Tag Archives: East of Eden

The Books: “Elia Kazan: A Life” (Elia Kazan)

Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Elia Kazan: A Life, by Elia Kazan I met Elia Kazan once. It was in 1999 and I was working on a show at the Actors Studio. It was a production of Awake and Sing, … Continue reading

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East of Eden Screentest

James Dean: “Kiss me.” Paul Newman: “Can’t here.” Paul Newman screentested for the role of Aron, James Dean’s goody-two-shoes older brother in East of Eden. Dean was already cast. Newman was up-and-coming, trying to find his spot in the increasingly … Continue reading

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The Books: “Baby Doll” (Carroll Baker)

Daily Book Excerpt: Entertainment Biography/Memoir: Baby Doll: An Autobiography, by Carroll Baker When I was about 12 years old, I first saw East of Eden, around the same time that I saw Dog Day Afternoon, a movie I didn’t really … Continue reading

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The Books: “East of Eden” (John Steinbeck)

Daily Book Excerpt: Adult fiction: East of Eden, by John Steinbeck There’s one sentence in East of Eden about springtime coming to Salinas Valley in California (I looked for the sentence, and can’t find it) and the image is that … Continue reading

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Fiction Meme

Which fictional character frightens you the most? Cathy from East of Eden. She haunts me. I’ve written about her multiple times – usually in other contexts (here – in a post about Leslie van Houten. And here. That one started … Continue reading

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Favorite Fictional Characters

A revised list, from a post I did a while back. My favorite characters from fiction. I am limiting my choices to just novels – and leaving out such amazing characters as Hamlet, or Stanley Kowalski. Here is how I … Continue reading

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2005 Books Read

Here is the complete list of books I read in 2005. Underworld: A Novel, by Don DeLillo – which I had started in the fall of 2004- before I went to Ireland – and it took me FOREVER to finish … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, Elia Kazan

I have spent my life pretty much studying his movies, ever since I saw East of Eden when I was 12 years old. His involvement in The Group Theatre in the 1930s helped launch him as a director – even … Continue reading

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Monsters: Cathy in East of Eden

So in case you missed it, we had a GREAT conversation here the other day about the psychology of evil. It’s a huge comment-thread, with a ton of differing views – all well-articulated, beautiful personal stuff. One of the things … Continue reading

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Today in 1955, James Dean Died At the Age of 24

He had made 7 movies, but only 3 where he was “credited”. East of Eden (which basically changed my life when I first saw it) was the only one of his 3 major films (East of Eden, Rebel without a … Continue reading

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