From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond

Rating:
Summary: A Joy To Read
Review: Before opening Yvonne Craig's book "From Ballet To The Batcave And Beyond," I had read all the comments by readers, who had complained that too much of the book dealt with the ballet and with people whom Ms. Craig met while making movies and doing guest appearances on old television shows. Some seemed disappointed that there was nothing risque or "juicy," and that too many chapters were dedicated to subjects in which people who would read an Yvonne Craig autobiography would not be interested. I also read that there wasn't enough in the book about the "Batman" series. So, quite frankly, being a HUGE "Batman" fan, I half-expected to be bored by much, if not most, of this book.
WRONG!
Ms. Craig has such a delightful writing style, intelligence, a great vocabulary and a wonderful sense of humor, that I found the ENTIRE book just a JOY to read. So much so, that I, who know nothing about, and have virtually no interest in, the ballet, found even *those* sections of the book interesting and entertaining. And, although I am not what one might call an "animal lover," I immensely enjoyed her chapter dedicated to the animals in her life through the years.
Even her literary treatments of those individuals in Hollywood of whom she does not or did not seem to think very highly -- Lee Majors, Rudy Vallee, William Shatner, Charles Bronson -- were tasteful, and done with class and just the right amount of humor.

At the risk of sounding corny or something, it is apparent to me that there was once a May day when our Heavenly Father must have been quite pleased with this world, for on that day He gave us a most remarkable and special gift which we call "Yvonne."

Rating:
Summary: Witty memoir from the original Dominoed Dare-Doll
Review: Before opening Yvonne Craig's book "From Ballet To The Batcave And Beyond," I had read all the comments by readers, who had complained that too much of the book dealt with the ballet and with people whom Ms. Craig met while making movies and doing guest appearances on old television shows. Some seemed disappointed that there was nothing risque or "juicy," and that too many chapters were dedicated to subjects in which people who would read an Yvonne Craig autobiography would not be interested. I also read that there wasn't enough in the book about the "Batman" series. So, quite frankly, being a HUGE "Batman" fan, I half-expected to be bored by much, if not most, of this book.
WRONG!
Ms. Craig has such a delightful writing style, intelligence, a great vocabulary and a wonderful sense of humor, that I found the ENTIRE book just a JOY to read. So much so, that I, who know nothing about, and have virtually no interest in, the ballet, found even *those* sections of the book interesting and entertaining. And, although I am not what one might call an "animal lover," I immensely enjoyed her chapter dedicated to the animals in her life through the years.
Even her literary treatments of those individuals in Hollywood of whom she does not or did not seem to think very highly -- Lee Majors, Rudy Vallee, William Shatner, Charles Bronson -- were tasteful, and done with class and just the right amount of humor.

At the risk of sounding corny or something, it is apparent to me that there was once a May day when our Heavenly Father must have been quite pleased with this world, for on that day He gave us a most remarkable and special gift which we call "Yvonne."

Rating:
Summary: Great, fun reading--"Bat-tastic!"
Review: Having been fortunate enough to meet Ms. Craig a few years ago at a personal appearance of hers in Chicago and finding her to be an individual of great warmth and humor, I looked forward to this book coming out. And I wasn't disappointed. Ms. Craig, in these pages, further proves herself a winning individual: funny and earthy, with the rare gift (esp. among "show folk") of being able to take herself seriously but not TOO seriously. She's also a great storyteller--economical and insightful; and her common-sense asides are often laugh out loud funny.

Craig's book is also an interesting first-person account of the life of the journeyman actor. Like Bradford Dillman's equally fine memoir, "Are You Anybody?," she deftly takes the reader to an important transitional time in Hollywood history, from the waning days of the studio system to the more "free lance" film/TV world we have today.

But those wanting to read only about her adventures on the sets of "Batman" or "Star Trek" or any of her other film/TV credits won't be disappointed. She relates all sorts of inside "scoop" with great candor and, refreshingly, with an enormous deal of gratitude.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, well written, sometimes boring, but worthwhile
Review: It's a fun read. I like the fact that Yvonne didn't use a co-writer like most celebs. Her words are all her own and she has an excellent vocabulary (though at times, using some pretentious adjectives, I thought; although perhaps this is her usual style of speaking, I dunno.) The most interesting parts of the book to me were her recollections of working on Batman and Star Trek, as well as the guest shots she did on such classic shows as Mod Squad and Dobie Gillis. It's great to have an insider's view of the stars and the shooting conditions, including her Elvis movies and her perspectives on his personality, which were fascinating. Personally, I would have preferred even more of that, especially the Batman days, because Batgirl is what Yvonne is mostly known for - she basically retired from show biz after that. Some of her memories are the same ones depicted by Adam West and Burt Ward in their books (with humorously different perspectives), and her memories of Batman's large list of guest star villains are opinionated but too few and too short. Also there's no annotated episode guide (probably because West did it first, and she was only in the last season) and only a few memories of specific episodes. I expected more of that stuff from her since I believed prior to purchase that the majority of the book would cover Batman. Instead, there are some chapters I didn't find very interesting (about ballet and such) and will skip in the future. To be fair, the word 'ballet' is in the title, after all - but I felt that too many chapters were devoted to things that the majority people who buy this book would not have a large degree of interest in.

