As Charlie Chan used to say...explanation, please.
Okay, I'm normally a sucker for Hollywood biographies. And my interest in this long-dead star really comes from my mother. She was a huge fan of Sal Mineo. Why? That will be one for the ages.
I remember the countless TV and movie magazines strewn around our house when I was a kid. Modern Screen. Photoplay. TV-Radio Mirror. The gossip rags that pre-dated publications like the Star and OK. My mom was obviously Hollywood star-struck. And I recall she liked Mineo in particular.
As for me, I knew nothing more. I remember seeing him in the movie "Exodus," which was one of about three movies that I can recall watching with both my father and my mother. But, beyond that, my only exposure to Sal Mineo was an episode of "My Three Sons," where he played conveniently...Sal Mineo.
Of course, we all eventually became aware of his homosexuality and then, sadly, his murder in a carport on Holloway Drive in West Hollywood. The fact that people are still interested in this guy was intriguing to me. Moreover, what was the big deal with Sal that made my own mother all goose-pimply?
When I saw this book in Barnes and Noble, I figured that I would find out.
And, besides, I needed something mindless for that six-hour plane ride to Boston.
Yeah, well, after reading Gregg Michael Michaud's biography, I got the diversion on the American Airlines flight to Boston...but little else. Indeed, this book is perhaps one of the laziest attempts to capture the details of a Hollywood star's life. While it took me about six hours to read, it might have taken Michaud only two or so to write.
If you're looking to learn any deep-rooted details of Sal Mineo's life, this is not the book for you. The sum total of what Michaud writes is a compilation of newspaper and magazine articles obviously pulled through Google searches.
You know the type.
When Sal turned ten, he went to school at...
When Sal turned twelve, his father was working at...
When Sal moved to Hollywood, his first acting job was...
My twelfth grade English term paper had more substance. All I can really say is that, just as I did in high school, Michaud used footnoting properly.
I suppose I should have vetted this book better. Normally, with any biography, I will look first to see the acknowledgements made by the author at the back of the book. If the person has talked to a lot of people, it's worth a read. Had I done so with the Mineo book, I would have seen that the author interviewed no more than twenty people. His primary resource was two of Mineo's friends----the guy he was shacked up with in the later years and Sal's girlfriend early on, "Exodus" love interest Jill Haworth who is now dead herself.
Other than that, the book is totally reliant on newspaper clippings, magazine stories, and press releases from Hollywood publicists. As a result, there is nothing new, revealing, or even interesting with this tale.
The only juicy tidbits come from reports on some of Sal's sexual dalliances over the years. He tried to engage Jon "Lassie" Provost and Jay "Dennis the Menace" North in some three-way action. And, no, that wasn't with either a dog or "dumb awful Margaret." Meanwhile, Mineo also jumpstarted teen idol Bobby Sherman's career with a couple of rolls in the hay. Hmmm. It seems like Bobby might have been starring in "Here Come the Brides....and the Grooms."
But, all of the above is pretty much the new information you get from Michaud's sluggish and sloppy bio of Sal Mineo, who certainly deserved and warranted a more in-depth profile. Frankly, I learned more from my mom's old magazines.
Save yourself the dough and simply Google Sal Mineo. That's all the author did.
Dinner last night: Salisbury steak at the Cheesecake Factory.
3 comments:
Mineo also gave Don Johnson his start in Hollywood. Interesting pix of a play they did.
Thank you for this review. I was debating or not to read this bio as I am very fascinated by Sal Mineo and want to learn more about him. But everything is just titalating, salacious gossip painting him as a whore and a sexual predator. Google has enough of that, I'd much rather hear about *the man* and what he was about and his psychology. Won't get the book. Thanks again. :-)
If the poster of the previous comment didn't buy the book it was their loss. If the bad experience of one reviewer is enough to put you off, then you haven't the attention-span necessary to read a book. There are only a few books on the subject of Sal Mineo. There was a Who Killed Sal Mineo? by Susan Braudy, which was the most superficial. Sal Mineo: His Life, Murder, and Mystery by H. Paul Jeffers had more depth but was too biased and one-sided, although it had a proper conclusion. This book by Michael Gregg Michaud is easily the most definitive and has plenty of good details and revelations in spite of the review here. I consider myself a big fan of Sal's and learned a lot regarding dates, locations and the background of the people in his life. In fact, the level of depth and detail is the books big advantage. I was more aggrieved that it simply ended abruptly with the event of Sal's death, where the Jeffers book at least went on to discuss the aftermath and Sal's cult following and legacy. If you want a book about Sal Mineo, this is the only good one out there.
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