Sunday, February 16, 2025, 3:32AM |  40°
MENU
Advertisement
Alec Baldwin.
2
MORE

Alec Baldwin memoir 'Nevertheless' pulls no punches

WENN.com

Alec Baldwin memoir 'Nevertheless' pulls no punches

A single paragraph in Alec Baldwin’s 272-page memoir, “Nevertheless,” recently ignited a Twitter feud between the actor and one of the producers of a 2006 movie co-starring teenage Nikki Reed as a scheming seductress.


"NEVERTHELESS"
By Alec Baldwin
Harper ($28.99).

The vitriolic volleys — about just when Mr. Baldwin learned Ms. Reed was 16 or 17 (even her age is disputed) — should come as no surprise, given how bracing the book is. In an entertainment universe where nary a discouraging word is heard, “Nevertheless” is surprising, candid, sometimes discomfiting and well written.

Mr. Baldwin, 59, apparently used no ghostwriter but says he is grateful to Mark Tabb for lessons learned during their collaboration on 2008’s “A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce.”

Advertisement

In largely chronological fashion, Mr. Baldwin recounts his childhood, parents’ financial struggles providing for four sons and two daughters, decision to pursue acting rather than the law, cocaine overdose (vividly detailed) followed by 32 years of sobriety, success in film, theater and TV, two marriages and four children, one ugly divorce, one uglier voicemail, later-in-life family joy, political activism, and, of course, Donald Trump.

Mr. Baldwin, who parodies the president on “Saturday Night Live,” writes the Republican “must go, either in 2020 or sooner.”

Most of the book, however, deals with the journey from early movie lover, watching late at night alongside his high school teacher dad in Massapequa, N.Y., to aspiring lawyer turned New York University transfer student working as waiter, busboy, lifeguard and men’s shirt salesman until he was cast in the daytime soap “The Doctors.” He fell in love with show business, its colorful characters and the satisfaction it provided, especially on stage.

The theater “was the only place I could bring what I had to offer and believe that it mattered. Often in filmmaking, the people in charge don’t even understand what you do, let alone appreciate it. … Performing onstage in ‘Prelude to a Kiss’ was the first time I ever believed that I had any talent for acting.”

Advertisement

After Mr. Baldwin played Jack Ryan in “The Hunt for Red October,” Paramount “illegally” negotiated with Harrison Ford to take over as the CIA analyst in “Patriot Games.”

“The carpenter [Ford] who walked onto a set and then into movie history knew that these roles were his legacy. … One thing he does not have is an Oscar, which must frustrate, if not burden him, after his long career.”

When the two met years later, Mr. Baldwin found: “Ford, in person, is a little man, short, scrawny, and wiry, whose soft voice sounds as if it’s coming from behind a door.” Ouch.

Others in the book — lawyers (“Jurassic Park” and Jabba the Hutt are evoked), former HLN host Nancy Grace (“screechy hen”), some studio execs (rapacious, cookie-cutter), and despised TMZ founder Harvey Levin and intrusive paparazzi — are scorched by his wrath.

Mr. Baldwin refutes, convincingly, charges of racism and homophobia. He writes little about his adult brothers and does not kiss and tell about women he dated, although he recalls his disastrous marriage to Kim Basinger and bruising custody fight for their daughter, Ireland.

He can be downright sweet, however, when talking about his mother, who is a breast cancer survivor, or the giddy chance to meet the Kennedys, idolized by his late father. He applauds “30 Rock” co-stars, “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels, and performers such as Julie Harris, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary-Louise Parker, Amy Madigan, Phil Hartman, Andre Braugher, Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino and William Holden.

It’s wife Hilaria, who was 27 when they met in 2011, who receives his most effusive praise. They had three children in slightly over three years and have reaffirmed the sentiment engraved in Spanish inside their wedding rings: “We are a good team.”

In an unusual publishing postscript, Mr. Baldwin has blamed editors at HarperCollins for several typos and errors (or statements that could be misconstrued) and has set up a Facebook page for corrections, amendments and supplemental material. Managing a memoir in the internet age can be a never-ending job.

Barbara Vancheri is former movie editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

First Published: April 18, 2017, 4:00 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
In Fayette County, voters express renewed hope under the Trump administration, praising his early actions like spending cuts and immigration crackdowns, and grading his first few weeks an "A." Many in the county, where Trump secured 68.4% of the vote, support his executive orders on immigration and federal spending, believing he is fulfilling campaign promises and taking decisive action.
1
news
As Trump's executive orders sow confusion and chaos for some, Western Pa. supporters who voted for him approve
Students walk outside of the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on the Duquesne University campus Uptown on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.
2
news
Duquesne University raises more than $333 million in 'monumental' fundraising campaign
A participant carries an umbrella as she takes off in the rain at the 12th annual Cupid's Undie Run on the North Shore on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.
3
local
Cupid's Undie Run: Pants off for charity
The North Shore offices of the Post-Gazette
4
business
Federal judge denies NLRB's injunction attempt against the Post-Gazette
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday in Washington. The IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season, according to two sources familiar with the agency’s plans, and cuts could come as soon as next week.
5
news
IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season
Alec Baldwin.  (WENN.com)
"Nevertheless," by Alec Baldwin
WENN.com
Advertisement
LATEST ae
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story