cover image Shelley II: The Middle of My Century

Shelley II: The Middle of My Century

Shelley Winters. Simon & Schuster, $22.45 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-671-44210-1

Resuming her autobiography, following Shelley, Also Known as Shirley , the 60-year-old actress recalls her life after divorce from Vittorio Gassman. Readers will learn about her as a Broadway star fighting her ``blond bombshell'' image in films during the 1950s and '60s, and about her near-religious devotion to the Actors Studio and to liberal politics. The memoir is largely a gossip-lover's feast. Winters reports on Tony Franciosa, her second husband and his lovers (Ava Gardner, Lauren Bacall, among others), and tells of her own affairs with Sean Connery, Albert Finney et al. Her merrier stories include reminiscences of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. No celebrity, seemingly, is missing from the autobiography of this Oscar winner (for her role in The Diary of Anne Frank ). Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Good Housekeeping; BOMC selection. (Aug.)