Finding Zsa Zsa: The Gabors Behind the Legend by Sam Staggs

Finding Zsa Zsa
The Gabors Behind the Legend
by Sam Staggs
Kensington Books
July 2019
448 pages
Hardcover ISBN: 9781496719591
Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powells

Before the Kardashians there were the Gabors. Zsa Zsa, Eva, Magda and the queen of the tribe Jolie, the Gabors were a force to be reckoned with. Between the four of them they had over 20 husbands. Their family name was synonymous with glamour, wealth, jewels and fame. When they came over from Hungary, they took America by storm.

Jolie was the strong-willed matriarch who commanded her daughters' respect and taught them to crave the good life. She ran a well-known jewelry store in New York. Magda was the serious, quiet one. She saw the horrors of WWII and helped smuggle soldiers, civilians and goods in and out of Hungary. By way of Portugal she was able to get herself and her parents out of Europe and away from the Nazis. Eva Gabor was the youngest of the brood and between Zsa Zsa and herself she took acting the most seriously. She worked in films and television throughout her life but always felt her thick Hungarian accent held her back. Then there was Zsa Zsa. The most famous of them all. Between her movie career, nine husbands, arrests and public scandals, she became a tabloid regular and a living legend. She suffered from bipolar disorder and her notoriety fascinated the public. She domineered the story of the Gabors and still does to this day.

Finding Zsa Zsa: The Gabors Behind the Legend by Sam Staggs is the cradle to grave story of the four Gabors. But like in real life, Zsa Zsa dominates the book because frankly she was the most interesting. However, Staggs gives all four ladies their chance in the spotlight. Staggs breaks down misconceptions of the Gabors as being famous for being famous. All four ladies were hard working and ambitious. The least ambitious was Zsa Zsa who was more preoccupied with glamour, parties and husbands than she was a career.

This story blends the four biographies together in a fairly seamless way. It's for the most part chronological but dips back in time occasionally depend on the subject. The book can be a bit salacious especially when it came to the romantic lives of the Gabors (both Zsa Zsa and Magda were married to actor George Sanders). There are a lot of juicy details there but I never felt like the author went too far or was trying to be hurtful. The author does interject with various quips and opinions about various matters which I took with a grain of salt. Overall the book reads like a novel which makes the 400+ pages fly by.

I have a personal interest in the Gabors. My father lived in California during the early 1970s and once met Zsa Zsa Gabor when he was working on her pool. He was from Portugal so I was particularly fascinated by Magda's story of her connections with the Portuguese embassy and how she was able to get her family out of Hungary. On the flip side of this, my mother is Dominican and was born into dictator Trujillo's regime. Reading about Zsa Zsa Gabor's romance with Trujillo's son Ramfis and former son-in-law Porfirio Rubirosa left a bad taste in my mouth. Zsa Zsa benefited financially from these romances during a time when Trujillo was ordering the massacre of Haitians and killing Dominicans who opposed him.

The saddest figure in the book is Francesca Hilton, the only child of Zsa Zsa Gabor. Her paternity was never verified but Gabor's husband Conrad Hilton is known as the father. She was never fully embraced by the Hilton family and Gabor's last husband ostracized her. She died in poverty. The author was in contact with Francesca for several years while working on the book and she's a main source of information. One thing I appreciated about the book is how well-researched it is. Staggs references the Gabor's memoirs but fact checks or finds alternate sources to verify stories or at least offer various scenarios. The Gabors were very preoccupied with how they presented themselves to the world so their accounts were often fabricated or exaggerated.

There is some information about Eva and Zsa Zsa Gabor's Hollywood careers. I was particularly interested in Eva who seems fairly misunderstood. She wanted to hone her craft but her accent and family notoriety got in the way.

Finding Zsa Zsa: The Gabors Behind the Legend by Sam Staggs dives deep into the lives of one of the most glamorous families of the 20th century. It offers a compelling blend of storytelling, gossip and facts which will keep readers turning the page. The salaciousness might turn off some readers and if you're looking for an examination of the Gabors' Hollywood career, look elsewhere.

This is my fourth review for the Summer Reading Challenge.

TIFF: Seberg (2019)

We all recognize the iconic image of Jean Seberg in Jean Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) walking the streets of Paris and wearing her New York Herald Tribune shirt. For those with a richer knowledge of film history we know her film career started with a tortured performance as Joan of Arc in Saint Joan (1957) followed by a very different performance as Cecile, the bored rich kid in Bonjour Tristesse (1958), both directed by Otto Preminger. But what may not be as closely associated with Seberg is her involvement with Black Panther activist Hakim Jamal and the FBI investigation that ensued. They were relentless. Between the character assassination and the invasion of privacy, the FBI basically destroyed her. Jean Seberg called this time in her life a "nightmare" and she never fully recovered from it or the loss of her baby girl in 1970.

Written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse and directed Benedict Andrews, Seberg follows the story of Jean Seberg during the most difficult time of her short life. She's back in Hollywood after working in France for some years and while she wants more significant acting roles she finds herself auditioning for parts in Paint Your Wagon (1969) and Airport (1970). While traveling first class with her agent, she meets Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie) who bursts into the cabin demanding a better seat for Malcolm X's widow. Seberg is taken by Jamal and when the fellow Black Panther members pose in front of press upon arrival, Seberg joins in. This puts her on the radar of FBI agents Carl Kowalski (Vince Vaughn) and Jack Solomon (Jack O'Connell). As Seberg becomes politically and romantically involved with Jamal, Jack and Carl become more and more intrusive as they gather intel on Seberg. When news breaks of Jamal and Seberg's affair, officially ending her marriage to Romain Gary (Yvan Attal), Seberg becomes increasingly paranoid that someone is out to get her.

