Bret, David 1952-

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Bret, David 1952-

PERSONAL:

Born August 11, 1952, in Paris, France; immigrated to England; married Jeanne Elliss, 1972; children: Marleau-Philippe. Education: "Life, although I did do well at college." Religion: "The music-hall and cinema."

ADDRESSES:

Home—Sharlston, Wakefield, England. Agent—Futerman, Rose & Associates, 17 Deanhill Rd., London SW14 7DQ, England.

CAREER:

Writer, songwriter. Frequent guest speaker on radio, television, and on documentary films.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

The Piaf Legend, Robson Books (London, England), 1988, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 1989.

The Mistinguett Legend, Robson Books (London, England), 1990, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1991.

Maurice Chevalier: Up on Top of a Rainbow, Robson Books (London, England), 1992.

Marlene: My Friend: An Intimate Biography, Robson Books (London, England), 1993, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 1997.

Morrissey: Landscapes of the Mind, Robson Books (London, England), 1994, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 1995.

Gracie Fields: The Authorized Biography, Robson Books (London, England), 1995, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 1997.

Tallulah Bankhead: A Scandalous Life, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 1996.

The Freddie Mercury Story: Living on the Edge, Robson Books (London, England), 1996, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 1997.

Maria Callas: The Tigress and the Lamb, Robson Books (London, England), 1997, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 1998.

Piaf: A Passionate Life, Robson Books (London, England), 1998, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 2000.

Valentino: A Dream of Desire, Robson Books (London, England), 1998, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 2000.

George Formby: A Troubled Genius, Robson Books (London, England), 1999.

Barbra Streisand, Unanimous (London, England), 2000.

Elvis: The Hollywood Years, Robson Books/Trafalgar (London, England), 2001.

Errol Flynn: Satan's Angel, Robson Books/Parkwest (New York, NY), 2002.

Rock Hudson, Robson Books/Trafalgar (London, England), 2004.

Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2006.

Author of unpublished plays, including Goodbye Piaf Goodbye, Miss and Pilcer, and Chanson. Author of unpublished novels and several songs for French singers.

SIDELIGHTS:

One of England's foremost entertainment and show business writers, French-born David Bret has authored books on numerous legends, including Edith Piaf, Maria Callas, Tallulah Bankhead, Rudolph Valentino, Errol Flynn, Marlene Dietrich, and Joan Crawford, among others. His biography Maria Callas: The Tigress and the Lamb mixes interviews and secondary sources with a chronological listing in the appendix of the opera artist's many appearances and recordings. Writing in Library Journal, Barry Zaslow found such a listing "useful," but overall felt the biography was "gossipy and surprisingly sloppy." Similarly, a critic for Kirkus Reviews called Bret's Rock Hudson, "a superficial biography of a major film star and icon." With George Formby, Bret takes on the life of the British singer and actor who made a score of films between 1934 and 1946, and was a top box office draw in England during that era. Signing with Columbia Pictures in 1941, he became one of the leading stars in the world, as well, though he is little remembered in the United States today. For Jonathan Glancey writing in the Guardian Unlimited, George Formby was a "thoughtful book" that traced the rise and fall of this unlikely star.

Bret deals with the life of another film icon in Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr, in which he closely details the actress's sex life, opining that it was part of the reason for her meteoric rise. Here Bret looks at the husbands and lovers in Crawford's life, including Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Franchot Tone, Gary Cooper, John Barrymore, and Clark Gable, and there is much speculation about who was or was not homosexual. Carolyn See, writing in the Washington Post, felt such speculation was "an enormous insult to gays." A critic for Kirkus Reviews called the treatment "bedroom noir," and complained that the book was also "vague and unclearly sourced." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly, however, found more to like, terming Joan Crawford an "able biography."

Bret once told CA: "Fate is the greatest motivator, for Fate has enabled me to meet and befriend some of the greatest names in show business. I never allow anyone, however, to influence my writing, as this comes from my convictions. I am a communicator on the human condition."