Written by Rick Connelly
Published by Bear Manor Media
Before I read his autobiography, Not Really Hollywood, I had no idea who Rick Connelly is, although I had probably encountered his name through the years. Turns out he’s the son of Joe Connelly. Now HIM I knew!
Joe Connelly, along with his writing partner Bob Mosher, worked on and co-created such television classics as Amos ‘n’ Andy, the Munsters, and—most importantly here—Leave It to Beaver. Rick, was/is, for all intents and purposes, the real-life Beaver Cleaver.
At least that’s the way he refers to himself throughout the book, although there really aren’t that many similarities. For part of the book, Rick comes across as a country club hippie, a designation I can’t see myself applying to the Beav at any age.
So why is Rick Connelly’s story so important? It isn’t. It’s interesting, though. Like most real-life families, Rick’s was imperfect, and despite his father’s success in show business, he grew up having to deal with all sorts of issues with siblings, parents, extended family, and—again, like most of us—his own personal growing pains.
Rick’s a good writer but he writes a lot about golf and swimming and military school, things in which I have neither experience nor interest. There’s a bizarre juxtaposition between his rich family issues and his more common human issues that makes him relatable, though, and his continuing references to the Cleavers make it feel like he’s a friend of an old friend.
The book itself is profusely illustrated with a nice mix of color and black and white pics, even some celebrity photos we’ve never seen before, featuring folks such as Jimi Hendrix. One photo of the Blondie cast, though, shows the old movie series cast, not the 1968 TV version on which his father worked.
The book is called Not Really Hollywood and it isn’t really about television, either, but alongside Rick’s story you do find a significant amount of material on both the professional and personal life of Joe Connelly.
Not Really Hollywood may not be a particularly fun book but we all have a story to tell and hats off to Rick Connelly for telling his. In the end, it’s like meeting a new person and having them pour out their entire life story to you all at once. It reminds me of some clickbait. It’s all well told, there are parts throughout that grab your attention, you’re in the middle of reading it and you realize you’ve become invested in the story its telling, but in the end, you’re pretty sure you aren’t going to remember most of it by tomorrow.
That said, I kinda liked it.
Booksteve recommends.
