Of All the Gin Joints

October 27, 2014
Unique cocktail recipes (orange wine, anyone?) accompany this collection of amusing Hollywood anecdotes about celebrities, from the days of William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald to Elizabeth Taylor and Natalie Wood. Emmy-nominated screenwriter Bailey distills and arranges these literary snapshots and entertaining stories and trivia by historical period, focusing on a wide range of actors, writers, producers, personalities, and places. The stories center on drunken exploits and each celebrity is peppered with funny quotes: "I often sit back and think, I wish I'd done that, and then find out later that I already have," says actor Richard Harris, while Robert Mitchum claims "The only way to get rid of people is to out-drink them." Among the most absorbing are Preston Sturges' tradition of applejack-spiked afternoon tea, John Ford's tummy troubles due to his favorite "torpedo juice"âgrain alcohol and pineapple juice mixed in a bathtub, and Elizabeth Taylor downing bottles of champagne for breakfast. Whether the Bourbon Old-Fashioned from The Players Club or the famed Trader Vic's Mai Tai, cocktail aficionados will find something to add to their mixology repertoire in this booze-fueled romp through the lives and domains of the rich and famous.

October 15, 2014
A toper's guide to booze and its discontents in the film mecca that is Los Angeles.Sure, Bogart drank-and W.C. Fields and Jackie Gleason, by the gallon. But Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, Veronica Lake? Yep, they swilled alcohol as if there were no tomorrow and no consequence-and, at times, as if there were no laws against it. Screenwriter Bailey and artist Hemingway (Hemingway & Bailey's Bartending Guide to Great American Writers, 2006) team up to profile some of Tinseltown's most notorious drinkers (and a few secret tipplers as well), along with the watering holes they favored, from the Polo Lounge to Ciro's and a few lesser-known saloons in less fashionable districts. They write in the same style that fuels such tell-alls as Hollywood Babylon and Mommy Dearest: Sure, Errol Flynn often played a scamp, but who knew that he was so downright awful in real life? Unfortunately, Bailey brings too little new information to the table, though when he does, it's a revelation. The packaging, too, is pleasant enough, with its abundant sidebars, recipes-if you're going to read the book, you might as well learn how to make simple syrup, as well-and caricatures. Bailey's yarns, lasting about a beer apiece, are engaging enough as well and sometimes shocking to boot-it rattles our image of the man, for instance, to learn that sweet Stan Laurel, a constant drunk who put down "a ton of whiskey," once threatened to bury his wife alive. Overall, the book is pleasantly enjoyable but dispensable. If you have a hipster's need to drink your way through film history in the footsteps of Bogey and Bacall or just want to hit all of LA's historic hotspots or perhaps are just taking your liver out for a thorough road test under the swaying palms, then this is your vade mecum. Otherwise, stick to Kenneth Anger or maybe Barton Fink.

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Starred review from July 1, 2014

Screenwriter and author Bailey (coauthor with Hemingway, Bartending Guide to Great American Writers) presents a tour of the famous restaurants and watering holes of Hollywood, with recipes for the cocktails they inspired, sprinkled with anecdotes about the famous drunks who imbibed them from the silent era to the 1960s. Readers tour Romanoff's, Musso & Frank, the Brown Derby, the Garden of Allah, Trader Vic's, and more. Some of the stories related are well known, such as how Elizabeth Taylor loved the chili at Chasen's so much that she had it flown over to Italy while she was filming Cleopatra. But there are many lesser-known tales: the Zombie cocktail was invented at Don the Beachcomber and was so potent that the restaurant imposed a two-Zombie limit. The bartender at the Cock 'n Bull Pub found himself saddled with too much vodka and ginger beer that would go bad if he didn't use it so he put the two together and the Moscow Mule was born. VERDICT Foodies and celebrity watchers alike will be delighted by this walk through Hollywood drinking history.--Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

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