NEW BOOK: SEEN FROM THE WINGS: LUISE RAINER: MY MOTHER, THE JOURNEY

I will be reviewing this book soon, but secure your copy now. It is an excellent look at the life of a child of Hollywood royality...

Seen from the Wings:
Luise Rainer. My Mother, The Journey
(Publication Date: June 3, 2019 by BookBaby)

There have been several autobiographies written by the children of illustrious film actresses―Christina and Joan Crawford, Maria Riva and Marlene Dietrich, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.

Each book lays bare the stark reality of being raised in Hollywood, where the glamour and drama of being raised by world-renowned parents is tempered by the pressure to succeed in life and love in the shadow of Hollywood perfection.

Now, add to that list the story of Francesca Knittel Bowyer, daughter of Luise Rainer ― the first woman to win back-to-back Oscars® (The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1937) - before the age of 30. Rainer died at the age of 104 in December of 2014, just two weeks short of her 105th birthday.

In Seen From The Wings: Luise Rainer. My Mother, My Journey, Knittel Bowyer describes her desperate need to become independent from a mother who was almost never pleased, especially when she felt upstaged, and chronicles her journey to find her life's purpose and to define herself as an individual.

Knittel Bowyer's is a life woven with adventure. She went from theater actress to editor at Harper’s Bazaar Magazine; recognizably as the first Devil Wears Prada girl, then from art dealer to executive at a highly prestigious advertising agency.

Meanwhile, she worked tirelessly as a devoted and sometimes single mother raising two daughters and while escaping abusive relationships and marriages.

In this poignant, true story of a daughter, wife and mother who escapes from the trappings of her golden upbringing in the villas of Europe and the mansions of Beverly Hills, Knittel Bowyer reveals how her imperious mother and gentle-hearted father affected her relationships, choices and happiness.

Seen From The Wings is not simply about her mother, who has always been the key factor in her life, but rather about her mother's influence on her life. Luise Rainer weaves her way through the story with threads of possessive love, jealousies and passionate opinions about her daughter's every move.

This is a story of the fine line between love and hate and of the importance of loyalty. It is a story about people whose lives and minds are so different, yet whose worlds and persuasions follow a parallel path. There are no mistakes, only learning experiences and a host of stories to tell.

All these life experiences resulted in Francesca Knittel Bowyer catapulting herself into a new and positive life path of faith, peace and self-acceptance...

You can purchase the book from Amazon HERE

RIP: LUISE RAINER

Actress Luise Rainer, who became the first winner of consecutive Oscars in the 1930s, has died at the age of 104. The German-born star was named best actress in 1936 and 1937 - a feat achieved by only five actors in Academy Awards history to date.

Her achievement made her a force in the golden age of Hollywood cinema, but was also a curse, making her last major film in 1943.

She settled in London and made occasional appearances on film and TV.

Rainer appeared in US small screen series The Loveboat in 1984, while her last substantial film role came in 1998, playing opposite Michael Gambon and Dominic West in The Gambler.

The actress appeared in a number of German films before being talent-spotted by Hollywood studio MGM and making her debut in 1935. Just a year later she scooped an Academy Award for her performance in The Great Ziegfield, playing the legendary theatrical impresario's wife.

In one famous scene, her face was tear-stained as she congratulated her former husband on his marriage to another actress.

The following year, her portrayal of a Chinese peasant in The Good Earth won her a second statuette, at a time when Oscar winners were disclosed some time before the ceremony.

The actress told the BBC in 2003 the awards ceremony "was not as elaborate" as it is today.

Rainer later said that "nothing worse could have happened to me," explaining two awards meant the studio could "throw me into anything".

After clashing with MGM over a lack of artistic freedom and losing out to Ingrid Bergman in Ernest Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls, she broke her contract with them.

"I was a machine, practically - a tool in a big, big factory, and I could not do anything. And so I left. I just went away. I fled. Yes, I fled," she later said in an interview.

Other actors to have collected consecutive acting awards are Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Jason Robards and Tom Hanks.

Rainer was married twice, and second husband Robert Knittel died in 1989 after their marriage of 44 years.

The couple had one daughter, Francesca Knittel-Bowyer, who said her mother had died from pneumonia at her London home.

"She was bigger than life and could charm the birds out of the trees," she said. "If you saw her, you'd never forget her.''

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD AND THE OSCAR

The Oscar ceremony of today is much different than the classic ceremonies of the past. Hollywood was so much different in the classic days. Movie stars were true legends, and the Oscars was THE event of the year. Here are some memories of those classic days...

LUISE RAINER, 1937



INGRID BERGMAN, 1944



GARY COOPER AND BING CROSBY, 1944

AUDREY HEPBURN, 1953



GRACE KELLY AND CLARK GABLE, 1954



JOANNE WOODWARD AND PAUL NEWMAN, 1958