My First Five Husbands...And the Ones Who Got Away: A Memoir [Paperback]

Rue McClanahan, best known for her portrayal of Blanche Devereaux on the Emmy-award winning seriesThe Golden Girlsreveals her life in and out of the spotlight in a laugh-out-loud funny memoir about love, marriage, men, and getting older that is every bit as colorful as the characters she played.

Raised in small-town Oklahoma in a house “thirteen telephone poles past the standpipe north of town,” Rue developed her two great passions—theater and men—at an early age. She arrived in New York City in 1957 with two-weeks worth of money in her pocket, hustled her way into a class with the legendary Uta Hagen, and began working her way up in the acting world against the vibrant, free-spirited backdrop of the sixties. That’s when she met and married Husband #1—a handsome rogue of an aspiring actor who quickly left her with a young son. Still, she was determined to make it on the stage and screen—and in the years that followed, rose to the top of the entertainment world with a host of adventures (and husbands) along the way.

From her roles on Broadway opposite Dustin Hoffman and Brad Davis, to her first television appearances onMaudeandAll in the Family,to theGolden Girlsera and beyond,My First Five Husbandsis the irresistible story of one woman’s quest to find herself. Rue is proof that many things can and do get better with age—and that, if she keeps her wits about her, even a small-town girl can make it big.

People always ask me if I'm like Blanche. And I say, 'Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-crazy, vain Southern Belle from Atlanta -- and I'm not from Atlanta!’” -- Rue McClanahan

“McClanahan’s unpretentious candor and wit reveal an irrepressible personality full of vitality and determination.” —BookPage

“Fans will relish her sweet and tart memories” —lă!