The Legs Are the Last to Go
Written by Diahann Carroll
Narrated by Diahann Carroll
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
The actress who broke through television’s color bar, entertainment legend Diahann Carroll tells all in her candid memoir The Legs Are the Last to Go. The first black woman to star in her own TV series—NBC’s Julia—Carroll displays all the grace, wit, style, and honesty that carried her to the top as she reveals intimate details about her career, her life, and her loves, including her marriage to Vic Damone and her torrid relationship with Sidney Poitier. The Legs Are the Last to Go is an unforgettable self-portrait and revealing Hollywood memoir at its finest.
Diahann Carroll
Diahann Carroll is a legendary singer; theatrical, television, and film actress; Tony and Golden Globe Award winner; and Emmy, Oscar, and Grammy nominee. A veteran of the entertainment industry whose pioneering career has inspired many, Diahann made her Broadway stage debut starring in Harold Arlen and Truman Capote's House of Flowers. After seeing her in this production, Richard Rodgers created as a starring vehicle for Carroll the Broadway production No Strings, for which she won the Tony Award. Her recent theatrical appearances have also garnered acclaim, including her role as the ""ultimate"" Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Widely known as a pioneer, in 1968 she became the first black actress in television history to star in her own series, Julia, for NBC, which soared to the top of the Nielsen ratings and received an Emmy nomination. Other notable roles include the title role in Claudine, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, and Dominique Deveraux in the wildly popular television series Dynasty. She has worked with legends such as Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Judy Garland, Michael Caine, Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Frank Sinatra. In no apparent rush to settle down, Carroll most recently appeared on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she was nominated for an Emmy, and in a cabaret show that is currently touring the country, The Life and Times of Diahann Carroll.
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Reviews for The Legs Are the Last to Go
44 ratings10 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Her voice was mesmerizing! I felt as if I was there with her.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miss C was just toooooooooo devine. I am surprised that she didn’t state the price of things after she mentioned them!!! But I loved her all the same...
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diahann Carroll was an incredibly talented beautiful woman. She divulges some things in this latest narrative that gave me a shudder or two. As with my last review on another black actress (years younger than Ms. Carroll) I am gob smacked at how they both allowed men to treat them in the most disrespectful ways. I never really got her marriage to Vic Damone and always thought it was HIS doing. Her nine-year on and off again relationship with Sidney Poitier was a complete waste of years but it was a lesson learned for her.
She triumphed over all her insecurities and missteps by continuing to be superb, beautiful, talented entertainer.
I’ve seen most of her movies and enjoyed her on the tele-Drama Dynasty, but I must admit that Claudine, Eve’s Bayou and the Five heartbeats are my favorites. She’s gone now, but leaves behind a stellar legacy of music, Broadway, and Film. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was great. Ms. Carroll lived a fascinating life. I loved her life observations and her candor when telling her life experiences.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Carroll's stories were interesting enough and of course she is a pleasure to listen to, but I don't usually read memoirs and this didn't change my mind about the genre.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I picked this audio book up because I'd become interested in Diahann Carroll through her role on the TV show White Collar. Though this book was published before she starting working on that show, it's a fantastic, fun and moving biography. What really makes this book so good is the fact that Carroll reads her book herself. Her voice is perfect and it's clear that she's both enjoying reading to us and telling her own story. Even if you know a lot about Carroll (though I didn't), the book (especially the audio book), keeps you hooked. Carroll's life, while not exactly hard compared to plenty of people (something she mentions a few times), was complicated and it's fun to listen to her talking about the people she knew, her family and her struggles and joys in life. If you're into celebrity biographies, or just an interesting read, I heartily recommend Diahann Carroll's book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was telling I had known very little about Ms. Carroll. She was fascinating.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Whatever you think of her, whether positive or negative, it's all accurate and she claims it all. I loved listening to her reading about her life but I have to purchase the book. She outlines everything & the lessons she has learned which causes the reader to do a little introspection. She is truly missed ❤ by many.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Self absorbed Diva.
Although the late Ms Carroll was a trailblazer with many firsts, this book, in my opinion glossed over a lot.
I would've loved to hear more deeply on her aging in Hollywood as a Black actress, but from what I got from this book was a beige, bland neutral tone.
When she spoke about her family, I was shocked towards the end of the book that her sister was hardly spoken about. I understand that it may have been painful, but it left more questions than answers.
All in all, I felt that the autobiography was a quite mediocre for someone of her status. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Informative background on her. I had no idea of the vast work she had accomplished during her lifetime. A true Hollywood legend!