The Seventeenth Line

A few years ago I read Andrew McCarthy’s memoir, “Brat: An ‘80’s Story,” and rather enjoyed it. I read it long before I knew McCarthy was working on the documentary Brats, which was released this past summer, June of 2024.

Once I learned about the Brats documentary I decided to make a small reading project to go along with the film. I looked for memoirs from other actors associated with the brat pack and found Rob Lowe and Demi Moore both had memories available from my library.

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Andrew McCarthy: The Creative

I’m not typically one to read celebrity memoirs, but I do like reading about artists, about different professions, and about people’s career paths. Andrew McCarthy’s memoir satisfied those interests.

Truth be told, I had a bit of a crush on McCarthy growing up and that’s why I picked up his memoir at the library. He was pretty and winsome, I liked the way he always held his head at an angle, he had lush looking hair, and he seemed to have a gentleness about him.

I liked reading about McCarthy’s early career. It was accompanying a friend to an audition that landed him his first role and drew him into acting. McCarthy shared about his first trip to LA, being put up at the storied Chateau Marmont by the studio (I read a book about this landmark hotel called The Castle on Sunset and wrote about it here), and later being hosted in the home of his co-star Jacqueline Bisset, who, he claims, kissed him during his stay.

Having not seen McCarthy in a movie for a very long time, it was nice to learn that his creative career has expanded beyond acting. He has directed a number of TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and The Blacklist, and, most interesting to me, he is now an award-winning travel writer working for National Geographic Traveler.

In addition to this memoir, McCarthy has written a number of non-fiction books and one novel. I’m likely to read more of his work.

Rob Lowe: The Wholesome

Rob Lowe came across as very positive, genuine, and truly grateful for the success he’s had in his work and life in his memoir “Stories I Only Tell My Friends.” I was familiar with Lowe from his early movies, like St Elmos Fire, and had seen him on Parks and Recreation, but I knew little about him before reading this.

Lowe writes briefly of his time partying and addresses the event that happened early in his career (I’m purposely not referencing it. His account of the event seemed honest). He went through alcohol treatment and has never looked back. He has said that sobriety is the best thing he has done for himself. Lowe presents as healthy and centered, as someone who has embraced positiveness and has a disciplined nature.

I loved learning that Lowe, who grew up in Ohio and didn’t come from a creative family, was drawn to acting after seeing a play as a child. When his parents divorced his mother moved the family to Los Angeles, and as luck would have it, actor Martin Sheen was a neighbor. Lowe palled around with Sheen’s son Emilio Estevez. Soon enough Lowe was cast in his first film, The Outsiders, along with Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise and Patrick Swayze, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. What an amazing experience for a first film!

Lowe has had an impressive career. He’s been un more film and TV roles than I realized and his work has spanned the gamut, from romantic and dramatic roles (About Last Night, Bad Influence ), to comedy (Waynes World, Tommy Boy, Austin Powers), biopics (Behind the Candelabra; I loved him in that!), TV dramas (The West Wing, Brothers & Sisters) and sitcoms (Parks and Recreation),

He even performed at the 1989 Oscars “Snow White” themed opening and was quite honest about it being considered one of the worst productions in the Academy Awards history. Of course I had to watch it (Lowe appears at the 5:00 minute point), and it really is that bad!

What I was most struck by was how complimentary Lowe was to others in the business, He only had kind words to say about co-stars and colleagues. Lowe comes across as charming and humble, someone who it not above hard work, and has good sense about what to prioritize in life.

Honestly, I came away rather impressed with Lowe.

Demi Moore: The Surviver

Demi Moore’s best selling memoir, Inside Out,” was written in 2019, when Moore was in her late 50’s and years after her third divorce. As I am writing this Moore, now in her early 60’s, is staring in a new body-horror film, “The Substance,” which is getting a lot of buzz (I haven’t seen it).

Moore seems to have a tenacity and strength of will that has served her well. I had no idea of the challenges she faced,

Moore’s early life certainly wasn’t easy. She spent most of her childhood in Roswell, New Mexico, though she parents moved moved frequently, She grew up in poverty with parents that struggled with mental health and substance use. She had a serious health issue (kidney condition) in her childhood. Her education was inconsistent at best. She also writes honestly about a sexual assault and her belief that her mother may have arranged it in exchange for money.

It was Moore’s encounter with another teen girl, the actress Nastassja Kinski, who she met in her apartment complex pool, that set Moore on the path to acting. Kinski told Moore she earned a living acting. It was then and there that Demi Moore decided to pursue acting as a path to financial security.

In 1985 the trajectory of Moore’s life changed when she was cast in St. Elmo’s Fire, along with Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy. Moore was part of the party scene, using alcohol and cocaine socially but to excess in her 20’s. She credits Joel Schumacher, the director of St. Elmo’s Fire, with helping her to go to rehab and providing her a sobriety coach during the course of filming.

I was surprised by what I read of Moore’s marriage with Bruce Willis. I remember them as the “it couple” who appeared to be deeply in love and family-focused. Moore writes that they married less than a year after meeting, had their first child very quickly, and truly didn’t know one another well. With two successful movie careers, Moore and Willis struggled to find time to be together. She said their marriage became more of an exercise in scheduling than in romance.

Moore is forthcoming about her relationship with Ashton Kutcher (TBH, I found this to be the least interesting part of this book). She writes of their early relationship as a time in her life when when she was very happy. Kutcher seemed to provider her with a sense of carefreeness, you might even read between the lines and see an immature relationship, the type one would typically have in their 20’s. She praises his work ethic and ability to step-parent her daughters. To me, he seems a man-child playing house. At one point he questioned the need for sobriety, in general. Moore said her desire to be a fun partner to Kutcher was what led her to drinking after decades of sobriety. Moore is open about the reason for the breakdown of this marriage and how painful that experience was for her.

This was a fun reading project. I have a different appreciation for these three actors. I’m not sure when I’ll read another celebrity memoir, it’s not my typical go-to book. I do, however, like having a reading project.

Do you have any favorite celebrity memoirs?

What about a fun reading project?