Rob Lowe is a fascinating man. He is best known for playing Sam Seaborn in The West Wing, but I always think of him as Billy Hicks in St. Elmo's Fire. Lowe's autobiography is told in an easy manner and brimming with wonderful anecdotes. Being a successful actor, the fact that it is filled with stories about other famous people isn't surprising, but the number of stories where he interacts with recognizable names as a pure coincidence is amazing. At one point Lowe ran into a guy at a Dodgers game that just happened to operate Scooter and subsequently got to visit the set of both The Muppet Movie and The Tonight Show. Lowe's mom married a psychiatrist whose brother worked as a CGI animator on a "cheesy Western" set in space—Star Wars—and invited Lowe and his brother to visit that set as well. At sixteen he meets a girl on the beach that he dates for a while whose parents turn out to be Dyan Cannon and Cary Grant. Lowe was born in Ohio but when he moved to Malibu in 1976 the house in which they lived was down the street from the Sheen family and Rob became close with Emilio and Charlie.
Other stories are more what you'd expect, such as becoming friends with Tom Cruise and Patrick Swayze on the set of The Outsiders, hanging out with Bill Murray in Paris, or a friendly rivalry with Michael J. Fox. You know, normal movie star stuff. Besides acting, though, Lowe is also known for his addictive lifestyle and a sex tape with an underage girl. He covers these topics as well, although not in great detail. Considering the book is named Stories I Only Tell My Friends this isn't surprising; when friends get together they tend to not focus on the negative. This is an entertaining, lighthearted read that gives an interesting peek into the life of a celebrity.
I had always had an affinity for him, an admiration for his easy grace, his natural charisma, despite the fact that for the better part of a decade my then girlfriend kept a picture of hi running shirtless through Central Park on her refrigerator door.
1 comment:
What you're saying is completely true. I know that everybody must say the same thing, but I just think that you put it in a way that everyone can understand. I'm sure you'll reach so many people with what you've got to say.
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