Audiobooks by Donald Spoto

Fifty years after her death, Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe still beguiles the world, her image enthralling millions. Many books have attempted to explain her allure and tell her story, but none has succeeded as well as this work by acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto. Spoto’s exhaustive research uncovers a conspiracy of silence, allowing him to present the facts, free from often-repeated myths and speculation. Granted access to more than thirty-five thousand pages of formerly sealed files containing letters, diaries, appointment books, and other intimate papers, he also interviewed nearly two hundred people who had never before spoken on record. From the papers of Marilyn’s psychiatrist and her medical files to recently declassified government documents, the truth emerges and provides a moving, often shocking picture of the real Marilyn Monroe—including her connection to the Kennedys and the bizarre, horrifying truth about how she really died. “This is a book that wound up teaching me a great deal about Hollywood, the social history of California, the movie business, the trials of female actors in American show business, and the life of a woman who has been so mythologized that often the real woman is obscured from actual view.”—Washington Post Book World

Donald Spoto (Author), Anna Fields, Anna Fields (Narrator)

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The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock

The story of the man who changed people's relationships with their showers forever, thanks to Psycho, this is the classic, Edgar Award-winning biography of the enigmatic and intensely private Alfred Hitchcock. One of America's greatest film directors, his suspenseful subject matter ranged from the dark drama of a man possibly trying to kill his wife, to the humorous problem of disposing of a body, to the ecological underpinnings of an attack by fowl fiends in a sleepy harbor town. Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock's obsessions-with food, murder, and idealized love, among others-and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock. "The finest book about a filmmaker yet. Sensational in its revelations; at the same time, a biography of unassailable integrity. I could not put it down."-Gregory Peck

Donald Spoto (Author), Jeff Riggenbach (Narrator)

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A Passion for Life: The Biography of Elizabeth Taylor

Born in England to socially ambitious parents, Elizabeth Taylor was catapulted into child stardom and molded by MGM into the great violet-eyed beauty of postwar America. Along the way, without training or counsel, she became an award-winning actress, dazzling audiences everywhere with spectacular performances. Spoto explores the gripping story of her brutalizing six-month marriage to compulsive gambler and hotel heir Nicky Hilton, her romances with top Hollywood directors, and her marriage to the ailing Michael Wilding. Four years later, she would be swept off her feet by showman Mike Todd into an alternately violent and loving marriage that would end with Todd's death in a plane crash, leaving Taylor a twice-divorced widow with three children at the age of twenty-six. And here are Taylor's years with Eddie Fisher, Republican Senator John Warner, and Richard Burton, with whom she would share a hedonistic, brash lifestyle that would virtually define the 1960s' jet set. "At once scathing and sympathetic…Spoto provides acute commentary on Taylor's films as well as a filmography in a revelatory portrait of a self-styled femme fatale beset by self-destructive impulses and feelings of emptiness."-Publishers Weekly

Donald Spoto (Author), C.M. Hebert (Narrator)

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Laurence Olivier: A Biography

Laurence Olivier was the most famous actor of his century and one of the greatest of all time. His looks made him a matinee idol; his talent made him world renowned as an actor, director, and producer. From his stage roles as Hamlet and Archie Rice to his screen roles as Heathcliff and Henry V, his range was unparalleled. But beneath the glamorous image, Olivier was often lonely, confused, and plagued by self-doubts. In this revealing account, Spoto tells for the first time the truth about Olivier's three marriages: to the diffident lesbian actress Jill Esmond, to the haunted and doomed Vivien Leigh, and to the young Joan Plowright. Olivier also reveals his relationships with Noel Coward and Danny Kaye, who loved him. Amid these personal dramas, Laurence Olivier's life encompasses the history of the theater in our time. Based on formidable international research, this is a rich, definitive biography. "A magnificent, moving biography worthy of its protean subject....Critical acumen matches psychological insight in this biography."-Publishers Weekly

Donald Spoto (Author), Frederick Davidson (Narrator)

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Laurence Olivier: A Biography

