Hollywood Hellraisers

“I don’t know what people expect when they meet me. They seem to be afraid that I’m going to piss in the potted palm and slap them on the ass.”—Marlon Brando
“I should have been dead ten times over. I believe in miracles. It’s an absolute miracle that I’m still around.”—Dennis Hopper
“You only lie to two people in your life: your girlfriend and the police.”—Jack Nicholson
“The best time to get married is noon. That way, if things don’t work out, you haven’t blown the whole day.”—Warren Beatty

They’re the baddest bad-asses Hollywood has ever seen: Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, Warren Beatty, and Jack Nicholson. They are men to whom rules did not apply; normal standards of behavior were simply too wearisome to worry about. These are men who brawled, boozed, snorted, and screwed their way into legendhood—but along the way they changed acting and the way movies were made forever. Hollywood Hellraisers is a whistle-stop tour of jaw-dropping sexual activity, misbehavior of an Olympic standard, all-out excess, and genuine madness. It’s a wonder Hollywood survived.

Robert Sellers is the author of eight books including biographies of Sting and Tom Cruise. He contributes regularly to Empire, Cinema Retro, Total Film, and The Independent. A former stand-up comedian, he lives in the United Kingdom with his wife and daughter.