REEL TEARS: THE BEVERLY WASHBURN STORY, 2ND EDITION (paperback)
Beverly Washburn was one of Hollywood's most familiar child actors during the 1950s and ‘60s, a consummate performer who excelled at both comedy and drama with equal ease. Renowned for her uncanny ability to cry on cue, she appeared in countless television shows during the medium's Golden Age, and many of the era's best-loved movies, including Walt Disney's Old Yeller, The Greatest Show on Earth, Shane, and Spider Baby, just to name a few.
Beverly made her first movie at age 6, and quickly found her niche. Over the years, her circle of friends included some of the biggest names in movies and television, many of whom she "dated" in the pages of the fan magazines - and in real life. But Beverly's fame went far beyond the silver screen. In the 1960s, for example, she even cut a hit record - "Everybody Loves Saturday Night" - written by the legendary folk artist Pete Seeger.
In this heartfelt and deeply revealing autobiography, Beverly talks from the soul about her astounding career as a child actress, and the difficulties she encountered as she became a teenager and then an adult. She also reflects back on her most famous movies, with many behind-the-scenes anecdotes never before revealed, and discusses her enduring friendships with some of entertainment's most prominent performers, including Jack Benny, Loretta Young, Lou Costello, and George Reeves.
The child movie star, sacrificed and abused by Hollywood, exploited by greedy parents, psychologically battered, self-destructive and unable to adjust when fame, attention and youth begin to receded and bank accounts dry up, is as much a cliche as anything Tinsel Town ever laid bare on the big screen. However, like most cliches it has a foundation in truth, sometimes a lot of it.
Hollywood history is littered with the carcasses of many a child performer who either never made it to adulthood or if they did were woefully unprepared for the challenge of real life. A list of such individuals would be a long one, from early juvenile performers such as Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Bobby Driscoll up through modern performers Anissa Jones, River Phoenix and the recently-deceased Corey Haim, screen lore is replete with a sad and wasteful tally of youthful talents who withered much too early on the vine.
There are, of course, notable exceptions to this grim scenario, a prime example being Beverly Washburn, one of the busiest child actors of the 1950s and early '60s who honed a steady and impressive list of credits and, as they say, lived to tell about it.
In Reel Tears (the double-edged title referencing the youthful Beverly's uncanny and industry-wide reputation for being able to shed realistic tears at a directorial drop of the hat) Beverly recounts her early years as a busy child actress in such films as Old Yeller, Shane, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Juggler, The Lone Ranger, The Killer That Stalked New York, Here Comes the Groom and Superman and the Mole Men. She was also busy on the small tube with appearances on Wagon Train, Thriller, Science-Fiction Theatre, Zane Gray Theatre and The New Loretta Young Show, to mention just a few.
During these years she worked with some of the truly memorable figures of the period including Jack Benny (probably her favorite), Lou Costello, Barbara Stanwyck, Dorothy McGuire, Anne Baxter, Loretta Young, Kirk Douglas and Alan Ladd. In the book she provides wonderful tidbits about these performers and her experiences both behind and in front of the camera. She does not, however, attempt to peer over her shoulder at these experiences in an effort to lend an adult or jaded perspective to her recollections. Her objective is to relate as honestly as possible, her youthful and slowly evolving perspective of the showbiz world she found herself a part of. Readers hungry for the dark and remorseless underbelly of movie-making, for rancor and self-pity, need not apply here.
Nonetheless, there is more to Reel Tears than simply tales of a child, later a juvenile performer, working in movies and on television. It is in many ways two books fused into one: the story of a performer and the story of a survivor. Beverly is both.
The second half of the book, and just as compelling as the first, tells how Beverly was eventually forced to adjust to a world where parts were few and adult demands and responsibilities many. It is the chronicle of coping with tragedy, rejection and life's many disappointments and pitfalls without a scintilla of complaint. Mostly it is a refreshing and candid book about dealing with what has to be dealt with and moving on.
Many wouldn't be able to get away with this but Washburn does. There is a wonderful modesty and honesty inherent in her simple telling which comes across on every page and which resonates with great sincerity, conviction and truth.
Reel Tears is very real, very heartfelt and genuine, just like the lady herself.
- Scarlet, the Film Magazine
Famous Hills Residents With Their Pets
"Praising the Ladies in the Hills" from the Canyon News
The Beverly Washburn Story, from the Canyon News
"CLASSIC IMAGES" BOOK REVIEW:
The charming Beverly Washburn, one of the most talented child actresses ever, has some significant credits, notably The Juggler (1953), Old Yeller (1957), a 1957 Wagon Train episode with Lou Costello and the 1967 “The Deadly Years” on Star Trek. You will have a great time reading her autobiography, Reel Tears: The Beverly Washburn Story, Take Two (BearManor Meda, $32, softcover; $39.95, hardcover), with Donald Vaughan (also ghostwriter of Hollywood Inside & Out: The Kenny Miller Story, go to https://donaldvaughan.com/index.html).
Her behind-the-scenes anecdotes are related by a person with a sweet disposition, a rare commodity coming from someone who started acting at six years old. And she is still acting! No self-pity here. This can be attributed to the values her family instilled in her. She’s had numerous tragedies in her life, but she’s gotten through them with a positive attitude. This may sound a bit bland, but it is not; Beverly’s approach to life is refreshing considering how other child stars act and how they always point the finger to their parents and/or other authority figures (not to say it’s never wrong to blame them). It’s nice to read a light, positive book now and again. Her honesty, sincerity and modesty are sweet. There’s sadness in her story, but admirably Beverly is a trouper, both in front of and off camera. She talks about such stars as Jack Benny, Loretta Young (she had a recurring role on Miss Young’s TV show), Kevin McCarthy, Lou Costello, Kevin Corcoran, Anne Baxter, Paul Peterson, Alan Ladd, George Reeves, Ward Bond, Lon Chaney, Jr., Dorothy McGuire, Clayton Moore, Troy Donahue, Lauren Chapin, Tommy Kirk, and Jimmy Stewart. Tony Dow wrote the foreword. I enjoyed reading her reminiscences of working in movies and on television, especially The Killer That Stalked New York (1950), Superman and the Mole-Men (1951), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Shane (1953), The Lone Ranger TV series and 1956 movie, Old Yeller (1957), and Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1967). She has interesting stories to tell, writing in an engaging style that will keep you occupied for several hours, at least, reading this. The photos are pretty amazing. One of the reasons this is a second edition has to do with the inclusion of “rare newly discovered photos from the Beverly Washburn private collection”—so says the cover. And there are TONS of them, plus letters she received from famous people. On screen, she excelled at crying on cue, and you will shed a few real tears of your own at some of the stuff that she has endured. Beverly comes across as a nice lady with a good sense of humor (and a good sense of self) who would be a wonderful person to know personally.
-- Laura Wagner, Reviewer (Book Points)