Edd Byrnes: "Kookie" No More

Edd is a real character ... there are many instances when I found myself saying, "I would have done no different." He is 'Mr. Every Man", in that we all have dreamed of coming to Hollywood to seek our fame and fortune and he did it. In that case, you can live vicariously through his experiences and adventures. He certainly tells a very truthful and straightforward story, and in the end, he is fortunate to have survived it all. It is an easy book to read and a hard book to put down. And at the end of the day, you can decide whether a career in Hollywood is worth the trip.

This book is a great read. I could not put it down. Edd Byrnes has had a life full of fame, sex,drugs and certainly alcohol. The books mentions everyone from Elvis to John Travolta. We learn more about Edd's voracious sexual appeteite than probably many of us would even want to know.He was TV's very first teen idol. He was not the best actor of his generation, but was certainly at the right time at the right place. His bout with alcoholism was a terrible struggle and ended his chance to host the wheel of Fortune. His way with the ladies probably rivaled only Wilt Chamberlain. Edd Byrnes is almost 75 years old, but will always be the young handsome Kookie in the hearts of those of us who never missed an episode of 77 Sunset Strip on Friday nights.

Like a kleenex, Hollywood more or less tossed Edd Kookie Byrnes aside when no longer wanted. Following two or three teen-idol glory years, he was left to work the fringes, unable to give up the fast life or celebrity, hoping for another break that for even youthful has-beens seldom comes. Still and all, for a brief moment he was a center of worship and celebrity that very few ever experience. 77 Sunset Strip was a glamorous trend-setting series, the first non-western series I believe to be produced by a movie studio and certainly a welcome contrast to the blander boilerplate of the day. Kookie's character made the show. Teenagers loved him. His easy going smile and hipster lingo were infectious, turning the Sunset Strip into a kind of a Mecca for America's young people, even serving as a site for some of the Vietnam era's earliest clashes with police. Now Byrne's icon is known mainly to those of his own generation grown nostalgic about the past.I wish I could rate the book more highly, but aside from the harrowing early years before Hollywood, Byrnes (surprisingly) doesn't reveal much about the glory years, especially his sudden disappearance from the limelight. Here the real personal story lies not in Byrnes' later bout with alcohol or courageous recovery, which truth be told is standard celebrity fare since the fast track usually drives its commuters to excess. Instead the real story lies in how Byrnes was blackballed from the studios at the height of his tv career because of contract dispute with Warner Bro's. Like James Garner of the Maverick series, Byrnes bucked his tv contract hoping to make the jump into the steadier, more lucrative world of movie making. Garner made it, Kookie didn't. There's the real story of his professional life and I wish he had shared it with us as generously as he does his bout with the bottle. There's also a cautionary tale to be told about the price of celebrity that only someone like Edd Byrnes, experiencing both meteoric rise and fall, can convey. Come on, Mr. Byrnes, you've earned the right to wax philosophical about your life in show business. Kick back and share it. Meanwhile, somewhere on the sunny side of my soul, it will always be 1959 with Kookie's carefree smile ever there to push back the shadows.

The book is a wonderful inspiration for anyone going through a difficult time. Mr. Byrnes has literally gone through hell and has come out with spirit, mind and body together. I have been an admirer of Mr. Byrnes since a little girl of ten and have followed his career through the years. I applaud his honesty and integrity in writing Kookie, No More. Mr.Byrnes' style of writing is clear and crisp. I felt as if we were old friends chatting over coffee. There were times when I smiled, times when I cried, and times when I wanted to put my arms around him and hug him; telling him to keep going -- things would work out. I'm glad they are. Thank you, Edd Byrnes, for sharing your story with us. CarolAnn Zito

Having enjoyed Edd "kookie" Byrnes in "77 Sunset Strip and again as "The Main Brain" Vince Fontaine in Grease as well as the many other parts he did you can imagine my surprise when we met almost 10 years ago. I thought I really got to know Edd until I read his book. Wow, what an eye opener it was. It took amazing courage to write this book and open his life for all to see. This book gives an open and honest look at life in the fast lane for those in the entertainment industry. The ups and downs. The good times and the bad.Edd, my hat is off to you for sharing your life with all of us,and for putting me in the book.A must read for everyone.