Where There's a Will . . .: Who Inherited What and Why (The Last Wills and Testaments of the Rich and Renowned)

Reveals what the wills of famous people--Bob Fosse, Judy Garland, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Andrew Carnegie, Lou Gehrig, and others--contained and what the heirs thought of their legacies

Wills can expose surprising aspects of the lives, characters and interests of the deceased as revealed by these intriguing, gossipy accounts by Silverman ( David Lean ) of how 30 notables amassed and disposed of their possessions. Although relatives, lovers and friends are chief beneficiaries, such prominent immigrants as John Jacob Astor and Joseph Pulitzer destined much of their wealth to the public weal. Harry Houdini, on the other hand, dictated that his most precious legacy--his magician's secrets--be destroyed, while little remained of the proceeds from Alan Jay Lerner's and Judy Garland's lucrative careers. A unique case is provided by gay fashion designer and AIDS victim Perry Ellis, who left his estate to a daughter conceived in vitro.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book is the logical extension of the late Malcolm Forbes's They Went That-a-way: How the Famous , the Infamous and the Great Died (S. & S., 1988; Ballantine, 1989. pap.): what happened to their loot after they died. Like Forbes's book, this one has a vaguely necrophilic appeal; it's not surprising that two of the even-more-revered-in-death celebrities, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, are among the 40 will styles of the rich and famous discussed (Dean left no will; MM was surprisingly organized and clear in hers). The book has rather slight value but may please gossip addicts and trivia nuts. What's revealed is that even the most creative, seemingly other-worldly people agitate over their material legacies. "In the end, art is small beer," wrote W. H. Auden. "The really serious things in life are earning one's living so as not to be a parasite, and loving one's neighbor." For public libraries where the Forbes book proved popular. --Judy Quinn, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.