Finding Zsa Zsa, Sam Staggs
Finding Zsa Zsa, Sam Staggs
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Finding Zsa Zsa
The Gabors behind the Legend

Author: Sam Staggs

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 14 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/30/2019


Synopsis

For decades, the Gabor dynasty was the epitome of glamour and fairy tale success. But as biographer, film historian, and Gabor family friend Sam Staggs reveals, behind the headlines is a true story more dramatic, fabulous, and surprising than their self-styled legend would have you believe…In 1945, after barely escaping Hitler’s invasion of Hungary followed by “liberation” of the country by the Red Army, three members of the Gabor family—Jolie, her ex-husband Vilmos, and their daughter Magda—arrived in New York City. In Hollywood, their other daughters,Zsa Zsa and Eva, had worked feverishly throughout the war years to secure their rescue from the Nazis’ plan to exterminate the Jews. Stepping off the boat, Jolie, the iron-willed matriarch, already had a golden future mapped out for her sharp-witted, cosmopolitan beauties.Over the next six decades, with twenty-three husbands between them (suave All About Eve star George Sanders would wed both Zsa Zsa and Magda), scores of lovers, and roller-coaster rides in film, television, theater, and business, the elegant yet gloriously bawdy, addictively watchable Gabors carved a niche in the entertainment industry that made them world-famous pop-culture icons. But beneath the artifice of Dior and diamonds was another side to the story they never revealed: the whole truth.This first verifiable history of the Gabors casts a startling new light on these extraordinary women. Finding Zsa Zsa reveals the tumultuous and often unforgiven battles between mother and daughter, sister and sister, wife and husband; Eva’s “bearded” romance with Merv Griffin that allowed them both to seek same-sex lovers; Zsa Zsa’s involuntary confinement in a mental hospital; her life-long struggle with bipolar disorder; and her last—unconsummated—marriage to the manipulating faux prince Frederic von Anhalt. Here too is the untold story of Zsa Zsa’s daughter, Francesca Hilton, a gifted photographer who eschewed the Gabor lifestyle and paid a sad price for her independence. The story of family patriarch Vilmos Gabor, who returned to Hungary only to be trapped behind the Iron Curtain, reads like a Cold War spy thriller.Culled from new interviews with family, colleagues, and confidantes, and the unpublished memoirs of the author’s friend Francesca Hilton, Finding Zsa Zsa finally introduces fans to the Gabor family they never knew, including many never-before-seen photos. It’s a riveting, outrageously funny, bittersweet, and affectionately honest read of four women who were vulnerable, tough, charitable, endlessly fascinating, and always glamorous to a fault.

About Sam Staggs

Sam Staggs is the author of seven books on Hollywood and its stars. He has written for publications including Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, and Opera News.

About Paul Boehmer

Paul Boehmer attended his first Shakespearean play while in high school; he knew then that he was destined to become the classically trained actor he is today. Graduating with a master's degree, Paul was cast as Hamlet by the very stage actor who inspired his career path. A nod from the Universe he'd chosen aright! Paul has worked on Broadway and extensively in regional theater. Coinciding with another of his passions, sci-fi, Paul has been cast in various roles in many episodes of Star Trek. Paul's love of literature and learning led him by nature to his work as a narrator for audiobooks, his latest endeavour. Paul is married to the love of his life, Offir, and they live in Los Angeles with their two midnight-rambling tomcats, Dread and David.


Reviews

I almost deleted this when it showed up in my galley copies on the Kindle--my fuzzy memory of Gabors is from reruns of Green Acres and 1980s tabloid headlines. Although the later chapters become soapy and too close to Francesca Hilton, the material is oddly fascinating and deserves someone with grea......more

Goodreads review by Debra

I received an advance reading copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a fair review. I knew that going in to this book, it would be an interesting read. I mean, we are talking about the Gabors after all! And let's face it, if reality TV had been around back in their day, we would have been in......more

Goodreads review by Michael

I've enjoyed Sam Staggs' previous books on All About Eve and Sunset Blvd., but this one didn't work for me. His breezy, semi-campy style was fine for the making-of books, but here, his over-the-top purple prose gets very tiresome. To quote one short paragraph in the chapter on Zsa Zsa's trial for sl......more

Goodreads review by Cheryl

Zsa Zsa was a little before my time, until I read this book I didn’t realize how much acting she had done.It talks about her early life and all the close calls she went through. One of the problems with the book is that it was so out of order, the author would talk about something happening in the 1......more


Quotes

“In his rollicking and gossip-filled biography of the Gabors…Staggs creates an engaging and fascinating family saga filled with fresh insights from newly conducted interviews…This is a big, irresistible beach read, perfect for fans of The Real Housewives and Keeping Up with the Kardashians…[Staggs] gives the Gabor sisters respect while also enjoying their outrageous tabloid antics and love affairs.” Shelf Awareness

“A colorful history of the glamorous pop-culture icons.” Kirkus Reviews

“An entertaining biography…His take on the Gabors—oft-derided in their day as exemplars of style over substance—as hardworking show business survivors is clear and refreshingly admiring. Pop culture buffs will just adore this penthouse view of the Gabors.” Publishers Weekly

“Staggs has revealed a group of women who were witty, resourceful, and, most of all, intelligent.” William J. Mann, author of The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando

Finding Zsa Zsa is a meticulously researched and always surprising history…Staggs gives his story a witty, breezy style that is delightful and entertaining but tough minded and impossible to resist.” Charles Busch, actor and playwright