Sharon Tate: Recollection

Sharon Tate is seen as an aspiring actress groomed to be the next Marilyn Monroe in this effusive biography in pictures arranged by her younger sister Debra, a makeup artist. Tate had just garnered her first starring roles (Valley of the Dolls; The Wrecking Crew), was newly married to director Roman Polanski, and was nearly nine months pregnant when she was brutally murdered at her Los Angeles home by the Manson Family on Aug. 8, 1969. But her gruesome stabbing (along with four others) is only referred to in passing in this celebratory book. Through the voices of those closest to her, Tate is described as serene and soulful. She was born in Texas in 1943 (and won her first beauty contest as Miss Tiny Tot of Dallas) and attended high school in Verona, Italy (her father was in the military). Her natural-blonde, all-American good looks attracted attention, and back in the States, she landed TV commercials and got bit parts on shows like The Beverly Hillbillies. MGM trained her “like a race horse,” she is quoting as saying, fashioning her signature long hair, big eyes, and pale lips that became the Swinging ’60s look for films like Eye of the Devil and Don’t Make Waves. Polanski, who selected her for his film The Fearless Vampire Killers (in which she wore a red wig), offers the most touching tribute, as do actors Dave Draper and Mia Farrow, among others, although it’s the photos that truly reveal Tate’s vulnerable, timeless incandescence. (July)