Audiobook10 hours
Pardon My Hearse: A Colorful Portrait of Where the Funeral and Entertainment Industries Met in Hollywood
Written by Allan Abbott and Greg Abbott
Narrated by Patrick Lawlor
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Allan Abbott ran the leading hearse, mortuary, and funeral services company in Hollywood and saw up close how celebrities really live and die. The Forrest Gump of the funeral industry, Abbott was everywhere celebrities died, from helping to prepare Marilyn Monroe's body for burial to standing next to Christopher Walken at Natalie Wood's funeral.
This book tells the rags-to-shroud story of how a young man with a hearse became the funeral driver to the stars-a rollicking, unexpectedly hilarious account of glamorous funerals, mishaps with corpses, and true-life glimpses of celebrities at their most revealing moments.
A treasure trove of insight and gossip that you won't find anywhere else, Pardon My Hearse is an eye-opening look at secret Hollywood from the man who literally knows where the bodies are buried.
This book tells the rags-to-shroud story of how a young man with a hearse became the funeral driver to the stars-a rollicking, unexpectedly hilarious account of glamorous funerals, mishaps with corpses, and true-life glimpses of celebrities at their most revealing moments.
A treasure trove of insight and gossip that you won't find anywhere else, Pardon My Hearse is an eye-opening look at secret Hollywood from the man who literally knows where the bodies are buried.
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Reviews for Pardon My Hearse
Rating: 3.625 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
8 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really loved this book. Great history on funeral service in Los Angeles back in the day. I found the facts about Marilyn Monroe’s preparations and service to be very interesting!!!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My intrest in reading this book is because I'm fascinated with the funerary business and practices. The books claim about Hollywood was only slightly intriguing to me. I thoroughly enjyed the read but will mention to prospective readers that this book is not a trashy, gossipy book about Hollywood and celebrities; it is a book about the inside workings of a funeral business which happened to be in California and thus crossed paths with the film industry occassionally. The book starts of chronlogically telling the story of how Abbot & Hast, two highschool graduates in the early fifties got started in the hearse business and eventually became one of the most respected mortuaries in California along with being the owners of the industry leading trade magazine "Mortuary Management". I enjoyed this biographical part the best. Then the book slips into anecdote mode with each chapter being on a theme: cremation, humour in the industry; embarrassing moments, cultural traditions, etc. There are also chapters devoted to some of the momentous Hollywood funerals they were a part of such as Marily Monroe and nefarious events they ended up being a small part of ie. sicko David Sconce murdered a good friend of theirs and tried to murder Hast. A lot of highly interesting information, mostly about the business, which I enjoyed because of my interest in it. Allan tell things in a fairly straightforward manner with a dash of dry humour. His tone doesn't change between telling about the details of embalming, the details of a prank (which there were many) or his inside information on a conspiracy theory. Because of this I sometimes wondered if he was a bit overdramatic himself but on the otherhand he tells them mundanely enough without sensationalism. Glad to have read it and am adding it to my collection on the topic.