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Theodora Getty Gaston
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Alone Together: My Life with J. Paul Getty Kindle Edition

by Theodora Getty Gaston (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 445 ratings
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Theodora "Teddy" Getty Gaston—now one hundred years old—reveals the glamorous yet painful story of her marriage to J. Paul Getty. As formidable as Getty was, his wife was equally strong-minded and flamboyant, and their clutches and clashes threw off sparks. She knew the vulnerable side of Getty—he underwent painful plastic surgery and suffered terrible phobias—that few, if any, saw.

A vivid love story, Alone Together is also a fascinating glimpse into the twentieth century from the vantage point of one of its most remarkable couples. This is how the other half lived—dinner dances, satin gowns, beach houses, hotel suites, first-class cabins on the Queen Mary. Teddy's extra-ordinary life story moves from the glittering nightclubs of 1930s New York City to Mussolini's Italy, where she was imprisoned by the fascist regime, to California in the golden postwar years, where Paul and Teddy socialized with movie stars and the elite.

But life with one of the world's richest men wasn't all glitz and glamour. Though terrifically charismatic in person, Getty grew more miserly as his wealth increased. Worse, he often left Teddy and their son, Timothy, behind for years at a time while he built planes for the war effort in the 1940s or brokered oil deals—he was the first American to lease mineral rights in Saudi Arabia, which made him, at his death, the richest man in the world. Even when Timothy was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Getty complained about medical bills and failed to return to the United States to support his wife and son. When Timothy died at age twelve, the marriage was already falling apart.

Teddy's unrelenting spirit, her valiant friendship, and her winning lack of vanity transform what could have been a sob story into a nuanced portrait of a brilliant but stubbornly difficult man and the family he loved but left behind, as well as an enchanting view into a bygone era. This was a life lived from the heart.

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  1. Print length
    459 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Ecco
  5. Publication date
    September 3, 2013
  6. File size
    45337 KB
  7. Page Flip
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  8. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“’Alone Together’ is a whirlwind tour through the storied places and people of the early 20th century: the Stork Club and the Russian Tea Room, appearances by Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Jesse Lasky.” (LA Times)

“Teddy vividly reflects on the tumultuous days of her marriage to the world’s first billionaire and the tragedies that defined their lives.” (Booklist)

“Offers a glimpse into a privileged world where all that glittered was far from being gold.” (Kirkus)

“Their whirlwind courtship ... is the stuff of legend.” (C Magazine)

From the Back Cover

It was 1935. Flame-haired Teddy Lynch finished singing "Alone Together" at the swanky nightclub the New Yorker and left the stage to find a charming stranger at her friends' table. It was Jean Paul Getty, enigmatic oil tycoon and America's first billionaire.

In her passionate, unflinchingly honest memoir of two outsize lives entwined, Theodora "Teddy" Getty Gaston—now one hundred years old—reveals the glamorous yet painful story of her marriage to Getty. As formidable as he was, Teddy was equally strong-minded and flamboyant, and their clutches and clashes threw off sparks. She knew the vulnerable side of Getty—he underwent painful plastic surgery and suffered terrible phobias—that few, if any, saw.

A vivid love story, Alone Together is also a fascinating glimpse into the twentieth century from the vantage point of one of its most remarkable couples. This is how the other half lived—dinner dances, satin gowns, beach houses, hotel suites, first-class cabins on the Queen Mary. Teddy's extra-ordinary life story moves from the glittering nightclubs of 1930s New York City to Mussolini's Italy, where she was imprisoned by the fascist regime, to California in the golden postwar years, where Paul and Teddy socialized with movie stars and the elite.

But life with one of the world's richest men wasn't all glitz and glamour. Though terrifically charismatic in person, Getty grew more miserly as his wealth increased. Worse, he often left Teddy and their son, Timothy, behind for years at a time while he built planes for the war effort in the 1940s or brokered oil deals—he was the first American to lease mineral rights in Saudi Arabia, which made him, at his death, the richest man in the world. Even when Timothy was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Getty complained about medical bills and failed to return to the United States to support his wife and son. When Timothy died at age twelve, the marriage was already falling apart.

Teddy's unrelenting spirit, her valiant friendship, and her winning lack of vanity transform what could have been a sob story into a nuanced portrait of a brilliant but stubbornly difficult man and the family he loved but left behind, as well as an enchanting view into a bygone era. This was a life lived from the heart.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00BATKNY8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco (September 3, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 3, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 45337 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 459 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 445 ratings

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Theodora Getty Gaston

Theodora Getty Gaston

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Theodora "Teddy" Getty Gaston, born in Chicago in 1913, began singing at the age of sixteen in the chorus of J. J. Shubert's Arms and the Maid and, in the twenties, performed as a torch singer in New York's most prestigious supper clubs. She studied opera in Europe and worked for the New York Herald Tribune during World War II. After a long romance, she married J. Paul Getty, with whom she had one child. During their eighteen-year marriage, Teddy acted in Forgotten Women and Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend, and she started a water company, a candy company, and a children's charity in her son's name. In 1990, she wrote her first book, The Mark of the Eagle.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
445 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

