manner seems too casual, the author's opinions inaccurate, the author just seems to be showing off. The reader wishes Benchley would have been more careful in his generalizations, es pecially about Bogart's "great intelligence" and "class," to make them square with specific incidents. Bogart comes across as a hard working actor, dedicated to his pro fession, but not particularly smart or dumb. And though Bogart sometimes does " seem to have had grace and kindness, he would also be insulting and rude. But Benchley's style can work well. He presents the beginning of Bogart's realtion ship with Laruen Bacall, his last wife and the only woman he really loved: "The first words he spoke to his leading lady, after their meeting the previous year, were, 'I saw your test, and then he delivered himself of one of the thundering under statements of the century: WeU have a good time together'." The reader can almost hear Bogart speaking. Benchley's hyperbolic pause re creates the effect of watching 20-foot high faces on a movie screen. Dissection, not re-creation, is the purpose of Frank's biography of Judy Gar land. Judy, the reader should always keep in mind, is the authorized biography, with all the facts as remembered by those who knew Garland. Whenever there were conflicting versions of some event, Frank recorded them all. The reader gets all sides of the story, but the effect is finally of no story at all. It's as if the index to the book were written first, and the author stepped in merely to make complete sentences. There may have been mythic qualities to Garland's life. She was always in show business, rocketed to stardom but was dragged back down by th drugs she took .to get there. She needed approval, needed privacy, all this could have been handled in some way so as not to exploit her life. Boring But Frank is content to make a detailed, exhausting study of her life and leave it at that. The reader is given all the facts, but no sense is made of them. Incredibly, a book about Judy Garland turns out to be boring. Benchley's biography of Bogart is the better of the two books. Accuracy is certainly a virtue in a biography. But there is an accuracy more important than precise wordings of quotes and exact dates and places. Humphrey Bogart recreates, revitalizes the life of its subject in a way that seems right. Judy is a dissection of die parts of a life, each properly labeled, but giving no clue to the shape of the person who lived it. . Humphrey Bogarthy Nathaniel Benchley Little, ErownS 12.50 JudyBy Gerold FrankHarper & Row ME WS HAIRSTYLING Ths University of Hair Des&n wishes to announce that they are having an advanced hairstyling workshop, teaching the popular fcltORD SYSTEM, and they need male models. The participants in the ciass are experienced hairstylists wishing to advance their knowledge in the current hair fashions for men. This is your chance to get a professional hairstyle at no cost to you. Please phone for appointment mm Phona 432-2745 - JP 19 (!. t ,..,!. !,,., ,. ... tir fcii--.vwri-.iy- -vh- ""aiMi.m. ,-,...'fmMtmmmr.--fi .n. .ti "'--- - Photo by Karsh fepj C; yf- '.Humphrey Bogart V v ) j) . . Judy Garland Portrait by Roberto Garill KIMBALL fX nr'ir HALL yr.- s s ZRX2M 4 UNIVERSITY of NEBRASKA PERFORMING . ARTS SERIES SERGIU LUCA, VIOLIN FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 26 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY (A SMALLER ENSEMBLE OF THE LARGER STRATFORO COMPANY). WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 29. BACH ARIA GROUP THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 12 JOSE LIMON DANCE COMPANY SATURDAY. MARCH G AGUSTIN AN I EVAS PIANO . FRIDAY. APRIL 2 SERIES TICKETS: HEGULAR $18, UNL STUDENTS $9. AVAILABLE: ROOM 113 My5CU?3 'J17i A I? .C3 CALL 472-3376 OR 472-2506. , ...... , - y . - . ALL PERFORMANCES IN KIMBALL RECITAL HALL, 11th ft R. .,-.wD wiM ALL SEATS RESERVED. W" ONLY SERIES TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH SEPTEMBER 24. ; SERGIU LUCA, VIOLIN WEDNESDAY' SEPTEMBER 24 8 PM UNACCOMPANIED ALL-BACH PROGRAM (THIS IS IN ADDITION TO FRIDAY'S SERIES PERFORMANCE)
