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David Bret (born 8 November 1954) is a French-born British author of showbiz biographies. He chiefly writes on the private life of film stars and singers.
Life
Born in Paris, France in 1954, David Bret was adopted by an English couple and raised in Wath-on-Dearne, South Yorkshire. He worked for several years in the retail trade, then as an administrator with the NHS, and as a singer in working men's clubs. He then began writing the biographies for which he is best known. He married Jeanne Elliss in October 1972, and has a son, Marleau, born in October 1973. He lives in West Yorkshire, England.
Biographies
Bret has written a number of biographies for several different publishers. Many of these have focused on the private or intimate lives of entertainment celebrities. Lewis Jones, in the Telegraph wrote that Bret "...for decades has churned out sensationalist biographies of such figures as Diana Dors, Barbra Streisand and Tallulah Bankhead."
Other work
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Bret has also written many newspaper and magazine articles, for instance, for The Stage, and he has lectured at the University of Chicago. He had adapted songs from the original French for his godmother, actress Jacqueline Danno, and for his friend the chanteuse Barbara. She commissioned him to adapt her theme song, Ma plus belle histoire d'amour, into English. Bret also appears in the Italian documentary, 'Rudy', which tells the story of Rudolph Valentino. He also made a trio of documentaries for the E! channel in the USA, discussing Freddie Mercury, Valentino and Tallulah Bankhead. In other documentaries/television retrospectives for the BBC he discusses Maria Callas, George Formby, Gracie Fields, Edith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier, Morrissey, Marlene Dietrich and Elvis Presley.
Criticisms
Bret is regarded by some as controversial in his writings and has been compared to Charles Higham and Kenneth Anger ("The effect is Hollywood Babylon lite.") His works have also attracted scrutiny for their sexual detail.
References
- ^ Calhoun, Ada (30 March 2008). "Frankly, My Dear ..." The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- Jones, Lewis (6 August 2012). "Greta Garbo: Divine Star by David Bret: review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ Summers, Claude J. (2005). The Queer Encyclopedia of Film & Television. Cleis Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-1573442091. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
The controversial biographers Charles Higham and David Bret...
- See, Carolyn (5 January 2007). "Hollywood Babble-On". Washington post. Retrieved 31 October 2015.