My two wonderful sons above, Eric 8 (left) and David 9, are the light of my life... To check out more photos of my sons, click here . Photo from Eric's 8th Birthday pizza dinner party, June 3, 2011.
David at 12 and Eric at 11...
David at 13 and Eric at 12...
The cover of "Backstage You Can Have: My Own Story", about the life of actress Betty Hutton. I am co-author of the book, along with my partner, Carl Bruno, executor of the Betty Hutton estate.
Betty Hutton was the top grossing female star at Paramount during much of the 1940s. At the top of her career she was one of the most celebrated actresses in Hollywood, starring in such movies as Annie Get Your Gun and The Greatest Show On Earth. Without warning, her career and world collapsed virtually overnight. Betty's tumultuous childhood came back to haunt her, and along with it, an addiction to prescription pills that almost ended her life. Betty virtually disappeared from the public eye. In 1974 she was discovered living with and caring for priests in a Catholic rectory in Rhode Island. Interest in her and her life returned to the forefront. She began writing this book in 1970, as a means to explain the chain of events that led to her downfall. Sadly, she never finished writing it. After her death in 2007, we picked up where she left off, and finally completed her book.
Turner Classic Movie's Robert Osborne introduces our book on TCM after the broadcast of The Fleet's In, Betty's very first movie.
Mike with Betty Hutton in 2002.
Executor, Carl Bruno (left), of the Betty Hutton Estate and co-author of "Backstage You Can Have" and co-author Michael Mayer speak at a book signing held at the Rancho Mirage, Ca. library on November 17, 2009.
