#autiobiography

Excerpts from Joan Blondell's fictionalised autobiography, Centre Door Fancy, in which Joan describes Dick Powell's proposal, their wedding (sort of), and their honeymoon trip to New York (also described in this Dec 1936 magazine article, told from a slightly different angle). Joan Blondell's insert character is named Nora, the Jim Wilson character is Dick Powell, Jamie is Norman Powell (Joan's son with her first husband, who was adopted by Dick Powell after their marriage), David is George Barnes (Joan's first husband and Norman Powell's biological father, though in the book he's horribly and abusively clear he never wanted children), Sally is Ruth Pursley (Joan's best friend, hair dresser, and bridesmaid), the Kern brothers are the Warner brothers (Joan and Dick's studio heads),

A much less idyllic take than the publicity at the time. For those who may not know, Gone with the Wind was/is known for being very long; the first edition had 1,037 pages.

I wonder if Sheely Dawson is Elizabeth Wilson, who wrote the linked 1936 article and was also a last-minute invite/presence at Joan's first wedding.

“I have no idea what craft is—and I have no idea what writing is. That’s true! The more I write, the less I know about what it is that makes something good. I normally think, you know, This is complete shit. And I send it to my editor or someone else, and sometimes they say, “No, this is alive.” Maybe two or three months later I can see that it was good. But I don’t know why. Really, I’ve developed a method, which is being in the present, sitting here, drinking some coffee, thinking of a memory. That’s the only way I know how to write. I don’t know how to write a novel. But I know that, if I just try, something might happen.”

Shane Warne has long desired to tell his incredible story without compromise. No Spin is that very story.