Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life

Biography
“Patricia Neal has traveled the road from
triumph to despair in ways few of us can
imagine. There is sincerity and dedication
behind this work.”
—Paul Newman
“Neal’s life was filled with tragedies and
triumphs, and Shearer unveils an impressive portrait of the actress. . . . Readers of
As I Am, Neal’s 1988 memoir, will seek out
this biography for more of the actress’s
absorbing and inspirational story.”
—publishers weekly
“Digs into the amazing first 80 years in the
life of one of our national treasures. . . .
Neal is still a great force of nature, and
Shearer’s book documents all her ups,
downs, traumas and triumphs.”
—hollywood reporter
“Her life has had so many tragic twists it
makes for compelling reading.”
—variety
Born Patsy Louise Neal on January 20,
1926, in Packard, Kentucky, Patricia Neal
would eventually become an internationally acclaimed star on stage, film, and
television for nearly sixty years. On Broadway she appeared in such lauded productions as Lillian Hellman’s Another Part
of the Forest (1946), for which she won
one of the very first Tony Awards, and
The Miracle Worker (1959). In Hollywood
she starred opposite the likes of Ronald
Reagan, Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Paul
Newman, Fred Astaire, and Tyrone Power
in some thirty films, and anchored such
classic pictures as The Day the Earth
Stood Still (1951), Breakfast at Tiffany’s
(1961), and Hud (1963), which earned
her the Academy Award for Best Actress
in 1963. Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life is
the first critical biography detailing the
actress’s impressive career and remarkable
personal life. Author Stephen Michael
Shearer paints an honest and comprehensive portrait of an accomplished
woman who lived her life with determination and bravado.
Stephen Michael Shearer has worked as a
professional actor and has written for The
Film Collectors Registry. He is the author
of Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr.
The University Press
of Kentucky
Stephen Michael Shearer