Praise

If there was an Academy Award for movie books, Victoria Riskin would be making room beside the Oscar her father won for writing the romantic comedy classic “It Happened One Night.” Part biography, part Hollywood history, part love story, Riskin’s memoir about her parents is captivating and poignant. Her mother, actress Fay Wray, became an… Read more “captivating and poignant”

A vibrant account by a loving and thoughtful daughter of two decent people who were prominent Hollywood figures during the industry’s studio era. Victoria Riskin interweaves the biographies of her parents, Fay Wray and Robert Riskin, and places their lives against the unfolding histories of Hollywood and the nation. Riskin alternates between closeups and long… Read more “Wise, penetrating, smoothly written”

A fascinating dual biography of one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed screenwriters . . . and one of its most famous actresses . . . a deeply personal story, informed by the author’s affection for her parents . . . Revealing . . . refreshing.

To know Fay Wray was to adore her. She had a joyous, jubilant personality and retained her can-do outlook to the end, living until she was 96 despite a life that offered more than her fair share of problems. In “Fay Wray and Robert Riskin, ” Victoria Riskin remembers her parents with warmth and a… Read more “Touching memoir”

Anyone who thinks that Fay Wray was just the girl screaming in King Kong’s hand as he climbs the Empire State Building is in for a big—and pleasant—surprise. Her daughter Victoria Riskin has written a fascinating, richly detailed and superbly illustrated account of the lives of two remarkable people, Fay Wray and star screenwriter Robert… Read more “A brilliant piece of cinematic history”

Victoria Riskin’s memoir of her extraordinary parents, actress Fay Wray and screenwriter Robert Riskin, is a joy to read. This insightful, revealing, and often moving portrait of two of Hollywood’s legendary creative people is also a talented daughter’s exploration of her family and attempt to better understand the lives and influence of her parents on… Read more “A joy to read”

In this engrossing tribute to her parents, the author provides a thoughtfully documented portrait of early Hollywood. A must-read for fans of this era of film history.

Victoria Riskin brings a graceful touch and a fluid writing style to one of the great real-life Hollywood love stories in this warm, evocative and deeply moving tale.

Riskin gives a heartfelt account of the lives of her mother, actress Fay Wray, and her father, screenwriter Robert Riskin . . . [a] nostalgic and reverent remembrance of Riskin’s famous parents and their Golden Age Hollywood milieu.

…an abundant account of what it’s like to be the daughter of Hollywood’s original power couple, and a must-read for fans and others with celebrity stars in their eyes.

If this gracefully–written memoir was simply the rich and absorbing account of two unique and talented people who fell in love, that would be enough. But it is also a study of the creative process; a colorful account of Hollywood’s Golden age; a telling slice of American history; and a deeply moving testament to a… Read more “Altogether wonderful book”

Finally, I got around to reading Victoria Riskin’s graceful and loving biography of her parents, Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir (Pantheon), which was published earlier this year. Having read Wray’s autobiography, On the Other Hand when it came out, I thought I knew her story reasonably well, but there is much more… Read more “Earns my highest recommendation…”

I was always curious about life in Hollywood before I came here. I found out in this fascinating book. And wow! What a story it is!

This is both a poignant love story and a telling look at studio politics, screwball comedies, the postwar blacklist, and an era of hopeful cinematic escapism.

A wonderfully intimate memoir, vivid and personal in the best possible sense, illuminating parallel lives full of drama, humor, and indelible images. I found it compulsive reading.