Bogie's Bike is a memoir about life in the background, as told by a former teenage Hollywood extra who became a publicist to the stars. From an early fascination with HOLLYWOODLAND, the big white sign he saw out his bedroom window as a boy, to a smile from Betty Grable when he was ten, encounters and friendships with U.S. Presidents and World War II heroes, to being thanked at the Academy Awards by Best Actor Anthony Hopkins, and last but first, his wife Nancy, this is the story of those all-too-human foibles, growing up and sometimes just growing, the hard way. Bob's story is the story of show business as he meets Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Claudette Colbert, Tyrone Power. Robert Young, Shirley Temple, Ronald Reagan. Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Lucille Ball, and Desi Arnaz, among many others, and forms lasting relationships with Dick Van Dyke, Anthony Hopkins, Joan Crawford, Truman Capote, Robert Young and Michele Lee, to name a few. Bob believes in them all, often more than he believes in himself. His life is threatened by drinking, drugs and a toxic attitude. Fired from one publicity job after another, he enters a period of heavy substance abuse before finally accepting the help of others within the entertainment industry. The story of Bob and Nancy's enduring love through an "impossible," chaotic and at times hilarious marriage forms the most personal element. Praise for Bogie's Bike: "Bob's observances continue to amuse and touch me because they come from places in the background, describing without sentimentality the all-too-human foibles of life, from childhood to maturity." -Anthony Hopkins "The wonder of Bob Palmer's uncommonly charming, sprinkled-with-stardust memoir isn't that he really did all these things, but that he possessed the enviable capacity to look back on his experiences with such merciful affection, to love the boy he was, in order to accept the man he'd become. A lesson we'd all do well to learn." -Peter Dunne "Bob was my close friend and confidante for 45 years. He stood by me and was my main support through the hardest struggle of my life. I dearly miss our long talks, his wisdom, his heart and loving care he gave to so many. Much of what I came to understand through him, is in the pages of this book." -Dick Van Dyke "A look into the personal side of the great stars - from an outsider who became an insider, who looked inside. Poignant, touching and very funny." -Michele Lee
About the Author: Bob Palmer first ran copy to newspapers for Lippert Theaters, then joined Fox West Coast Theaters as an assistant manager at its legendary Market Street Theatre. Working with studios, he helped create campaigns for the Bay Area premieres of Sunset Boulevard, Shane, The Greatest Show on Earth and Detective Story, plus stage shows with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Patti Page and others. Shortly after being ordered into Korean War active duty, he married co-worker Nancy Sidenberg. After a two-year tour of duty, he returned with his family to Los Angeles, joining ABC as West Coast Publicity Director for ABC Radio. He moved over to ABC Television as a senior publicist assigned to Warner Brothers' for Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Bronco, The Alaskans and Bourbon Street Beat. In 1960 he left ABC to produce a syndicated series, Sweet Success, for Jack Douglas Productions, then joined Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters as publicity director for its flagship station KMPC Los Angeles. He worked as publicity director on Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, Medical Center, Along Came Bronson, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Marcus Welby, MD, The Sixth Sense, The Bold Ones, The Rookies, S.W.A.T., Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, Family, The Love Boat, and QBVII. In 1979 he formed Bob Palmer Public Relations, representing Anthony Hopkins, Dick Van Dyke, Sada Thompson, Faye Dunaway, Michele Lee, David Soul, Peter Strauss, Lawrence Schiller Productions and FMS Productions for whom he produced and directed Too Good to Waste, an award-winning documentary about adolescent recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Candace Kearns Read worked at the talent and literary agencies ICM and WME in Los Angeles as an executive script consultant, and was a script consultant to Anthony Hopkins, Marlon Brando, Mel Gibson, Nicolas Cage, John Wells Productions, Castle Rock Productions, Village Roadshow Pictures, and many others. She has written many original screenplays, several of which have been optioned by producers and developed with Fox, Disney, HBO and Lifetime. She is the author of Shaping True Story into Screenplay, and has taught creative writing and screenwriting for Antioch University, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Lighthouse Young Writers Program. Her novel The Rope Swing is forthcoming from Laughing Cactus Press in 2016.