“'Spoiled rotten' tends to be shorthand for my childhood,” Rod Stewart writes in his autobiography. “I object. There wasn’t much to spoil anyone with.”

Rod’s self-effacing wit rips at these pages and will leave you adoring this aspiring bad boy or budding lothario, as he referred to himself in his youth. It wasn’t always easy for this lady-killer who was the son of a plumber. In the beginning, a record label said that his voice was too rough. “And had a bit of gravel in it. And I was not pretty enough to make it as a solo singer," Rod writes. As to being spoiled, it was his "mum" who did it to him.

“My mum used to make rabbit stew and the heart was a real treat and was cut into fours and shared with the children. Once I came along, it was given to me.”

Mrs. Stewart also drank gin...

When I filmed “Stepford Wives,” Paula Prentiss said to me, “When I don’t like my wardrobe, I cut it up.” While I didn’t have the audacity of Paula Prentiss, I did want to cut out my outfit for a crucial party scene.

Then there was Tina Louise, who did her own hair and makeup. She took over a bedroom in a home in Westport, Conn., which the film company had rented. We were told, “Don’t go into the bedrooms,” but this didn’t stop Tina. She dismissed the hair and makeup team and won praise for being the most beautiful Stepford Wife. Tina Louise and Paula Prentiss had the balls to stand up for what they believed in.

Which brings to mind “Looper,” which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who gives a stunning portrait of Joe Simon, a bag man. True, he has to play a younger version of Bruce Willis, but still:...

By her own admission, Alana Collins Hamilton Stewart was raised in abject poverty in Nacogdoches, Texas. The early pages of her new memoir, “Rearview Mirror,” are fascinating and touching, as one wonders how she could have escaped her roots to become the celebrity she is today.

Stewart grew up with a mother who was a drug addict at a home where an outhouse served as a bathroom. Once Alana was able to leave, and after a brief stint as a domestic airline hostess, she began modeling in New York City. Here she met playboy types who were looking for young, nubile and gullible flesh to exploit. And Alana was born beautiful. Her beauty could have been a...

Paul Alexander, author of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times and Legend of James Dean" (Viking) and "Salinger: A Biography," which is about to be made into a documentary by Shane Salerno, has written a memorable novel about a showbiz family.

"Southern Gothic" is a brilliant study of an alcoholic family in the throes of the disease. Alexander’s description of protagonist Carson Greer is on the money: "Carson wore a black sheath dress, black Ferragamo flats, a single strand of white cultured pearls.”

Carson’s mother, Evelyn Greer, is the Oscar-winning actress, Greer Garson. Their home is described so that you know them before meeting them. “Between the two sofas stood a black Steinway baby grand piano, centered in the room near the windows. With its lid closed, the piano was home to a glittering...