My First Five Husbands... and the Ones Who Got Away

February 26, 2007
The youngest Golden Girls
star offers a chatty, thoughtful and effervescent tour of her surprisingly turbulent professional and private life. Like her TV alter ego Blanche Devereaux, McClanahan charts her experiences through the men in her life (and isn't shy about assigning ratings to the life in her men—she gives enthusiastic "A"s to Benson
's Robert Guillaume and Brad Davis, who at the time was nine years older than her son). Days after giving birth, she was abandoned by her first husband and pushed into a second marriage (before her divorce was final). She remembers a photo taken of the event: "We looked happy. Much like smiling travelers waving from the deck of the departing Titanic." Both men continued to play large roles in her life as she navigated through numerous affairs and six marriages. After much stage work, she found success in her late 30s on TV's Maude
. Later, "languishing in Love Boat
limbo," she was rescued by The Golden Girls
, which brought her an Emmy and financial security. Fans will relish her sweet and tart memories of friendships and tensions filming that show. A breast cancer survivor, she ends the book happily celebrating an active career and a decade with husband number six. Photos.

April 1, 2007
Is it this reviewer, or are celebrities airing more dirty laundry than usual? Between Ellen Burstyn's tale of incest and abuse (Lessons in Becoming Myself) and Rupert Everett's gossipy, self-deprecating take on life (Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins), celebrity autobiographies have gone from puff pieces to confessionals. Now Golden Girl McClanahan (who played Southern flirt Blanche Devereaux) adds her sexual escapades to the mix. However, unlike the seriousness of Burstyn's book and the overthe-top tone of Everett's, this memoir is an easygoing, entertaining chronicle of a working actress who is just grateful for the opportunities she has had. Hers is a familiar story: small-town girl tries to make it in New York and, after many stops and starts, finally gets a break. It was a hard slogBroadway shows here and there, soap operas, and TV guest appearancesbut being cast in TV's Maude was the break that led to Golden Girls and an Emmy. McClanahan's folksy, humorous tone is like a night out with the Golden Girls. Fans of the show and women of a certain age will lap it up. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/07.]Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

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