Laurence Olivier was the most famous actor of his century and one of the greatest of all time. His looks made him a matinee idol; his talent made him world-renowned as an actor, director, and producer. From his stage roles as Hamlet and Archie Rice to his screen roles as Heathcliff and Henry V, his range was unparalleled. But beneath the glamorous image, Olivier was often lonely, confused, and plagued by self-doubts. In this revealing account, Spoto tells for the first time the truth about Olivier's three marriages: to the diffident lesbian actress Jill Esmond, to the haunted and doomed Vivien Leigh, and to the young Joan Plowright. Olivier also reveals his relationships with Noël Coward and Danny Kaye, who loved him. Amid these personal dramas, Laurence Olivier's life encompasses the history of the theater in our time. Based on formidable international research, this is a rich, definitive biography.

Donald Spoto (Author), Frederick Davidson (Narrator)

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High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly

Donald Spoto (Author), George K. Wilson (Narrator)

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Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint

Since her death at the age of nineteen in 1431, Joan of Arc has maintained a remarkable hold on our collective imagination. During the tumultuous Hundred Years War between England and France, a young peasant girl nicknamed "The Maid" (La Pucelle) followed her heart and came to the aid of her nation. Facing unimaginable odds, Joan's belief in her mission from God continued to propel her forward. Within months, she was directing soldiers and bravely fighting for her nation. Joan became a national hero and was the guest of honor at her King's coronation. However, her success and fame ultimately and ironically became her undoing. Neither wife nor nun, neither queen nor noblewoman, neither philosopher nor stateswoman, Joan showed the world that anyone who follows their heart has the power to change history.

Donald Spoto (Author), Dick Hill (Narrator)

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Enchantment

Her name is synonymous with elegance, style and grace. Over the course of her extraordinary life and career, Audrey Hepburn captured hearts around the world and created a public image that stands as one of the most recognizable and beloved in recent memory. But despite her international fame and her tireless efforts on behalf of UNICEF, Audrey was also known for her intense privacy. With unprecedented access to studio archives, friends and colleagues who knew and loved Audrey, bestselling author Donald Spoto provides an intimate and moving account of this beautiful, elusive and talented woman. Tracing her astonishing rise to stardom, from her harrowing childhood in Nazi-controlled Holland during World War II to her years as a struggling ballet dancer in London and her Tony Award winning Broadway debut in Gigi, Spoto illuminates the origins of Audrey's tenacious spirit and fiercely passionate nature. She would go on to star in some of the most popular movies of the twentieth century, including Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, The Nun's Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady. A friend and inspiration to renowned designer Hubert de Givenchy, Audrey emerged as a fashion icon as well as a film legend, her influence on women's fashion virtually unparalleled to this day. But behind the glamorous public persona, Audrey Hepburn was both a different and a deeper person and a woman who craved love and affection. Donald Spoto offers remarkable insights into her professional and personal relationships with her two husbands, and with celebrities such as Gregory Peck, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Robert Anderson, Cary Grant, Peter O'Toole, Albert Finney and Ben Gazzara. The turbulent romances of her youth, her profound sympathy for the plight of hungry children, and the thrills and terrors of motherhood prepared Audrey for the final chapter in her life, as she devoted herself entirely to the charity efforts of an organization that had once come to her rescue at the end of the war: UNICEF. Donald Spoto has written a poignant, funny and deeply moving biography of an unforgettable woman. At last, Enchantment reveals the private Audrey Hepburn and invites readers to fall in love with her all over again. She was as funny as she was beautiful. She was a magical combination of high chic and high spirits. Gregory Peck In spite of her fragile appearance, she's like steel. Cary Grant Audrey was known for something which has disappeared, and that is elegance, grace and manners . . . God kissed her on the cheek, and there she was. Billy Wilder There is not a woman alive who does not dream of looking like Audrey Hepburn. Hubert de Givenchy Her magnetism was so extraordinary that everyone wanted to be close to her. It was as if she placed a glass barrier between herself and the world. You couldn't get behind it easily. It made her remarkably attractive. Stanley Donen She has authentic charm. Most people simply have nice manners. Alfred Lunt From the Hardcover edition.

Donald Spoto (Author), Kimberly Farr (Narrator)

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