The King, McQueen and the Love Machine: My Secret Hollywood Life with Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen and the Smiling Cobra

Ms Leigh writes about a wild time in her life, at a wild time in the culture (70s, pre AIDS), concurrently seeing three Alpha males on top of their respective games (Elvis, McQueen, and the head of a tv network).So sociologically - interesting and worthwhile read! Of course none of these sorts of books are great literature, written as they are by ghostwriters trying to approximate the tone and voice of the subjects, who are undoubtedly not always easy to work with, introspective or articulate! I am not saying Barbara Leigh was inarticulate but she definitely doesn't come across as a rocket scientist.She was an absolutely stunning woman though, and in an area loaded with stunning women she stood out. And obviously had enough going on besides look to maintain the interest of these men. However, there was little intrinsically compelling about the Ms Leigh aside from her associations. But those are interesting, particularly this combination of iconic men.This is a good companion for other biographies of people who peaked in the late 60s to 70s (like the recent and excellent Johnny Carson bio), especially revealing as to the behavior of powerful men and their treatment of the women in their lives.Of the three men, Steve McQueen comes across as the most human and likable, although he too is stunted and damaged person, he has a childlike likability and heart. Ironically Ms Leigh seemed most taken with the network exec, James Aubrey, who was unpredictable and cruel, but intelligent and sophisticated. And ended up a tragic cautionary tale, of someone who has burned bridges socially and left himself dependent on the kindness of family he ignored in his heydey.Ms Leigh was a single mother of a son, and I couldnt help but feel terribly sorry for him, because her whirlwind social life made motherhood take a major backseat and he stayed with relatives a lot. She minimizes the damage her neglect caused him, and I hope he came out okay. It was understandable she wanted to make hay while the sun shone, and she did have a minor career, making a few appearances in films and tv.A guilty pleasure of a read, and lots of juiciness.

I liked reading about her life with these men. I like that she was independent and didn’t get bogged down with old patriarchal roles for the 1960’s and 70’s. It was interesting to read.She fit some pieces together for me and I found it very intriguing.

You can read my Amazon review of the written version of "The King, McQueen and The Love Machine" under the title "Much More Than Just a Pretty Face!", so I won't rehash it here. Suffice it to say that my friend Barbara Leigh's humanity, dignity, perserverance and sense of humor shine through in this excellent audio version (two hours and 45 minutes on three CD's) of her fascinating book. Barbara worked very hard on this audio book, and that hard work shows in every bit of her narration and participation in this amazing story. The other voice actors (including David Hedison, who I thrilled to as a kid watching "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea") are excellent, as well, and they all lend a real feeling of authenticity and "being there" to the listener. You really get the impression that you are inside of Barbara's story, and that you are being given an intimate peak at her incredible life experiences and thoughts. Barbara's clear, sexy voice carries you along effortlessly in her story, and her sometimes pixie-like sense of humor will make you chuckle to yourself with delight and nod in agreement. At the same time, though, she is frank and honest about her relationships with the people in the story, as she was in the book, and that comes through very clearly, as well. Barbara Leigh is a beautiful, sexy woman who loves the company of men, and you feel like she is talking directly to you in a most personal way when you listen to this audio book, as she is giving you an intimate glimpse of her most private life. This audio book does what only the best forms of entertainment can do: It makes you completely forget your surroundings and lose yourself in the story. Please check this one out, you'll be very glad that you did! It is an amazing story, well told, and definitely worth your time. Way to go, Barbara, and Well Done!!

It was interesting. Good thing all three are dead although they are probably spinning in their graves.Yes, she did kiss and tell. Sounds like she was quite busy with all her boyfriends but somehow her son living with his dad (because it was better for him because of her jobs.) seemed a bit off.It certainly is not a bad book, I just don’t get how someone could write about having sex with 3 men all around the same time.I did have some envy about Steve McQueen. LoL

Wow! what a lively, addictive read! I read it in two days. Barbara Leigh comes across as a real survivor, from her difficult early years in a childen's home, to her teenage marriage and motherhood followed by later on the death of her son and her last lawyer husband going on the run, although he's come good again now from his awful financial difficulties Thank God.Mainly though, this is about her life with three icons in the early 70's, Elvis, Steve McQueen and James Aubrey head of MGM then. What I love about her, is that she has such a 'Carpe Diem' 'Seize the Day' approach to life at this time. I'm wondering if this is because of her tricky childhood, she just lives for today at this time and doesn't think about the future consequences. Wow, when you're young and carefree this is a great way to live I think, I wish I'd had more of her attitude in my twenties! it sounded like she made the most of her opportunities and went with the flow, as a gorgeous young actress in Hollywood. She comes across as a sweet girl too, fairly worldly in some ways for her tender years, but still sensitive and emotional, I'm not surprised these 3 Alpha Males liked her, apart from her God given exotic Cherokee looks aswell. I got this book as a lifelong Elvis fan and loved reading about her time with him, I think had she not been such a busy young actress at the time and had he not still been married then , he really cared for her and they could've made a go of it on a more permanent basis, after all they both had the southern upbringing in common for one thing. Out of the three men I found James Aubrey the most unappealing, a cold fish, selfish and remote. He only showed his emotions when it was too late in the book. I always have known Elvis was kind and sweet but the real surprise for me was that I didn't realise McQueen was such a lovely, sensitive and caring guy, I always thought he'd been a rowdy man's man. He sounded a really great guy and a truly lovely boyfriend, very straight with her, didn't mess her around, thoroughly decent. I think (as she intimates herself in hindsight) the part where she realises she's pregnant with Steve's child, how loving and sweet he was to her (although she chose a different course of action) how she could've indeed made a go of it with him as he would've been a wonderful father and a good partner. The man who she had the biggest soft spot for at the time, although she loved them all, was the most selfish and least nice, Aubrey. She realised this in the end though, hindsight is a wonderful thing. She also paints a lively description of Hollywood at a hedonistic, wild time. The early 70's sounded like great fun if you were a young person in Hollywood and a great beauty. This is a galloping read and I really came to like Barbara as a person from reading it even though I have never met her. Strongly recommended.

I mainly bought this only to read about the parts involving Steve McQueen, but because of the excellent story told within these pages I found myself glued to so much more, about Elvis, James Aubrey and Steve McQueen. The recollections are told with great emotion and colour, and you feel as if you know these people well by the end of the book, such is the detail in there. Barbara Leigh should be congratulated on writing an excellent book, that was sexy, exciting and funny but also with moments of great sadness that caused immense sympathy for her tragedies, as well as huge intrigue for her adventures. Highly recommended!

Good read - found it hard to put down

Wow! Quite a story. Wish there was more about Elvis but it was a great read and I learned a lot!

Das ist mein Fehler! Ich dachte Barbara Leigh war eine Film-kollegin von Elvis in der Film Paradise, Hawaiian Style und hätte vieles interessantes zur erzählen. Aber Sie heis Suzanna Leigh und hat mit diesen Buch nicht zu tun.Das Buch von Barbara L. braucht man nicht haben. Die Geschichten von diese etwas freie Mädchen sind uninteressant. Und von Elvis weis eigentlich garnicht.