I'll kick things off. There's so many to choose from. I've read so many over the years. A few that I remember finding particularly enjoyable were (in no particular order).........
"SCARLETT O'HARA'S YOUNGER SISTER" & "I'LL THINK ABOUT THAT TOMORROW" by Evelyn Keyes - The gal could really write & paints a vivid picture of her Hollywood & Post-Hollywood life. Loads of fun.
"NO BED OF ROSES" by Joan Fontaine - A touching, honest, beautifully written autobio with just the right amount of dish.
"PEOPLE WILL TALK" by John Kobal - Excellent short bios of everyone from Joan Blondell to Loretta Young. My favorites were the segments on John Engstead (The famous glamour photographer & Tell-It-Like-It-Is Queen who loved to dish), Louise Brooks & Ann Sheridan.
"JOAN CRAWFORD: THE ESSENTIAL BIOGRAPHY" by Lawrence J. Quirk & William Schoell - An excellent mixture of reference material about all of Joan's films & her life, if she were still here to defend herself. The best of all the Crawford biographies I've read.
"THE SALAD DAYS" by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - A beautifully written, wordy autobiography for those of us who don't want a single detail edited out. This is only the first part of Mr. Fairbanks' life. Does anyone know if the rest of his memoirs were ever published?
"THE WESTMORES OF HOLLYWOOD" by Frank Westmore - I picked this up at a library sale & had it in my collection for years before I actually read it. Big mistake! Touching bio of the whole Westmore clan with nice bits about several stars. Frank paints a loving portrait of young Shirley MacLaine in the book. Highly recommended.
"It MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING" by Margaret Whiting & Will Holt - La Whiting wasn't a movie star but knew everyone in Hollywood way back when. She gives in depth bits about the early days of Capital Records, touring with 4 Girls 4 (Whiting, Rosemary Clooney, Rose-Marie & Helen O'Connell) & of course her marriage to Jack Wrangler. Great read.
"DARK CITY DAMES" by Eddie Muller - Vignettes of 6 actresses known primarily for 1940's & 50's Crime Dramas. The actresses are Evelyn Keyes, Marie Windsor, Colleen Gray, Audrey Totter, Ann Savage & Jane Greer. Flawlessly entertaining from front to back!
"THE MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID" by Esther Williams with Digby Diehl - This "autobiography" was similar to the late Miss Williams' movies......Grand, Colorful, Phony & Inauthentic but as a whole Wildly Entertaining! The water-brained Miss Williams (or her ghostwriter) make too many outrageous claims (that should be taken with a generous helping of sea salt) to list them all here, but she's always good for a laugh!
"CROWNING GLORY: REFLECTIONS OF HOLLYWOOD'S FAVORITE CONFIDANT" by Sydney Guilaroff & Cathy Griffin - Another horrible "biography" that becomes entertaining when you place it in it's proper context. Not as trashy, dishy or funny as the Esther Williams Bio. The laughs here are all completely unintentional. Mr. Guilaroff (legendary MGM hairstylist) expects us to believe that he was EVERYWHERE (& I do mean everywhere) that mattered during the Hollywood Years & beyond. From giving Claudette Colbert her signature coif to turning Lucille Ball into a redhead to spending the day with Lana Turner right before her lover was killed to introducing Marilyn Monroe to Jack Kennedy & her first bottle of hair bleach to buying Liz Taylor her first diamonds to his torrid affair with Greta Garbo that spanned decades to giving Neil Armstrong his first haircut after returning home from the moon & on & on & on. It's all obviously phony & downright laughable. The sad part about it is that Mr Guilaroff had a REAL STORY to tell if he had wanted to! He was an openly Gay man & adoptive father working & thriving at the top studio during Hollywood's Golden Age. I'm sure he had a ton of dish but the bits he opted to share were completely phony. SIDENOTE: Check out the pic in the book of Mr. Guilaroff & his obviously Gay live-in "adopted grandson" with their children (various toy poodles).
I'll be sharing more throughout this thread as I think of them.