Books Features
Sally Van Slyke's 'Wild Thymes' a fast ride through A-List Hollywood
By April MacIntyre Mar 16, 2012, 22:58 GMT
In her new memoir “Wild Thymes,” Bay Area caterer Sally Van Slyke does not hold back as she dishes about less than savory encounters with some of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, whom she handled during her reign as a top VP of marketing at Universal Pictures in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
The perfect page turner tell-all has hit the bookshelves.
In her new memoir “Wild Thymes,” Bay Area caterer Sally Van Slyke does not hold back as she dishes about less than savory encounters with some of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, whom she handled during her reign as a top VP of marketing at Universal Pictures in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
Unlike a notorious acid bath tome from years past penned by Julia Phillips (You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again) Van Slyke's accounts are a balance of tender recollections and shock behaviors.
The book is subtitled “Catering to the Egos of the Hollywood Elite,” and it really lays aim at some gargantuan egos in Tinseltown, as Slyke's prose is blessedly straightforward and gives praise when warranted: "[Tom] Hanks is a genuinely nice guy. Furthermore he takes direction well and loves improv..." to more acerbic turns like a swipe at diminutive producer Brian Grazer, "I have known many short people in my life, right off the bat I found Brian to be awfully "small" as well as short. He seemed to take great pride in being fractious, frantic and obnoxious."
More examples are to be found of stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who went ballistic when author Van Slyke turned down his demand for a private plane to take him to Chicago for an “Oprah” appearance. “Arnold is a bully,” Van Slyke says. “He’s a brilliant man … but every once in a while he’d lose control, and boy, was he mad at me.”
Ms. Van Slyke left her successful Hollywood career in 1993.
Her stories of Robert Redford, Robert DeNiro (she wasn't too fond of either) and so many stars today will leave you howling and wondering how anyone can work in the Entertainment Industry. She's a no bullshitter; they always write the best books.
Recommended.
