Douglass K. Daniel

Anne Bancroft: A Life by Douglass K. Daniel is a 2017 University Press of Kentucky publication.

I always thought Anne Bancroft was a fabulous actress- the real deal- very talented. But she was also an enigma. Naturally, when I realized someone had written a biography about her life, I was very interested.

This bio is mostly centered around Anne’s career. There are a few insights into her private life- and the author did get some input from people close to her, but Anne was such a private person, I think it would be difficult to draw her personality out into the open in a truly intimate way. Finding balance between career and her personal life was not going to happen here- and so I made do with what was placed in front of me.

Normally, I would whine if a biographer failed to give me more balance or deep insights into the personal life of a performer, but in this case, I found Anne’s career interesting in many ways. Her forays into stage, television, and movies- her eclectic roles, and her attitude towards her acting career made her stand out from most other actresses. I loved that she was picky about her roles, I loved that she didn’t let her acting career define her- as she enjoyed doing many other things with her time. I did fully understand the conflict many women have when it comes to home and work balance- and the inevitable regret no matter what tact one takes in that situation. I admire her for guarding her privacy, too, which compared to the oversharing that goes on today, was refreshing.

Her marriage to Mel Brooks has always fascinated me. I couldn’t have imagined two more different people. I still can’t really wrap my head around that one- but evidently, the marriage worked and the couple stayed together until Anne’s death- again- very refreshing.

My only quibble was the author spent too much time on the opinions of various critics. A quick summary of how her work was received would have sufficed. While mostly well-organized there were a few moments that seemed out of order, and the book does not have a lot of pizzaz- it’s very plain, simple, even- but I was reminded of Anne’s unique body of work which went far beyond ‘The Miracle Worker’ and ‘The Graduate’. Anne is still paradoxical- but maybe that’s not a bad thing. Keeping a little mystery around her seems fitting somehow.

3.5 stars… (plus d'informations)

Good biography of actress Anne Bancroft. Lots of good photos - especially in her early years. The book really let you know how Bancroft tackled a part - she had to relate to the character in some way. Her private life was never very public but you got a sense of her relationship with second husband Mel Brooks (he made her laugh). There is a complete list of theatre, film, and television appearances. However, at the end, as with so many biographies, we did not get a wrap up of what the other folks in her life are doing up to the point of book publication. We had hints throughout, one grandchild but were there more? Her mother passed away at 102? What about her sisters? There was one area I disagreed with the author on which was on Page 33 he indicates "Musicals had never been Fox's strongest product" - what about the Alice Faye/John Payne musicals or the Betty Grable musicals of the 1940's. Fox did very well at musicals.… (plus d'informations)