Sylvester Stallone Book:

		List Price: $15.99		Publisher: Three Hole Punch Publishing Salesrank: 1824787 Released: October 16, 2005
		Our Price: $10.38
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		Media: Paperback

Editorial Review:
My agent and I snuck onto the studio lot, then headed over to the tiny man-made lagoon where the Gilligan’s Island beach scenes were filmed, hoping to run into someone who’d read my script. As we wandered through the maze of soundstages, Ray pulled out a fat cigar and lit it, trying desperately not to inhale because he didn’t smoke. “What’s that for?” I asked. “It’s a prop,” he gasped in my direction. “It makes me look like a big deal.” Ray then blew a thick cloud of smoke, gagging on his own exhaust. He was starting to turn green. “I’m not sure this is such a good idea,” I confessed. “What if someone finds out we’re not supposed to here?” Ray chuckled. “Don’t you have faith in me, kid?” I didn’t. “Sure I do,” I lied. Ray suddenly stopped and leaned over to throw up. After a few heaves, he thrust his cigar at me. “Here -- take it -- damn thing’s making me sick! Hold it for me until we see someone important!” 'MY SO-CALLED CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD' may just be the most brutally honest book about Hollywood ever written. E. Klass delivers a scathing, unflinching ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at show business that is both hysterically funny and tragically sad. This book is mandatory reading for anyone who thinks Hollywood is all glitz and glamour!

My So-Called Career In Hollywood -- how I got Lost In Space, arrested on Gilligan's Island, kicked out of Mayberry, roughed up by Sylvester Stallone, rejected ... the Land Of The Giants – just for starters! Reviews:
Hollywood -- Maybe Not -- But Ellery Would, a review by garrie keyman
2008-02-11 - Hollywood - Maybe Not - But Ellery Would
a review by garrie keyman
of My So-Called Career in Hollywood by E. Klass

This hilarious insider view dating to the dawn of - or at least to the early morning of -- commercial television reads like a screenwriter's nightmare: a very funny nightmare. A must-read for any Baby Boomer weaned on Irwin Allen shows like Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, My So-Called Career in Hollywood takes us deep into the ego crushing world of Hollywood wannabe, Ellery Klass.

While there is little to find of E. Klass via the Internet and other reviewers question the veracity of his work, this no-holds-barred tell-all bears the ring of truth, albeit names may have been changed to protect the guilty. I say this primarily because Klass, shameless in his quest for a screenwriting coup, reveals far more about his own lack of moral compass, really, than he does that of those, whose genuine careers he desperately orbits.

It would be hard to believe that this kind of detailed account could erupt from pure imagination. That alone would show creative talent of some account. But in any event, the work proves readable, entertaining, and -- like any well-constructed tale - leaves the reader wanting more (as promised by Klass at the end of the book).

Throughout the book we accompany Klass on tours of numerous Hollywood film lots and sound stages, are invited into the disastrous world of his failed marriages, get introduced to countless stars and starlets (many whom, like Sly Stallone, you'll discover are pure jackasses while still others, like Andy Griffith, you'll learn were genuine and approachable - in other words, no surprises there), sample a few of his screenplays, and howl in shared agony over the antics of his hell-on-wheels "agent," a man clearly gifted with the exact inverse of the Midas touch, whatever that would be. The Holloway touch, I suppose.

Over the course of several road trips, I read a large portion of My So-Called Career in Hollywood to my husband -- a man who would probably prefer a root canal to being read to aloud, but Klass's tales were funnier than late night TV talk shows and better than coffee for keeping us awake. Bring on volume two - please!

If this work has shortcomings, they do not overshadow its worth. There are occasional typos (making me question the publishing house - Three Hole Punch Publishing -- more than the author), and Klass's tendency to free-associate across timelines (sans requisite clarification of dates) occasionally left me a tad confused, as his misadventures spanned about twenty-five years.

Still, if it can find its audience, Klass's book is apt to have wide appeal: writers, actors, television viewers, fans of campy Irwin Allen fare, and anyone who ever tried to get (or get rid of) an agent. From his accounts of working as a Hollywood extra in order to make ends meet to his encounters with numerous stars and his relentless attempts to pitch his screenplays, Klass's self-effacing sense of humor reigns supreme.

In the end, Klass may never make it big in Hollywood but he's done one better: he's made it big in our hearts.


Fact or fiction?
2006-05-23 - This book is a fun, easy, very fast read. I could not put it down. But I am left wondering if it is true or not. As he readily indicates in the story, he is a habitual liar. He lies in order to try to make a buck. So, is his story truth or more lies? Who knows?

The book is billed as an insider's view, the true story, etc. But this guy failed. In fact, his character has very few morals whatsoever. So I wonder what the real insider view is, perhaps as written from someone with a bit more character and who did not fail.

If true, I feel sorry for the author because he obviously did not have much common sense and was repeatedly taken in by an individual he thought was his agent. If false, I feel sorry for all the people who will read it an believe it to be true.

A Great Read!
2006-04-05 - I bought this book because of the clever title, hoping the inside would be just as good, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. My So-Called Career In Hollywood is the true story of a struggling, on-the-fringe writer who tried to become rich and famous in show business. He came very close many times. The resulting book, which recounts his adventures on the set of some of the most famous TV shows in history (Lost In Space, The Partridge Family, Land Of The Giants, Happy Days, etc) is both very funny and tragically sad. A victim of the cruel and unforgiving Hollywood system, Ellery Klass spent most of his life "on the verge" of making it big, the brass ring always mere inches out of reach. Anyone who wants to work in Hollywood needs to read this sobering account of what it's really like behind the studio walls.

I loved this book.

Love it!
2005-12-22 - I love this book. I could not put it down. It is an honest and funny story about the author's experience writing for T.V. shows and about the stars he has met through the years. If you are looking for a, can't put down book, buy this one. You will not be disappointed. This book will not be re-sold by me. It will go into my bookcase to be re-read in the future. I do hope E. Klass writes another one as he still has more stories to tell and I would love to hear them.