Seberg is a mixed bag of a biopic. On the one hand it's an incredibly important story and a warning to the future. This abuse of power and invasion of privacy is frightening. We should always remember what happened to Jean Seberg. But on the other hand this film felt overly conventional and a bit cheesy. Critics have praised Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Seberg and while I like her as an actress I don't think she was a right fit for the role. For me it's all in the eyes and demeanor. Stewart has the weight of the world on her shoulders, a restless spirit and a brooding countenance. Seberg had these sad, soulful, glossy eyes and a lightness of being. Even Stewart herself said that Seberg had a "sprawling energy" and director Andrews would often remind Stewart of Seberg's natural effervescence in his direction. You can see Stewart trying to capture this but it felt forced. Before the die-hard Kristen Stewart fans come at me just note that I believe Stewart really did give her all for this part but there was just a disconnect that I couldn't quite get over.

The script writing team Joe Shrapnel (grandson of Deborah Kerr) and Anna Waterhouse put in a lot of research, poring over the FBI files and including many of real techniques used by the FBI even if the agents themselves are fictional. There are plenty of classic film references in the film. Otto Preminger, although not physically in the film, is mentioned throughout as a source of early trauma for Seberg. Also Stewart recreates scenes from Breathless and Saint Joan and we see her prepare for Paint Your Wagon.


I attended a press conference for the film which you can watch on TIFF's YouTube channel. See below.

Left to right: Writers Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, actress Kristen Stewart and director Benedict Andrews

Seberg had its North American premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.

TIFF: Judy (2019)

Image courtesy of TIFF

Directed by Rupert Goold, Judy avoids the cradle-to-grave story and focuses on two of the most difficult periods in the life of Judy Garland. The story flashes back to 1939 when a teenage Judy Garland (Darci Shaw) is on the MGM lot making The Wizard of Oz (1939). It's there that she faces long working hours, an overbearing mother and a temperamental Louis B. Mayer. To maintain her weight she's restricted from eating the foods a teenager would typically indulge in and is put on a regimen of pills to reduce her appetite and to help her sleep. It's clear that Judy loves the spotlight but seeks the happiness that comes with living a normal life. As the years pass her two desires seems to be mutually exclusive.

Present day is the last months of Judy Garland's (Renee Zellweger) life. It's 1969 and Garland is struggling to make ends meet. She's forced to come to the decision to leave her children Lorna (Bella Ramsey) and Joey with their father Sidney Luft (Rufus Sewell) and take a job in London. It's there that she finds a welcoming audience of devoted fans. But she's struggling with anxiety, sleepless nights, anorexia and a dependency on pills and alcohol. Her new assistant, the strait laced Rosalyn (Jessie Buckley) is her rock, helping her get on to that stage when no one else seems to be able to. Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock), a young man she met at her daughter Liza's (Gemma-Leah Devereux) party comes to London to sweep her off her feet. Their whirlwind romance is over as soon as it started. As Garland starts to decline, she must leave London but not without making one last splash, with the help of some good friends.

Image courtesy of TIFF

Judy was adapted by Tom Edge and Peter Quilter from the stage play End of the Rainbow. Zellweger really gives her all to play the part of Judy Garland. She hones the voice, the mannerisms and the presence which is no small task. Zellweger sings in the film and while she's no Judy Garland in the voice department it does add a layer of authenticity to her performance. This depiction of Judy gave me a real appreciation for the legend and why we love her and continue to love her as we do. She was just so genuine. She had an amazing talent, one that superseded anything us mere mortals could ever dream of. But at heart she was just a woman who wanted happiness and love. The story includes her time with her children and we see the pain she feels being away from them. They also added a plot line where she befriends two fans, a gay couple, to drive home the point that she was not only a gay icon but felt deeply for others.

By the end of the film I was really emotional. I found myself swept into this world and deeply moved by the legend of Judy Garland. I did feel the story was overly simplistic especially in how it depicted old Hollywood. Everything was presented as good or bad with very little in between. Mickey Rooney shows up in those early scenes as Judy's first crush and her MGM co-star but we don't see much about their lifelong friendship.

Does a Hollywood biopic have to be factually accurate to capture the true essence of a movie star? With so many biopics coming out we have to wonder if telling the truth is even the point. Or is it necessary to have a blend of fiction and reality to make magic on screen? I'm no Judy Garland expert so I can't speak to the inaccuracies but I do think die-hard Garland fans will take issues with the fictional parts and the focus on Garland's darkest days. I hope they see beyond that and give the film a shot.

This film did remind me of Stan & Ollie, the Laurel and Hardy biopic which also travels to the other side of the Atlantic and tells the story of the legends' last hurrah. I reviewed that film here and also discussed the film and the inherent problems with biopics in my discussion with Carl Sweeney over on The Movie Palace Podcast.

Judy explores the darkest days of Judy Garland's life while also capturing what made her such a beloved legend. Zellweger shines despite the film's flaws.

Judy had its Canadian premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.