n elizabeth boyett
5.0 out of 5 stars Alone Together by Teddy Getty Gaston : An Amazing Life, Inspired Writing
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2013
Verified Purchase
Teddy Gaston Getty is now 100 years old, but in her pages, one feels the thrill of the teenager booked her first singing jobs, determined to be an independent woman, willing to work hard, all the while savoring her independence and advocating for those who were not as strong as she was. From debutante parties, to artists salons, deprivation, jail cell and air raids in Europe, motherhood--Teddy's unsentimental and exhilarating pacing make this book a thrill to read. I could not put it down; even when a tropical storm knocked the power out, I lit candles and took on the final chapters braving the storms just like Teddy. To say the reader will be inspired by Teddy's words is an understatement. She aptly describes joys and pains of her life, all the while showing how both inspired her to always keep moving forward, learning to be grateful for lessons even when they are painful ones. Every young woman who is about to strike out into adulthood should read this book. I know I have already purchased many copies for graduation gifts!
3 people found this helpful
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Penelope M
4.0 out of 5 stars What a Woman
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2014
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This is the kind of woman about whom, after reading this & then learning that she's 100 and has her own Facebook page, anyone would say, I wish I knew her. She's great. This is a fascinating book, well done by ex-Times staffer Diehl, about an amazing relationship between Getty and a woman who really tried to build a career rather than live off her husband's millions and become one of the Beverly HIlls "ladies who lunch." Her account of her young son's losing battle and death from a brain tumor left me in tears. A day later, I'm still choking up, and I'm not like that. The story is honest and just very well told. One mystery is J. Paul Getty's sad, wistful prologue, specifically referring to "the years covered by Teddy in this book" and saying if he could, he would "do it all over again [but] in a better way next time." However, he wrote this in 1976, died in 1982, and the book came out in 2013. Huh? Was there an earlier version? That oddity is never explained, but one comes away sure that these two people truly cared about each other, and shows how no marriage can survive being alone together.
11 people found this helpful
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Fiona
3.0 out of 5 stars Wild ride
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2013
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What was it like being married to the US's first billionaire? Well, even after reading this I can't say. This is a pretty guarded account of their marriage. He sounds difficult at best and almost criminally neglectful at worst but we never get much of a real insight into their lives together. Essentially, it was a marriage of two individuals who lived their marriage like that - I had the impression it was never a real partnership as both were madly intent on themselves and their own ambitions. (The title "Alone Together" says it all.) Still, it's poignant in one respect - at the time when she really needed him to be there for her and their son, he was unfathomably absent leaving her to cope with the tragedy of their son's short life by herself. But it's a pretty good read and an easy one - if you like reading about the nightclub life of New York in the late thirties, which is where they met, you'll enjoy those aspects of it. And her time, essentially trapped in Italy during the rise of Mussolini, is interesting. Overall though, this is a very slight story.
4 people found this helpful
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S Holmes
5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2013
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A magical and effortless read, this memoir envelopes you in a bygone era of elegance and intrigue. Teddy gives us a beautifully rare gift in sharing this intimate portrait of her life, and her life with J. Paul Getty. Her gracefully human style and perspective makes you feel as though you're experiencing and participating in every moment along side her, as part of history. The "quality of her voice" also spans the written word, leaving readers eager for the next installment. And film!
One person found this helpful
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RKC
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting? Confusing? A real "I can't put this book down!"
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2014
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While telling her story with many insightful personal letters, photo's, and documents, it seems very real. But, after reading one gets the idea that maybe this is very one sided. It tells of a strange love affair dealing with one of the wealthiest families of that era. Confusing in the fact that many known details are left out. A gripper when it comes to a love story that is seems is very one sided.
A very interesting woman with a very exciting life. Could not put it down. When I did finish, I felt that a lot of facts had been skipped over. All in all, I enjoyed this very entertaining lady.
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Sandollar
5.0 out of 5 stars Photos give away the climax or ending.
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2020
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Definitely enjoyed reading the book. I was disappointed to see the pictures tell the climax of the book, rather than reading it. I would have liked to hear more about her days with second husband and their daughter. Well written, honest.
One person found this helpful
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Ml Weller
5.0 out of 5 stars LOVED EVERY SECOND....transported me..
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2013
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What an incredible time to live...what an extraordinary woman ...what an enormous ability to LOVE...and she loved J.Paul like no other woman every did...What a gloriously warm and open armed woman she is...how lucky Getty was to have had her in his life...It is no wonder that he never was able to marry again....Her story truly made me feel as though I was living back in the days of fabulous night clubs of Manhattan in the 20's-30's-40's and 50's....I cannot wait to read her story again and again and intend to buy it as Christmas gifts for all of my friends...I am so hoping that Teddy Lynch Getty Gaston might honor us with another chapter from her life!!!! ABSOLUTELY MAD FOR THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A MUST MUST MUST READ
14 people found this helpful
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nancy bruns
2.0 out of 5 stars ugh
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2022
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always thought the story was leading somewhere. no resolution of anything. so long. so disappointing. don't waste your money or your time.
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Top reviews from other countries

Antonia Eccleston
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2019
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Great book, arrived in excellent condition.
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Amazon Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing
Reviewed in Germany on October 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
Quite superficial and over length boring. All this talking about her career that did not work out and waiting for a husband who was not interested anymore. There is too much information left aside. This is what you suspect the more the book develops. Rather disappointing.
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Virginia Melvin
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2018
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Good read
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BC
3.0 out of 5 stars THe Last Wife of J Paul Getty's Story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2013
Verified Purchase
Of course, I have known about J Paul Getty for years and living in Sutton Place with his many women. I wanted to like Teddy but she seemed too docile and allowed him to take control of their marriage and treat her badly and particularly with regard to money. The chapters dealing with her child's health and death were horrific. I am delighted she found love after her son's death. She should have known that she was a much better person than he was and stopped waiting around for him to make her happy. I do think she is brilliant to have written this book at such an unbelievable age. The love she had for her son will appeal to every mother. I would think she would be a wonderful person to meet and maybe have a cocktail in the Pierre Hotel in NYC.
2 people found this helpful
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mrs m j findley-webster
5.0 out of 5 stars Love,Passion And Ambition
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2013
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Following your passion sometimes means taking risks and hard work, Teddy does this with integrity and grace and of course glamour!
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