Thursday, September 28, 2006

A hard act to follow

Grayson005

  • “Generally forgotten today, Grayson Hall was an actress who worked mostly in off-Broadway plays but attracted a sizeable cult audience through television. Handsome and domineering, she possessed a stately deportment…and a deep, throaty voice tailored to hit the back rows of a theatre.” A review of R.J. Jamison’s new biography, now on Flickhead.

    • posted by Ray Young at 1:58 PM

    2 Comments:

    Blogger Heather said...

    Great review of a fantastic biography.
    I am one of many Grayson fans who have already devoured this book cover to cover. Like a wonderfully complex movie, one could read this fascinating bio again and again, discovering new treasures to cherish with each read.

    In regards to Mr. Ray's comment that: "...the book often feels as if it’s obligated to report rather than investigate and analyze. For one thing, we would have liked Ms. Jamison to reveal more of herself and elaborate on the passion that drives one to chronicle the life of Grayson Hall," although I understand that one might be interested to know more about the author, I have to respectfully disagree. This is a biography on Grayson Hall and her legacy, which would naturally involve objectively reporting the facts
    and debunking the myths (instead of Ms. Jamison elaborating at length about why she is passionate about Grayson Hall). Besides, Ms. Jamison does explain in the book why she wanted to take on this noble project, and why Grayson has such a passionate niche fanbase (which would include the author herself).

    IMO, unless the author herself was a close relative or friend that had a few tidbits about Grayson to share, it would have seemed inappropriate for author to elaborate even more about her life/drives/passions, when the intended subject was the mysteriously divine Grayson! :)

    Oh, and regards to the comment that the book had a few typos, that's very fair, although I disagree that the book had been proofread in a shoddy way. I read the book cover to cover, and if there were a large amount of typos, I didn't notice them (I did notice a couple, but not many---Nothing that would interfere with a reader enjoying this fascinating work.) In fact, I was very impressed with how well the text was written and organized. It was easy to read; a real page turner. The research Ms. Jamison had compiled and reported on was thorough and enlightening, and the overall layout of the book made it easy to navigate and digest the wealth of information provided---all helping to paint the portrait of this distinct actress. The cover and the photos that complement the text speak a thousand words...It's just a damn good book, period.

    I highly reccommend this bio to anyone who may be interested in knowing more about this divine talent, her theater roles, her work in TV and film, her loyal fanbase, as well as the many sides of this woman's life and complex psyche--wonderfully explored through the author's examination of Hall's life and interviews with close family and friends. Snuggle up with a warm beverage and a copy of the book today - You won't regret it. :-)

    6:54 AM EST  
    Blogger Leafshimmer said...

    Great to see this follow-up on last year's article about the quest to bring this book into the world. Fabulous work!

    Steve

    5:58 PM EST  

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