In her newly-published autobiography, "My Name Is Barbra," the celebrated actress-singer-director writes of a life of heartbreaking deprivation and spectacular success, and of an artistic career lauded by critics and fans as peerless.
Sue Mengers was the first superagent, a William Morris secretary from the Bronx whose moxie, canniness, and astringent wit took her to the top of the Hollywood power structure, making her nearly as famous as her clients, a list that included Ali MacGraw, Gene Hackman, Peter Bogdanovich, Burt Reynolds, and close friend Barbra Streisand. Recalling how a hilariously bawdy, no-bullshit blonde crashed the industry men's club, PETER BISKIND gets Mengers's frank, still-acerbic account of her glory days, why her magic—and her stars—deserted her in the 1980s, and the price of becoming a legend in her own time