Rating: 
Summary: kiss and tell
Review: I Knew Bob. I was a bored suburban girl. Bob's values were not so strange if you know he was italian not jewish. Think about it. How else would he be so beautiful. Started out to living no more flashly or ruthlessly than a 1960's Sinatra, mob never far away. In the Ali M. days he manged to shift from Sinatra bad boy to 60's swinger. His morality no stranger than anyone elses in Hollywood But Bob was vibrant enough to want to prove himself with a Hollywood run by Jewish financiers. He was smart enough, so he did! His Godfather was a true triumph, with Kissenger, the biggest jewish mobster of them all at his side, saying to his jewish bosses, Im may be Italian but now Im your equal in the money business. And look at the quality of the movie - dont forget we Italians are superb artists, and the subject of the movie, we Italians are also ruthless. Dont discount me. His brother, suprisingly not discussed at all in the movie, (he must have requested it) was critical to his success. Charles, the self made Evan-Piccone (Piccone a Sicilian) multi-millionaire, changed his name along with Bob to Evans, bankrolled Bob and bailed him out whenever he was in trouble. I could tell you a secret about Bob's body...but I wont. Suffice it to say he seemed constantly out to prove himself as a man, when really no proof was required. He was so insecure, hard though that is to believe, which is why women really liked him. Why else was he such a superficial ego-maniac? His love for Ali M. not the greatest but had the most impact on him only because she jilted him the most publicly. She so incredibly ordinary. He was for the first part of his life so busy working he never grew up. And the second half too coked up to enable him to philosophize in a way that was normal for someone so smart. He is a kid - still. All so sad. He was a genuinely clever, fascinating to be with, charming as hell, basically kind, and really able man, a loyal friend, with an innate eye for beauty and quality, whose immature morals and screwed up values caused him, and really no one else, a whole lot of pain. From the 80's onwards he was an absolute Coke Junky. Like the rich and powerful able to afford so much more stuff (pre crack) and slide so much further without anyone having the power or confidence to tell him to stop. Hitchens comes to mind. 15 - 20 years of life just drugs, nothing else. Couldnt handle the Cotton Club, was too coked up. This story - book and movie benefits from his fall (and satisfying for us the unsucessful), but in truth if he hadnt had coke and so the fall, I think he may have, unlike Sinatra, have grown up, matured, (settled with a good woman) and done some more intellectual stuff. He was better than this. He was more than a great raconteur.
Rating: 
Summary: I've met Bob Evans and you can believe his story.
Review: I spent two days with Bob Evans in Wash., D.C., promoting his movie "Black Sunday" and found him to be honest & straightforward, a class act. No phoniness, no ego stroking like a lot of movie types I dealt with. His book, also, is not just another Hollywood hype whitewash, but an honest recounting of the facts--pretty and ugly--as he remembers them. Read it! A helluva story; a helluva life; a helluva guy!
Rating:
Summary: I've met Bob Evans and you can believe his story.
Review: I spent two days with Bob Evans in Wash., D.C., promoting his movie "Black Sunday" and found him to be honest & straightforward, a class act. No phoniness, no ego stroking like a lot of movie types I dealt with. His book, also, is not just another Hollywood hype whitewash, but an honest recounting of the facts--pretty and ugly--as he remembers them. Read it! A helluva story; a helluva life; a helluva guy!
Rating:
Summary: The Roller-Coaster Life of a Legendary Hollywood Producer.
Review: In "The Kid Stays in the Picture", legendary movie producer Robert Evans tells the story of his tumultuous but undeniably exciting life. The son of a Harlem dentist, a teenaged playboy, Evans was the man who put women in pants -Evan Piccone pants- before he ever set foot in Hollywood. A chance meeting by the pool at the Beverly Hill Hotel in 1956 made him a hot young actor. 10 years later, the failed actor without even a high school diploma was head of production at Paramount Pictures. Under Evans' reign, Paramount went from dead last number nine to the top studio in Hollywood, producing some of the 1970s most memorable films: "Rosemary's Baby", "Chinatown", and "The Godfather", and "The Odd Couple". Then things got bad. Then things got worse. But Robert Evans remains in the picture in Hollywood. Robert Evans' account of his personal and professional up and downs strikes me as an honest one. He certainly doesn't spare himself criticism or hide his faults. He was a good producer and a terrible businessman. He was blessed with extraordinary luck, a lot of talent, and a gambler's lack of discipline. Like most autobiographers, Evans takes this opportunity to blast his enemies and praise his friends. Francis Ford Coppola is on the receiving end of Evans' wrath. Considering that Evans knew everybody who was anybody in Hollywood at one time, and considering the length of this book, I'm surprised he doesn't blast more people. -Well, he does, but not as thoroughly. The only criticism I have of Evans' writing style is that he doesn't include many dates. Evans doesn't tell his life story in chronological order. It reads well and is easy to understand. But trying to place the events in order in one's mind can be difficult. If he mentioned the year every time he changed subjects, it would have been helpful. As he states in the book's preface, "There are three sides to every story: yours...mine...and the truth." "The Kid Stays in the Picture" is Robert Evans' life as he experienced it. It's entertaining, enlightening, and a must-read for anyone interested in Hollywood of the 1970s.
