Book Review: Dear Cary

I don't remember which Cary Grant film was my first to see.  I was probably in kindergarten, and I do remember being memorized by the film.  In the short years to come, I would watch nearly every comedy Cary Grant made, from Father Goose to Indiscreet to Bringing up Baby.  Mom had no problem renting Cary Grant films for me at Blockbuster because we could enjoy them together.  We'd laugh and dance and sing or just cuddle on the couch and bask in the glory that is 'Old Hollywood".  This scene was repeated numerous times at my grandparents' home as well.

One day when I was about 9, I asked my mom how hold Cary Grant is now.  I knew his films weren't as recent The Mighty Ducks or some of the kid movies we were currently enjoying, but Cary transitioned so beautifully between black and white and technicolor that I never imagined Mom's response would be to tell me he was dead.  Que the waterworks!  There was 30 seconds of consolation when I found out he had died after I was born.  As a child, I took comfort in knowing my life overlapped the lives of those famous folks I adored.  Eventually, I was able to laugh because I knew I was helplessly in love with an old, dead man.  Oh, dear.

Late in the summer, I saw Dyan Cannon's book Dear Cary on the shelf at the library and just had to grab it.  Dyan was Cary's last wife and the mother of his only child.  Like me, she was charmed by Cary at a young age and saw his timelessness as well as anyone.  Dyan's writing is expressive and authentic, making me feel that I was right there in the room with her and Cary.  Cary was no saint, but she painted her memories in love and affection for the man who swept her off her feet and granted her motherhood. 

Cary Grant could honestly be called unbalanced by some, but Dyan didn't victimize herself or turn Cary into an evil villain.  Dyan explains Cary's childhood, details I'd never seen in bio blurps about him.  She describes how he was convinced LSD in a control setting was helpful, not harmful, while in actuality it was destroying him.   

Yes, parts of the books are sad, yet the interactions between them in their early years had me in stitches of laughter.  This is a real life story of true love and fairy tales.  Dyan describes lunches, dinners, trips, and meetings with Audry Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stuart, Mel Brooks, Alfred Hitchcock, Sophia Loren, Leslie Caron, and so many others.  It's truly an enchanting read!