Little House in the Hollywood Hills

A Bad Girl's Guide to Becoming Miss Beadle, Mary X, and Me

De: Charlotte Stewart, Andy Demsky

Narrado por: Charlotte Stewart, Andy Demsky

Charlotte Stewart is known by millions of fans worldwide for her role as the beloved schoolteacher, Miss Beadle, on the iconic TV show, Little House on the Prairie, currently broadcast in syndication in more than 100 countries around the world. Here for the first time an adult cast member writes about the experience of making the show - the challenges, the joys, and the sometimes-turbulent behind-the-scenes relationships.

Charlotte, with Andy Demsky, reveals 50 years in film and television offering a backstage pass to Hollywood's cocaine-fueled 1960s, '70s and '80s, including Charlotte's celebrated work as Mary X in David Lynch's cult classic film, Eraserhead, as well as her later work as Betty Briggs in the highly-rated television series, Twin Peaks. Charlotte recounts stories of working with leading men from Jimmy Stewart and Elvis Presley to Kevin Bacon and Kyle MacLachlan. She details off-stage friendships with Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, as well as relationships and flings with some of TV, film, and music's biggest names, including Jon Voight, Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Considine, Bill Murray, Jim Morrison, and more.

Ultimately, Charlotte's story is that of a survivor. Six years after her career-making role on Little House on the Prairie, she lost everything. Yet through the darkest periods of her life - divorce, drug-use, cancer, financial ruin, the death of a spouse, and alcoholism - she never lost her humanity or sense of humor.

Charlotte's story is far from over. She is set to reprise her role of Betty Briggs in the new Twin Peaks series to be seen on Showtime in 2017. Throughout the year, she is a featured celebrity in fan events and festivals for Little House on the Prairie and Twin Peaks both in the US and abroad.

Co-author Andy Demsky is a writer and journalist, whose work has been published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times magazine and Better Homes & Gardens, and he co-wrote Doug Shafer's critically acclaimed memoir, A Vineyard in Napa.

©2016 Charlotte Stewart and Andy Demsky (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Wonderful

I listened to this book as a LHOTP fan. I had no idea about the rest of Charlotte's work. Her life is fascinating, and she seems pretty transparent. If you are sensitive to sound changes, several places in the narration sound different. Like she had to re-record a section and had to do so in a different environment. It was distracting, but it is still worth listening to her story.

a must read

I enjoyed this so much that I could not stop listening. Wow, what an interesting life!!
Miss beetle lesson on the good the bad, the Innocence and the raw of Hollywood.
God bless you.. forever Fan!!!

Beadle Mania With Gritty Details

Wow. This is an extraordinary memoir. I feel like it should come with a warning; If you want your current image of Miss Beadle to remain, do not read this book. Sample line: "I met Richard Dreyfuss around 1978 and he had a string of hits with Jaws, Close Encounters, and The Goodbye Girl. We both discovered that we had mutual interests in sex and cocaine."

Charlotte was born in 1941, so she had a foot in the world of 1950s America, but she was young enough to fall in line with the 1960s and 1970s "counter culture" of Topanga, Laurel Canyon, and Hollywood. I won't give away anymore names of famous friends, but it's quite an iconic list. On the sexual side, you would call men "playboys" but women got a more crass label. However, it takes two to tango.

By the social moors of the Hollywood acting community, Charlotte was not remarkable. Her love of sex, drugs (alcohol, cocaine, even crack cocaine) and rock n' roll was common. Actors are an emotionally vulnerable lot, and it's one of the reasons they are able to do such a great job onscreen. Charlotte is so honest it almost makes you wince. Some of you on the conservative end of politics will even condemn her decisions and chastise her. Then again, she was/is not living for you. Some decisions she regrets and others she does not. That's life.

She has triumphs and astonishing rock bottom lows. Some are bad luck and others are self inflicted. Her level of resiliency is extremely high and we root for Charlotte. She is likable, but she is no saint. Her friendships attest that she was a lot of fun to be around. She unabashedly loved to have a good time and she pursued that love with zeal—too much at times.

My only gripe with this amazing autobiography is that she spends too much time writing about Eraserhead. She is understandably proud to be a part of this avante garde cult classic, but if you're not interested in that film, these sections will be a bit boring. The Eraserhead sections set you up for additional interactions with director David Lynch and you get a sense of the loyalty that sometimes exists in Hollywood. This loyalty can really help, emotionally and financially, at key times.

Hollywood is a cutthroat place filled with vulnerable souls. Charlotte made it through against all odds and created a couple of iconic roles, all the while living (mostly) on her own terms. This is a document of So Cal entertainment life told by a working actress who never had the massive wealth that set her apart from regular folks. She was a working actress who lived a fun and eventful life. You may judge her harshly and even be quite disappointed, but she is telling her story in an honest fashion. It's brave and fascinating.

I couldn't resist the title!

Enjoyed Charlotte 's expressive voice telling her own story. My German Shepherd did as well!

Told pretty well but depressing

It is what it is, and it's been interesting to hear her story but unfortunately, her story is pretty sad. Between her lifestyle choices and what happens out of her control, let's just say, don't listen if you're already feeling blue.

I fell in love with Charlotte

As a Little House Fan I was interested to hear about Charlotte and her life and career. I must say I was deeply touched many times during this adventure into the life of this incredible woman. Her performance was deeply moving( especially during the final chapter). Charlotte gives inspiration and strength to a wide audience. Her bravery and honesty about all parts of her life the good and the not so good was so relatable. The parts about her work on Little House were both amusing and refreshing. I’ve also read Alison Arngrim’s ( Nellie Oleson’s) book which I also loved very much. I would say thank you to both of these ladies for giving us such a heartfelt glimpse onto the set of a much beloved program; as well as their private lives. However I must say that Charlotte’s book brought me to tears in a couple places due to subject matter and vocal performance. Once a great actress; always a great actress! Charlotte you are loved, admired and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing you and your story with us all! I’m now looking forward to looking up more of her work to enjoy. As a fellow actor I was so inspired to never give up on yourself and to carry and cherish your memories always. I highly recommend this to any actor who takes their craft and career seriously. Somehow I’m braver now! Many kudos to everyone involved in this project! Now I need to find a Beadle Bag! ❤️

Great Read!

This is such a good book!!! I totally recommend this book for its authentic and entertaining storytelling.

Little House fan

I have had this in my library a long while and didn't listen to due to poor reviews. Little house is only one part of her life and shouldn't be expected to be her entire book. She is a great storyteller. There are some juicy behind the scenes into spilled. I recommend when you need something different to read.

wonderful

I stumbled upon this book, and being a Little House fan, decided to give it a listen- and I'm so glad I did. She's got quite a story to tell and she does so with laughter and seriousness, joy and hope. Her voice is so nicely conversational, that listening feels like meeting up with a friend to reminisce. This is an uplifting journey, through the good and bad of life, with some wonderfully familiar characters along the way. Loved it!

Did not leave me disappointed

Very open and intriguing memoir. Great read very fast pace. I would highly recommend this book.