Author: Cherie Kerr 

ISBN: 09648882-7-0

This review was contributed by Kathryn Atwood Click Here To View More Of Kathryn's Reviews          

           
Cherie Kerr's memoir of her father Carluchi (Charlie) DePietro is "a true
American story" in every sense of the phrase.  It is a book about the
aspirations of turn-of-the-century European immigrants, it is a book about
the hopes and dreams of their children, and it is a book about the American
love affair with popular music and the silver screen.

Charlie was born in upstate New York to Italian immigrants Francesca and
Eugene DePietro. When it becomes apparent to Francesca that Eugene will
never provide her with the lavish lifestyle she craves, she emerges as the
story's monster, forcing her five-year-old daughter into virtual slavery
(to make up for the servants they couldn't afford) and taking every
opportunity to make her husband and family miserable.

Eugene, a hardworking tailor, endured his miserable marriage by losing
himself in his work, his music and his children.  He instilled a love for
music into his children, especially in his two eldest boys, Charlie and
Joe, providing them with violin lessons, encouraging them to practice for
hours a day, and proudly tailoring little suits for them to wear at their
radio debut.

When the story isn't overdosing on the horrors inflicted by Francesca, it
focusses on Charlie's growing passion for music, which, during his
adolescence, begins to take a decidedly jazzy turn.  He and his brother Joe
play in a local band where Marge, Charlie's future wife, joins them.  The
couple eventually migrates to California where Charlie, now playing guitar
and string bass, pursues his musical dreams in earnest.

He attains a certain amount of success in Tinseltown, landing background
musician roles in dozens of films and playing at private parties, rubbing
elbows with such luminaries as Bob Hope, Jack Benny, George Burns, and John
Wayne.  In a scene that is arguably the book's most dramatic, Charlie gets
a insider's glimpse of Judy Garland's powerful artistry when the singer,
obviously drugged out and inebriated at one of her own parties, is
miraculously able to belt out a powerful  rendition of the then-new
song,"The Man That Got Away" before wobbling back to her table. The song's
lyricist, Ira Gershwin, could be seen nearby, silently weeping.

Although Charlie never pursued his dreams at the expense of his family,
Hollywood's glitter seems to have gotten into the eyes of his memorist
daughter, who occasionally seems to exaggerate the star qualities of her
parents. When her "sultry and sexy and stunning" mother, Marge, was first
observed dancing by her father, she "appeared as spunky as Claudette
Collberte, as sumptuous as Marlene Dietrich and as stylish as Mary
Pickford."  Charlie, while desperately maneuvering through a crowded room
 to meet this combination of female stars, ostensibly "looked like Fred
Astaire, zigzagging his way on his toes."  Charlie's own good looks which 
 apparently "reeked of sexuality," once made Elizabeth Taylor do a
double-take which "indicated she obviously found him dazzling."  It's hard
to know just what Ms. Taylor was thinking, but it's obvious that Kerr has
stars in her eyes; at times some of her inferences seem a bit over the top.

Kerr is a tremendously detailed writer and she occasionally gives more
detail than necessary (I didn't really want to read an entire paragraph
describing Francesca's huge, middle-aged, misshapen breasts) but when she
focuses on Charlie's passion for and pursuit of music, this attention to
detail provides for a tremendous sense of time and place and makes her
writing almost cinematic, quite appropriate for a book largely set in
Hollywood.   Her wonderful storytelling ability pulls the reader in until
we're so involved with Charlie's "notes" that we are whole-heartedly
rooting for him to achieve his dreams.

Did he achieve them?  He didn't become a household name, but if he wanted
to live a life dedicated to music, he most definitely achieved his goal.
 His story, just like a beautifully written song, will linger long in the
mind of the reader.