''Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars'' is a 2012 " tell-all" book about the sex lives of Hollywood stars from the late 1940s to the early 1980s by

Scotty Bowers George Albert "Scotty" Bowers (July 1, 1923 – October 13, 2019), active from 1945 to 1980, is best known for procuring prostitutes for Hollywood industry insiders, many closeted about bisexual or homosexual liaisons. Bowers was described as ...

, with Lionel Friedberg as a contributing author. Bowers makes many claims about the sex lives of many people, most of whom were associated with the Hollywood movie industry during that period. The book, which was vetted by a

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

lawyer before publication, was refused by several publishers before ultimately being accepted by

Grove Press Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United S ...

and

Grove/Atlantic Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself "An ...

Summary

Bowers fought in the Pacific, including at the

Battle of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

, as a

paramarine The Paramarines (also known as Marine paratroopers) was a short-lived specialized combat unit of the United States Marine Corps, trained to be paratroopers dropped from planes by parachute. Marine parachute training which began in New Jersey i ...

in the

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1946 he was pumping gas at a service station in Hollywood when he says

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. A major leading man during the Golden Age of Hollywood, known for his "portrayals of men who prove both sturdy and wise," Pidgeon earned two Academy ...

gave him $20 for a gay sexual encounter. Word spread about Bowers among Pidgeon's friends, and Bowers turned the service station into a meeting place for paid sexual encounters, which took place in a nearby trailer or hotel, with his old marine friends assisting him in the business. In 1950 he stopped working at the service station and began a legitimate business as a party bartender. Bowers became well known in Hollywood for arranging sexual encounters for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and heterosexuals as part of his party service. In the book Bowers claims he arranged gay or bisexual encounters for many actors and notable persons. Bowers' illicit activities were never detected by the authorities; he kept all his contact information in his head. In the mid 1970s, when the film '' Deep Throat'' was popular, Bowers claims to have arranged for

Linda Lovelace Linda Lovelace (born Linda Susan Boreman; January 10, 1949 – April 22, 2002) was an American pornographic actress who became famous for her performance in the 1972 hardcore film '' Deep Throat'', which was an enormous success. She later all ...

to give instruction on deepthroating at parties. He also claims to have provided women—mostly prostitutes—to

Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Insti ...

as interview subjects for his famous study on human sexuality.

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

wrote that Bowers was a long time friend whose stories he believed. Bowers ended this business when the AIDS epidemic began, though he continued to work as a handyman and bartender during this time, and in 1984 he married. Bowers said he never took payment for arranging sexual encounters for others, only when he provided sex himself, and that though he was bisexual, his own preference was for women. Bowers never talked publicly about these experiences before but decided to do so because most of the people involved are now dead and can no longer be affected by his revelations. On June 10, 2012, Bowers was featured on the show ''

CBS News Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by ...

''.

Reception

Adam Tschorn, writing for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', described the book as having an uneven, at times choppy, pace and much

purple prose In literary criticism, purple prose is overly ornate prose text that may disrupt a narrative flow by drawing undesirable attention to its own extravagant style of writing, thereby diminishing the appreciation of the prose overall. Purple prose i ...

, highlighting a passage in which Bowers describes how he milked a cow. Although he considered some of the details too much for the general reader, he wrote that the book was "a good trashy read". Matt Tyrnauer, a writer for '' Vanity Fair'', described Bowers as "like the Kinsey Reports live and

in living color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990, to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions ...

", if the reader believed him. Joanna Walters, in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', wrote that the book was a "titillating catalogue of sexual intrigue."

Film adaptation

Directed by

Matt Tyrnauer Matt Tyrnauer is an American film director. He directed the documentary feature ''Valentino: The Last Emperor'' (2009), which was short listed for an Oscar (award), Oscar nomination in 2010, ''Citizen Jane: Battle for the City'' (2016), the Emm ...

and released in 2017, the documentary ''

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood ''Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood'' is a 2017 American documentary film about the life of Scotty Bowers, who acted as an unpaid pimp in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood from the 1940s to 80s. Based on Bowers's book ''Full Service ( ...

'' recounts the book's themes, expanded by additional recollections from Bowers and those in his life.

References

{{reflist , refs = {{cite book , last = Bowers , first = Scotty , year = 2012 , title = Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars , publisher = Grove Press , location = New York City , isbn = 978-0-8021-2007-6 , url-access = registration , url = https://archive.org/details/fullservicemyadv00scot {{cite news , last = Barnes , first = Brooks , date = January 27, 2012 , title = Hollywood Fixer Opens His Little Black Book , newspaper =

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, url = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/fashion/scotty-bowers-and-his-sexual-tell-all-of-old-hollywood.html , page = ST1 , access-date = March 13, 2018 {{cite news , newspaper = Wisconsin Gazette , date = January 31, 2012 , title = Former Hollywood 'pimp' says he fixed up Katherine 'sic''Hepburn with 150 women , url = http://www.wisconsingazette.com/news/former-hollywood-pimp-says-he-fixed-up-katherine-hepburn-with/article_a24ba77b-5f25-5289-8302-0d307f46aca6.html , access-date = June 10, 2012 {{cite news , last = Walters , first = Joanna , date = February 1, 2012 , title = Sex fixer to the stars lifts lid on scandal in Hollywood's golden age , newspaper =

, url = https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/sex-scandal-hollywood-golden-age , access-date = June 10, 2012 {{cite news , last = Tschorn , first = Adam , date = February 14, 2012 , title = Scotty Bowers' 'Full Service' names names from Hollywood Golden Age , newspaper =

, url = https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2012-feb-14-la-et-0214-book-20120214-story.html , access-date = June 10, 2012 {{cite web , work = CBS News , title = A keeper of Hollywood's secrets now spills them , url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-keeper-of-hollywoods-secrets-now-spills-them/ , access-date = June 10, 2012

External links

''Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars''
at

2012 non-fiction books Non-fiction books adapted into films Works about the history of Hollywood, Los Angeles Grove Press books Books about actors Non-fiction books about same-sex sexuality Non-fiction books about American prostitution

Summary

Reception

Film adaptation

See also

References

External links