The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES

To read an interview with Burt Richards conducted by Norm Goldman click HERE

Many of us have fanaticized at one time or another as to how it would feel sitting down with one of our favorite Hollywood celebrities and having a conversation with them.

Actor, writer, and celebrity interviewer, Burt Richards, had the good fortune to devote much of his adult life to meeting and conversing with many well - known actors and actresses, as well as other personalities. Stars In My Eyes Then And Now is a compilation of some of Richards’ interviews and information he gleaned as it pertains to such personalities as: Jane Russell, Eli Wallach, Jayne Meadows, Bob Hope, Joan Rivers, Edward Asner, Robert Klein, Jack Palance, Dionne Warwick, Shirley MacLaine, and many more.

Although Richards’ interviews are not as in depth as the ones you would view on the television program “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” hosted by James Lipton, they are nonetheless entertaining and provide a good read.

Richards displays a keen perception as to which buttons to push when posing questions to his guests, and some of these actors, contrary to what we may have previously believed, do come across as down to earth human beings. As an example, Jack Palance’s modesty is very apparent when Richards poses the question, how did winning an Oscar change his life? The reply, “It does not change at all. It’s the same.” Julie Budd’s answer to Richards question are you dating or married, her reply was, yes but you’re a Yenta! I have to admit that some of the questions Richards did ask required a certain amount of “chutzpah,”- no doubt, an essential quality necessary to be an effective interviewer.

Peppered throughout the book are also some humorous quotes from interviewees. When Ed Asner was asked how would he like his funeral to be held? His reply was, “I have dreamed of having my body aboard a huge boat, filled with about 100 people and a big band with plenty of corned beef, lox, rye bread, have a great party and then dump me at sea for the sharks to have a good time.”

One of the glaring shortcomings of the book and what I found somewhat distracting was its choppy writing. Here is where a good editor would be worth his or her weight in gold, particularly in cleaning up some of the poor grammar and spelling. Unfortunately, self-published books very often offer limited editing services or none at all, and it shows. My grade school English teachers would have had a field day!

However, having made this comment, anyone who enjoys reading about some of the old time Hollywood celebrities’ gastronomical likes and dislikes, their favorite producers, their love life, their acting experiences, and some personal tidbits, will find Richards’ short biographical sketches, interviews and anecdotes very interesting and informative.