In her latest tell-all, the star addresses Hollywood\u2019s notorious casting couch and how it continues to impact stars today.<\/p>\n
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\u201cPredatory brutes like Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein have been ousted, tried and punished by the #MeToo movement,\u201d Van Doren wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen can, and should, feel empowered by the support of their sisters \u2026 Young women being preyed upon and seduced by rapacious Hollywood producers, stars and studio heads is a tired cliche, but like all cliches, it is based on reality. The casting couch was, and is, part of Hollywood\u2019s shameful legacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut through all the tears and fears, I am living proof that it is survivable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Doren painted a picture of Hollywood where young actresses were often vulnerable to powerful men.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a classic example of the predatory environment in the movie industry during the so-called Golden Age,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cA new starlet in her first movie was like blood in the water to the male sharks at the studio.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Doren knows the subject first-hand. Recalling her early years in Hollywood, she described feeling \u201cused\u201d and \u201cguilty\u201d, writing, \u201cI was now part of that multitude of stories about the casting couch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I felt drained and exposed. And worst of all, used,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many more lies would I have to tell before I got what I wanted? As I drove home, I asked myself if this was the way I wanted to become a movie star. Tonight, the answer had clearly been that I would f**k for it. But there was a cold, sick knot in the pit of my stomach, signalling that my conscience was weighing in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, did I want to continue this?\u201d she wrote. \u201c\u2018Well, I\u2019m in it now,\u2019 I told myself \u2026 \u2018Let\u2019s see what the next move will be.\u2019 I was learning a hard lesson about Hollywood\u2019s promise and threat: You may be allowed to reach the heights, but at the same time, you may be cursed or feel powerless and unprotected \u2014 and slightly sullied.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the book, Van Doren portrays Hollywood as an industry that could be exploitative and disappointing, even after achieving stardom. She described how fellow blonde bombshells like Marilyn Monroe and Dorothy Stratten met grim ends, their dreams \u201cswept away and turned into nightmares\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat, boys and girls, is Hollywood,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wake up every day to a new obituary. I have been blessed with a long life. When you reach this point in the hill climb, it\u2019s only natural to see one\u2019s contemporaries fall by the wayside. Father Time doesn\u2019t miss \u2026 I\u2019ll dare to quote the Book of Job, King James Version, 1:15. \u2018And I only am escaped alone to tell thee.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Doren\u2019s memoir also focuses on experiences far removed from Hollywood, including her time entertaining troops during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rain started again, but I did my whole show,\u201d she recalled. \u201cWhen it was over, all of us were soaking wet. Everyone was grinning. As the soldiers straggled back \u2026 one stopped me and said something that I would hear a lot in the next few months: \u2018Mamie,\u2019 he told me gratefully, \u2018I can\u2019t believe you\u2019re here.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there was a part of me that couldn\u2019t believe it either. Vietnam so far had been like a fever dream,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI couldn\u2019t escape the alarming sense of being out of control, no longer in charge of my life, but at the mercy of authorities I didn\u2019t know, in service of a war I didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got into bed that night clutching my little brown Bible next to my heart, praying to somehow survive the forces swirling around me, praying that I would live to see my son again, and praying that I would manage to bring something worthwhile to the combat soldiers\u2019 dark world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Doren described meeting Charlie, an 18-year-old Marine from Toledo. As a gift, he gave her his \u201clucky charm\u201d, a scratched and dented Zippo cigarette lighter. Van Doren initially refused, but he insisted. When she asked him about his luck, he grinned and said, \u201cI got matches to light my smokes. And I got an M-16 for the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Days later, Van Doren learned Charlie had been killed in an ambush.<\/p>\n
\u201cI flicked Charlie\u2019s Zippo again and stared at the flame,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI closed it and extinguished the flame. \u2018Goodbye, Charlie. May angels sing you on to heaven.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2020, Van Doren told Fox News Digital she loved her life outside of Hollywood in her later years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got away from all the bad stuff that was going on,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cThis was around the \u201860s when I left. There were a lot of drugs. Marilyn [Monroe] died. Jayne [Mansfield] died. A lot of my contemporaries were gone. I just thought it was time to leave Hollywood. It just wasn\u2019t agreeing with me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I had a son,\u201d she pointed out. \u201cI wanted to give him a better life than Hollywood. And he got interested in boats. I took a different turn and a different lifestyle from what I was used to. I kept some of my friends. I didn\u2019t have that many friends in Hollywood to begin with. I shy away from going to parties so much. I had stacks of invitations, and I just never used them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite her tumultuous past, she had no qualms about still being recognised as a sex symbol.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I was born with it,\u201d said Van Doren. \u201cI certainly opened a lot of doors during a post-war time when things were very conservative. I was way ahead of my time \u2026 I wasn\u2019t going to be playing nun roles, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n