Overall, Yvonne conveys the characteristics of being an astute, intelligent, earthy, and ego-free person who is not afraid to tell it like it is (or was) concerning the various celebrities she's worked with (especially Charles Bronson, Rudy Vallee, and William Shatner, all of whom she thought were jerks). Although I must add this: in West's book (and particularly Ward's), they humorously and candidly described a lot of their sexual escapades in those days, being members of "the beautiful elite" as they were at the time (as Yvonne was too), and those risque stories made their books more interesting. That kind of stuff is totally absent from Yvonne's memoirs. She seems to be rather like her Barbara Gordon character - prim and proper, at least as far as kissing and telling, and certainly in her use of 'colorful' language. The raciest she gets is to mention that Adam West once touched her breast, and that she wished Aaron Spelling (of all people) had asked her out! I suppose this is just me 'being a guy' (i.e. shallow), and if so, then Yvonne's book will primarily appeal to women, who probably don't want to hear the risque stuff. Perhaps I had the wrong preconception of what would be in the book, after reading West's and Ward's ego-filled (though entertaining) books and also seeing Yvonne's sexy open-legged cover shot. As it turns out, she's not interested in disclosing the types of things that they did, and she would prefer to talk about her ballet dancing and knitting. But that's fine; it's her book and her life after all, and she perhaps feels that those types of tales would be mere sales gimmicks. Or maybe there's no tales to tell! Anyway, she's candid in all other respects, has an endearing and down-to-earth style of writing, and devotes an adequate amount of time to Batman for the fans. She even divulges personal things like the fact that she can't swim and refers to herself as a "sinker", which I found touching since I'm the same way.

Yvonne's book is a worthwhile purchase and a good late-night read. An additional note: the book (at least my copy) is cheaply bound by Kudu Press. On the second reading, the pages, particularly the picture pages, started to fall out. The book really can't be bent very wide at all without this happening. It's not that uncommon, but a little annoying considering the rather high price for this paperback.

Rating:
Summary: Witty memoir from the original Dominoed Dare-Doll
Review: This is a cut above the standard Hollywood autobiography, probably due in large part to Yvonne Craig's being a cut above your standard issue Hollywood starlet. Unaffected and welcoming in person, this book is the next best thing to a good long chat with TV's Batgirl. If you're as interested in Yvonne the person as in Batgirl the comic book icon, then you'll be more than rewarded for your time. NOTE: this book is also available new through Yvonne Craig's website, www.yvonnecraig.com, which I feel obligated to mention due to some used book dealers here trying to con people out of $200. Her fans don't deserve to be preyed upon in this fashion.

Rating:
Summary: Very endearing, but very little of Batgirl!
Review: You can't help but love Yvonne Craig as she recounts her days as a ballerina and actress in a very charming way, but I'm afraid Bat-fans will be sorely dissapointed that Ms. Craig tells very little of her days as Batgirl! Granted, it was a short period of her life and only one role of the many she has played but I dare say it's the one she's most famous for. However she does have some interesting anecdotes to tell about several famous people and also some odd stories concerning her curious love of exotic pets (an anteater?? who the hell wants THAT for a pet??).

Rating:
Summary: Honest Hollywood
Review: Yvonne was as honest and candid as she could be in this book. Not many people writing their autobiography can do so without telling a bunch of "punched up" stories to sell copies. This is a true look at behind the scenes of some of the popular TV shows, and movies of their times. I laughed out loud more than once reading this book, and sure others will too, if the get her humor. How many people are willing to tell about Capt. Kirks "secret", or shed any light (however small) on Howard Huges? I waited awhile to read this one, and find it well worth the wait.

Rating:
Summary: Honest Hollywood
Review: Yvonne was as honest and candid as she could be in this book. Not many people writing their autobiography can do so without telling a bunch of "punched up" stories to sell copies. This is a true look at behind the scenes of some of the popular TV shows, and movies of their times. I laughed out loud more than once reading this book, and sure others will too, if the get her humor. How many people are willing to tell about Capt. Kirks "secret", or shed any light (however small) on Howard Huges? I waited awhile to read this one, and find it well worth the wait.