Call Me Lucky

“Do you think you could teach Rock Hudson to talk like you do?” The question came from famed Hollywood director George Stevens, and an affirmative answer propelled Bob Hinkle into a fifty-year career in Hollywood as a speech coach, actor, producer, director, and friend to the stars. Along the way, Hinkle helped Rock Hudson, Dennis Hopper, Carroll Baker, and Mercedes McCambridge talk like Texans for the 1956 epic film Giant. He also helped create the character Jett Rink with James Dean, who became a best friend, and he consoled Elizabeth Taylor personally when Dean was killed in a tragic car accident before the film was released. A few years later, Paul Newman asked Hinkle to do for him what he’d done for James Dean. The result was Newman’s powerful portrayal of a Texas no-good in the Academy Award–winning film Hud (1963). Hinkle could—and did—stop by the LBJ Ranch to exchange pleasantries with the president of the United States. He did likewise with Elvis Presley at Graceland. Good friends with Robert Wagner, Hinkle even taught Wagner’s wife Natalie Wood how to throw a rope. He appeared in numerous television series, including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Dragnet, and Walker, Texas Ranger. On a handshake, he worked as country music legend Marty Robbins’s manager, and he helped Evel Knievel rise to fame. From his birth in Brownfield, Texas, to a family so poor “they could only afford a tumbleweed as a pet,” Hinkle went on to gain acclaim in Hollywood. Through it all, he remained the salty, down-to-earth former rodeo cowboy from West Texas who could talk his way into—or out of—most any situation. More than forty photographs, including rare behind-the-scenes glimpses of the stars Hinkle met and befriended along the way, complement this rousing, never-dull memoir.

An intriguing true story of a young man learning to live with a serious disability, with his young wife aside. Take yourself along for a journey that could happen to anybody at any time. His triumph over tragedy attitude is the only thing that keeps them going. Read more about his life and his eternal source. It should leave you with a greater appreciation of life! Thanks for taking a look. Philip Almy

Bing Crosby's breezy autobiography, with photographs.

This book is a belated attempt by Jim Walters to explain just what happened to a life that early on seemed so full of promise. Any successes in life were always cancelled out by bad decisions on his part or just plain bad luck. The multiple instances of bad luck and the multiple bad decisions on his part seemed to produce a lifetime that seemed to have no direction at all. But an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and subsequent depression, neither of which was discovered until midlife, adds some possible understanding as to just what went on.

Frank Bank's story is a sometimes wild, sometimes bawdy, often poignant, always funny account of a real-life Louie Louie who led a nation to California-dreamin'.

A memoir of will, success, and the luck we make—from the founder and CEO of Klutch Sports Group and one of the most influential figures in the multibillion-dollar sports industry “One of the greatest stories of growing up in America’s ghettos and overcoming adversity.”—Jay-Z “The minute I met Rich, I knew he was different.”—LeBron James, from the Foreword There’s a story about Rich Paul that everyone knows: A twenty-one-year-old kid from Cleveland who sells sports jerseys out of his car meets a high school basketball phenom named LeBron James at an airport—the two become friends and forge a decades-long partnership that reinvents the business of sports. That random meeting might seem like the lucky break that changed Paul’s life. But a moment of good fortune means nothing without the struggle that gets you there. And the truth is, Paul had always been lucky. Rich Paul became a gambler at an early age—his fast mind and gift for finding an edge made him a devastating dice roller who could hold his own with grown men, win big, and walk away alive. Shooting dice wasn’t just a pastime; it was a way to earn money for his family as his mother struggled under the weight of drug addiction. He learned the secret science of dice in the same place he found all the lessons of his young life: the corner store his father operated, the center of the neighborhood’s frantic action. Paul’s father had another family but kept his son close working at the store. Paul dreamed of becoming a star athlete, but the streets were where he thrived, building a lucrative enterprise on shaky ground. When he found himself at a dangerous crossroads, he summoned the teachings of his past to create a different future. Readers will follow the riveting journey of a young Rich Paul narrated by the Paul of today, who looks back with wit and insight, drawing out the lessons he learned at every stage—about business, people, and the values that lead to success. It’s the inspiring story of the luck that’s all around us, if we know where to look.

Touch Me Down is book 6 of the Triple Threat series. Parts 1-9 can be found everywhere now! Book 1: Wrapped Up Book 2: Knocked Up Book 3: Tied Up Book 4: Pinned Down Book 5: Down for the Count Book 6: Touch Me Down Book 7: Locked In Book 8: Locked On Him Book 9: Lock It Up HE’S GOT ME PINNED DOWN – AND I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE. Cade “Lucky” Hendrix does things his own way. He’s a winner on the field and a sinner in the bedroom. There’s only one catch: he’ll never have the same girl twice. Kendra Boles has no time for arrogant jocks trying to get in her “end zone.” She’s got her hands full after the director of the charity where she works is arrested on charges of embezzlement. Besides, even if she was interested in dating, a playboy like Lucky Hendrix would be far from the top of her list. When the new team owner throws a fit over his players’ love-‘em-and-leave-‘em ways, Lucky is put in a tough position. He couldn’t care less about actually changing his lifestyle – he just wants someone to provide a little cover until this storm blows over. He strikes a deal with Kendra. If she pretends to be his girlfriend, he’ll donate to her charity and look after one of their “Younger Brothers.” At first, it’s strictly business. But the longer Lucky and Kendra hang out, the harder it is to deny what they’re both feeling. Kendra is scared of the possibilities, but Lucky is determined not to let her become the one that got away. If there’s one thing in his life that’s always true, it’s this: Lucky Hendrix doesn’t lose.

Reissued to coincide with the paperback publication of the definitive Bing biography by Gary Giddins, here is "a collection of anecdotes and reminiscences that is as warm and witty as any Crosby performance. [Bing] could have surely become a full-time writer had his schedule not been taken up with being one of the great entertainers of the century." -Will Friedwald