By Jay Bernstein, as told to Larry Cortez Hamm with David Rubini
Ecw Press, $16.95, 347  pages
ISBN 9781770410121

Starmaker is Jay Bernstein’s memoir taking readers inside the world of Hollywood over the course of his life. The book takes readers from Bernstein’s childhood in Oklahoma City, to his death in 2006 with Farrah Fawcett at his hospital bedside. Until Bernstein’s massive stroke, he had collaborated for a year with Hamm “to write a history of Hollywood as seen from the inside looking out, interweaving his personal experiences during a period just short of fifty years.”

Bernstein had said, “The only rule in Hollywood is there are no rules,” which he proves in recording his life where his clients went to the heights of success, with stars firing and rehiring him after his extreme publicity gimmicks. Chapter 2 alone includes Milton Berle, Paul Anka, Danny Thomas, Dick Van Dyke, Nick Adams, Robert Conrad, and Diane McBain. Chapter 3 begins with the “Rat Pack,” giving an indication of the magnitude of celebrity that will follow.

“This book is dedicated to my clients … that I represented as a publicist, personal manager and/or producer during a Hollywood career that spanned almost five decades.”

Bernstein shares all the gossip of the stars from his viewpoint. It is a story, whether all true, or whether embellished in line with his tactics originally promoting them to stardom, which will pull readers in for a not previously seen glimpse of the stars.

Reviewed by Angie Mangino