Rating:
Summary: A good listen.
Review: In many biographies, the authors try to explain why they were mis-judged and cast stones on the people making the accusations. Well, Robert Evans does some of that. But, to his credit, he casts dispersions on himself for his mistakes. Evans is a billiant producer, and when you listen to this book in his signature gravely voice, complete with expletives, you'll walk away (or drive away if you're listening in your car) with an incredible understanding of how Hollywood works. And...with some good advice for life in general. "You don't learn from your mistakes. You learn from what you did right." It's the kind of book you want to listen to more than once.
Rating:
Summary: the kid stays in the picture
Review: It began rather innocently, a review read in the Sunday LA Times lead me to the'Kid'. Intrigued i ordered the paper back, told the audio version would run me $36...yadda At first I had fear thatit was a journey into oh how tough is my life, I grew up poor,but with fab parents. Easy it was a grove out journey into the doggie dagger film world from whilst I come and shall forever remain. Now I ama number cruncher with manic potential to Produce ,and Direct...reading Mr. Evans book really brought me a comfort in knowing that no I am not paranoid it is a dirty business and really your friends show their true colours if you give 'enm enough rope---baby. Fighting for yourself is not a sin, it is a neccessity, reputation supercedes each of us...true or false its real. Thank you Mr. Evans I needed your honest trip to aid me in my daily 17hour day surrounded by prozac heroin sexual innuendo manipulation and oh ya sometimes if you keep your eyes open you meet create people who care about the film they are making. Stay beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Unable to put it down
Review: Loved the book. Very insightful, thought provoking as well as entertaining. Since the book was written 1994, I am anxiously awaiting the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: What You'd Expect - 4 Stars, Recommended
Review: Ok. He's a bit self-absorbed. But that's what you expect of Robert Evans. "The Kid Stays In the Picture" is an interesting book about his rise and fall from fame. It is similar to Rikki Lee Travolta's "My Fractured Life" with not quite the same writers flair. It's still interesting though. At times Evans muddles in his self-aggrandizing, but eventually he gets back on path. If you enjoyed "My Fractured Life" "Hollywood Animal" and "Postcards From the Edge" you should enjoy this one too.
Rating: 
Summary: Book is enjoyable, but Audio is a MASTERPIECE.
Review: ONE OF THE FIRST PHENOMENONS WHERE I EXPERIENCED THE AUDIO BEING BETTER THAN THE BOOK. MAINLY DUE TO EVANS, A BRILLIANT BARRITONE/RACANTEUR- READER. EVANS IS MESMERIZING AS HE PULLS YOU IN WITH EVERY INFLECTION BY HIS ALLURING READING/ACTING/CONVERSATIONAL STYLE. I WOULD HEAR THE AUDIO FIRST, THEN READ THE BOOK... SEE WHAT I MEAN??? I CAN'T COMMENT ON THE FACTS, CAUSE I'M NOT AN INSIDER, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS TRUE OR FALSE, BUT I CAN RELATE WHEN EVANS SPEAK OF BACK-STABBING SCOUNDRELS AND MALICIOUS OPPORTUNISTS. THESE CHARACTERS AREN'T ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD, THEY'RE AROUND EVERY CORNER SIDEWALK OF EVERYONE'S PATH OF LIFE. IT JUST SO HAPPENS THOSE DESCRIBED BY EVANS ARE FAMOUS. THE MOST STARTLING THING I TOOK FROM EVANS BOOK IS THAT, IT'S NOT ABOUT WHETHER THE FILM BUSINESS IS WICKED OR TREACHEROUS, IT'S WHETHER OR NOT ONE IS WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE TAG FOR FAME & POWER. ONE LAST THING, COULDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY EVANS IS OSTRACIZED BY HOLLYWOOD; FELT HIS REASONS WHY WEREN'T CLEAR AND OPEN ENDED. EVANS DOES REALLY SOUND LIKE AN HONEST GUY; A LIKEABLE GUY TOO! WAITING FOR YOUR NEXT BOOK & AUDIO SIR!
Rating:
Summary: Hilarous and Heartbreaking
Review: One of the most entertaining autobiographies I've ever read. Brutally honest and unrelenting. An underdog's tale about taking risks and having the strength to believe in yourself. Cautiously inspirational.
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