Ecstasy and Me

Ecstasy and Me: My Life as a Woman
Actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr
AuthorHedy Lamarr
(Leo Guild and Cy Rice)
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutobiography
PublisherBartholomew House
Publication date
1966
Publication placeUnited States
Pages318
OCLC412157

Ecstasy and Me: My Life as a Woman is the alleged tell-all style autobiography of Austrian-born actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, ghostwritten by Leo Guild and Cy Rice and first published in 1966. The book spent four weeks at #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list in 1966.[1]

In 1966 Lamarr's lawsuit to overturn the book was refused by a Los Angeles judge.[2] When the book was published, she filed for $21 million in damages.[3] Lamarr condemned the book's contents as "fictional, false, vulgar, scandalous, libelous and obscene".[4][5] During a 1969 appearance on The Merv Griffin Show, she responded to a comment from host Merv Griffin regarding Ecstasy and Me by stating "Don't talk about that, that's not my book" and mentioned writing a book of her own called Hedy.[6]

In a 1970 interview with The New York Times, Lamarr noted that her material was "misused and distorted" and that she did not receive any funds from the book.[7]

When the book was published, it was reviewed in The New Republic by Larry L. King,[8] where King noted "If there is a sexual experience Miss Lamarr has not partaken of, it belongs in the future tense".[9]

References

  1. ^ Justice, Keith L. (1998). Bestseller index : all books, by author, on the lists of Publishers weekly and the New York times through 1990. Internet Archive. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-7864-0422-3.
  2. ^ "Hedy Lamarr Loses Suit to Halt Book". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  3. ^ "Hedy Lamarr Is Suing Nine For $21-Million Over Book". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  4. ^ "Hedy Lamarr: Tarnished Star – Yahoo7". Archived from the original on 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
  5. ^ Kakutcad, Michiko (1979-03-18). "It Pays to Be A Ghost". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  6. ^ "The Merv Griffin Show S01:E13 – Episode 13 (August 18, 1969)". Tubi. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  7. ^ Birmingham, Stephen (1970-08-23). "'Would You Believe I Was Once a Famous Star? It's the Truth!'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  8. ^ King, Larry L. (1999). Larry L. King: A Writer's Life in Letters, Or, Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye. TCU Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0-87565-203-0.
  9. ^ Morris, Willie (1993-09-12). "Heady Days, Hedy Nights". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-04-24.