David Bret
David Bret (born 8 November 1954 in Paris) is a French-born British author of showbiz biographies. He chiefly writes on the private life of movie stars and singers in a somewhat sensationalist style.
Life
Born in Paris, France in 1954, David Bret was adopted by an English couple and raised in Wath-on-Dearne, South Yorkshire. He worked for several years in the retail trade, then as an administrator with the NHS, and as a singer in working men's clubs. He then began writing the biographies for which he is best known. He married Jeanne Elliss in October 1972, and has a son, Marleau, born in October 1973. He lives in West Yorkshire, England.
Other work
Bret has also written many newspaper and magazine articles, for instance, for The Stage, and he has lectured at the University of Chicago. He had adapted songs from the original French for his godmother, actress Jacqueline Danno, and for his friend the chanteuse Barbara. She commissioned him to adapt her theme song, Ma plus belle histoire d'amour, into English. Bret also appears in the Italian documentary, 'Rudy', which tells the story of Rudolph Valentino. He also made a trio of documentaries for the E! channel in the USA: Freddie Mercury, Valentino and Tallulah Bankhead.
Bibliography
In the following partial bibliography, note that the publisher frequently changes the title for the same book from any hardcover version to paperback. Plus, the title and year of publication may vary depending on the country of issue.
- Diana Dors: Hurricane in Mink (2010)
- Jean Harlow: Tarnished Angel (2009)
- Trailblazers: Gram Parsons, Nick Drake & Jeff Buckley (2009)
- Doris Day: Reluctant Star (2008)
- Clark Gable: Tormented Star (2007)
- Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr (2006)
- Rock Hudson (2004)
- Morrissey: Scandal and Passion (2004)
- Elvis: The Hollywood Years (2002)
- Barbra Streisand (2000)
- Errol Flynn: Satan's Angel (2000)
- Valentino: A Dream of Desire (1998)
- Piaf: A Passionate Life (1999)
- George Formby: A Troubled Genius (1999)[1]
- Maria Callas: The Tigress and the Lamb (1998)
- Freddie Mercury Story: Living on the Edge (1996)
- Tallulah Bankhead: A Scandalous Life (1996)
- Marlene My Friend: An Intimate Biography (1993)
- Gracie Fields: The Authorized Biography (1995, reprinted 2010)
- Morrissey: Landscapes of the Mind (1994)
- Maurice Chevalier: Up on Top of a Rainbow (1992)
- The Mistinguett Legend (1990)
- The Piaf Legend (1988)
References
- ↑ "Book review: George Formby by David Bret". The Guardian. 24 November 2001.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Bret. |
- Official Website
- Naughty but nice: Jonathan Glancey cheers the innocent innuendo of George Formby in David Bret's thoughtful biography
- Frankly, My Dear ...
- Review of Bret's biography of Clark Gable
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