After reading Cloris, I'd like to give Cloris Leachman a great big hug. Her autobiography is such a candid, entertaining and inspirational book! As expected, it’s filled with delicious behind-the-scenes anecdotes about her work in films, television, radio and live theater. But it also reveals fascinating surprises concerning her private life and personal philosophy for living to the fullest.

With 11 Broadway plays, 57 films, 137 television shows and training at the famous Actors Studio to her credit, Cloris boasts a wealth of acting experience to draw from -- and she offers readers many humorous incidents to enjoy. Some of my favorites involve her interactions with Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder on the set of Young Frankenstein, her Dancing with the Stars success, how her costume helped create Nurse Diesel in High Anxiety, and why her lizard imitation impressed Marlon Brando so much. 

It’s a treat to read about Cloris Leachman’s remarkable career. She’s been wowing audiences for over half a century and earned an Oscar for The Last Picture Show as well as nine Emmys for her TV performances. She’s worked with such megastars as Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, Steve McQueen, Katharine Hepburn, Dianne Keaton and Sissy Spacek. And, at 83, she’s still going strong. She served as Grand Marshal for the latest Rose Bowl Parade, and coming up this year, Cloris will appear in two new films: Quentin Tarantino’s  Inglourious Basterds with Brad Pitt and American Cowslip with Val Kilmer and Rip Torn. “Acting is fun; it isn’t work to me,” Cloris writes. “I’m happy and excited when I’m acting, and that is the reward.”

Cloris admits that her career sometimes interfered with her role as wife and mother. She and George Englund, who helped with this terrific book, married and had five children. They lost one son to drugs, which caused unbearable sadness. George became a busy producer/director (The Shoes of the Fisherman, The Ugly American, etc.), so raising a family under these conditions wasn’t easy. To Cloris and George’s credit, they always put their children first. Even after separations and divorce, Cloris and George remain friends and colleagues. According to Cloris, “George has a girlfriend now, and she makes him happy.” Cloris even confesses to “dalliances” of her own (you’ll be very surprised at this part of the book), but only when she and George “were separated.”     

Emerging from the pages of Cloris is a funny, unpredictable, talented and generous woman with an indomitable spirit. Her advice to readers? “We’re all on a journey, so concentrate on making it as good, as fun laden as possible and don’t dwell on its end.”

Cloris, published by Kensington Books, will surely enthrall Leachman’s current fans -- and should earn her many more.

Listen to Cloris Leachman’s interview on “Movie Addict Headquarters,” which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, at 1 p.m. Pacific Time (2 p.m. Mountain Time, 4 p.m. Eastern Time). Click this BlogTalkRadio link to hear Cloris discuss her amazing acting career as well as her intriguing autobiography. An archived segment will be available after the live show.   

(For more information about Cloris Leachman, please go to her website at www.cloris.com.)