Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip Paperback – August 28, 1997

I don't do trigger warnings, as I think they are pointless, but I feel the need to do it for this book because I know there are some people who are really sensitive when it comes to reading about acts of homosexuality. They are in this book. They are handled casually. If you aren't really all that worldly, you may be surprised by how normal it all comes off. You may even learn something. If you can put on your big boy pants to read this, snowflake, you are going to find a fascinating trip into old world Hollywood. Sex. Murder. Music. Mayhem. It's all here as told by someone who was in the thick of it all.Don't expect feel-good family friendly gossip that seems at home in People magazine. This is public bathroom sex, self-castration, dope shooting, mental insanity, and motion pictures. It's all the stuff Disney prefers to think never existed.Enjoy it. Revel in it. Bask in the fury of the old. Gilmore is on fire here, and we get to witness Babylon burn. (And don't forget about the scary homosexuals, snowflake. They may be coming for you!)

You can't go wrong with John Gilmore on a tour of Hollywood and its famous denizens as he has lived it. This isn't cheap gossip, Gilmore is a crisp and fluid writer examining his and other famous peoples' lives for moral lessons in an unsparing way that is, however, not moralizing simply to render himself superior to his subjects.

I would like to have walked in John Gilmore's booties or been his shadow in the fifties and sixties. This book is just too cool and tells all you ever would want to know about James Dean, including his romp in the hay with him while living in New York City before Jimmy was famous.I am an avid reader of non-fiction and this book is one of the best I have ever read. He has had more experiences with live and dead celebrities that any one person would ever hope to have. To mention a few headliners; Steve McQueen, Hank Williams Jr., Jean Seberg, Jane Fonda, James Dean, Janis Joplin, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Tom Neal, Barbara Payton, Ida Lupino, Errol Flynn and a cast of thousands.Listen to this. John Gilmore wrote the original storyline for Easy Rider only he had another title. Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda hired Terry Southern to write the same story which ended up being Easy Rider using 90% of John's original story. Did he get any money for his idea? NO! And that really upsets me. However, John has survived and is successful in the way he must want to be. I enjoy his style of writing and will read more of his books.

Very graphic sex. Wasn't quite prepared for that and felt (hoped) there was a lot of exaggeration. If half of this book is true, I'm really glad I wasn't raised in that world. That said, I could not stop reading because my jaw dropped at every other page.

This book should be titled "Sour Grapes". Even though the names Gilmore drops are often "A" list celebrities, his portraits of these celebrities are profoundly one-dimensional hatchet jobs that illuminate the characters most often in a salacious, reductionist and redundant manner. Gilmore's treatment of the Hollywood famous is tainted by his poorly concealed contempt for their undeserved success, and his whimpering about his obvious talents and star-crossed attempts to break - unsuccessfully- into big-time Hollywood.Gilmore chooses to focus on the most lascivious facets of his studies while simultaneously blaming the studios for his forays into the homosexual world of various power brokers who pulled the strings in movie production. His characterizations of James Dean and Steve McQueen are as dishonest as taking one piece of a thousand piece puzzle and holding up the solitary piece as a full account of that character. And to top it off, Gilmore strongly suggests, time and again, that all of the "A" list stars are low-level talent with psychopathic tendencies while he is a morally superior victim brimming with unrecognized artistic genius.There is no redeeming literary quality to be found; no flashes of insight or glimpses into some truly remarkable Hollywood careers.Why anyone would rate this higher than a one leaves one dumbfounded.

The author is either the unluckiest man in Hollywood or the most deluded. His story of self promotion is a rollercoaster ride through the fringes of the Hollywood scene during the late 50's and through into the 60's.The author pulls no punches in taking on the likes of Dennis Hopper, Steve McQueen, Jane Fonda et al and blames them for everything from a bad haircut to world hunger.He seems to have spent most of his time being ripped off by his friends, being cuckolded by his enemies or being pursued for sex by his superiors. In fact it's a suprise that this book actually made it into print and that it wasn't stolen out from under his pillow by some glory seeking fiend.For example, although Hopper made one of the 60's seminal films (Easy Rider) Mr Gilmore gives him no credit as a director and instead blames Hopper and Peter Fonda for pinching his script.Given the way he describes the likes of Hopper, Brando and Jane Fonda just to mention a few it is a wonder the author doesn't go out at all times armed with a running chainsaw, or at least a big dog.A large part of the book involves attacking those whom the author believes were undermining his position of heir apparent to the legacy of James Dean. His relationship with Dean seems to define his existance and he guards it jealously. Aswell as stalking various film and music people, he lumbers himself on anyone who is an identity on the Hollywood scene.He puts one in mind of a homeless dog, desperate for acceptance but with very little to offer.Having said this, however, the book is a good read. Even though the author comes across as a snivelling weasel, his unfettered ego and good quality penmanship make the book highly entertaining.Take it to the beach and revel in the story of a hasbeen masquerading as a almostwas who in reality never could.....

The subject was not what I thought it would be. Did not care for it.

satisfactory

An excellent account of the seamier side of 50s Hollywood. As someone who grew up in that place and time, I'm familiar with most of the places and people mentioned, and the book was a real wild trip down memory lane for me. I always enjoy Gilmore's punchy writing and this was no exception. Fascinating and page-turning.

This guy can't write.

John Gilmore slumming in LA and elsewhere never gets tired. True tales from a guy who was there. Great fun for LA noir fans.

Quite boring, a good book to flick through but other than that nothing new to be discovered really . A bit disappointing