I went into this expecting much more time spent on West Side Story, and it ended up being a relatively conventional career memoir. But Chakiris had a really interesting career on stage and screen (I especially liked how he talked about his experiences filming in European cinema in the 60s and 70s), and his regrets, cautions, and celebrations of his friends and collaborators were fun to read.

Chakiris weaves an enlightening biography in with the history of West Side Story, along with plenty of who's who name-dropping. George Newbern's narration certainly doesn't hurt either.

This book will be of interest only to older audiences who love the original West Side Story or to hard-core theater geeks. For most of the students I teach, they'll be focused more on the new Spielberg version, but their parents or grandparents will love Chakiris' journey and the anecdotes that flesh out both the stage and film versions of the musical. Also, he was such a perfect Bernado, I was stunned to learn he'd played Riff.

Thank you NetGalley, publishers, and author for a copy of this audiobook. I have always been obsessed with musicals and West Side Story is one of my favorites. I loved getting to hear about how it came to be and the process behind the scenes. Highly recommend this read for anyone who loves musical theater.

3 stars

A light, entertaining show biz memoir from an actor & dancer with a varied & interesting career. Well written, smooth, & enjoyable. I recommend this if you’re a WSS fan, or interested in behind-the-scenes stories about the 50’s-60’s Hollywood acting & dancing world.

[What I liked:]

•Chakiris narrates the intro, which is a nice touch. The rest of the narration was fine. I had no issues with it.

•The tone is light, not heavy on drama or personal tragedy. The writing is smooth & doesn’t drag. Chakiris is respectful of his colleagues, & even when relating negative work experiences he gives the benefit of the doubt to those involved.

•Chakiris had a very interesting career, starting as a chorus dancer in golden era musical films with stars like Gene Kelly & Judy Garland, & choreographers like Robert Alton & Jack Cole. I’m a dancer, so I love hearing stories like those. I also enjoyed hearing about his stage & later (straight acting) film career. He worked in a variety of entertainment jobs with a lot of cool people.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Chakiris never addresses the aspect of his career where he played characters of other ethnicities. He played a Latino character in WSS. He also was in a costume drama about the Mayans, where he played a Native American character. He doesn’t say whether or not he was in brown face for the role, but he recounts Yul Brynner’s being coated in thick body makeup to darken his fair complexion as an amusing anecdote. Literal brown face, no comment on how that’s not okay.

•I get why this is marketed as a “West Side Story” memoir since it’s probably Chakiris’ best known role, but while he does spend time on his film role & earlier stage role in the London production the majority of the book is about his other career pursuits. Equally as interesting, but it’s honestly not a WSS-focused memoir like I was expecting based on the title & cover.

CW: brown face/racism

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Chakiris had a wonderful Hollywood career and left his legacy. I loved hearing his antidotes about well known people and his experiences. Of course I love West Side Story so this was a special treat. I loved his stories about his experience with the show and all of his theater references. Chakiris is a man after my own heart.

I flew through My West Side Story by George Chakiris. It was an interesting listen about the life and career of Chakiris along with all sorts of history about West Side Story.

I loved and appreciated Chakiris's positive attitude about his career and life.

All of the little stories about different celebrities during the Golden Age of Hollywood were just incredible.

The narrations by George Chakiris and George Newbern were great. I thought Newbern's energy helped keep me engaged the entire book.

If you love theatre and classic movies I highly recommend My West Side Story.

I received an advanced audiobook from HighBridge Audio through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

“No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible.”

My West Side Story, is both a memoir of George Chakiris (the actor who played Bernardo in the 1961 West Side Story film) and a chronicle of the history surrounding the West Side Story legacy. The book follows the entirety of George’s life - before, during and after the film that ultimately earned him an Oscar and a prosperous career. George also uses the book as an opportunity to relay the rich history surrounding the tale that eventually went on to become a true classic.

This memoir is both a film and theater buff’s dream. George had such an amazing career, both on the stage and on camera, so it’s no surprise that he had a treasure trove of stories to tell.

I listened to this on audiobook and had such a fun time with it! The book just flew by and I really enjoyed George Newbern’s narration.

What I Loved:
✨All the Anecdotes from George’s Career - George worked with so many Hollywood greats throughout his time in the entertainment world - from Judy Garland to Rita Moreno (and the list goes on) - that he accrued many fascinating stories to share.

✨All the Theater References - George’s resume is chock-full of theater and his repertoire of songs contains numerous timeless theater standards. My theater loving heart was beyond content with all the theatrical name dropping.❤️

✨Learning All Things West Side Story - I loved hearing about the show’s history and about the making of the film! George had such a vast wealth of knowledge on the topic!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and believe that any entertainment junkie would have a ball reading it! It’s packed full of show biz trivia and history, while also containing the story of a boy who fell in love with the movies and made it his goal to one day be a part of them.

A definite must read for anyone who loves all things theater and film! Know that you will 💯 want to rewatch West Side Story the second you finish this book. 😉

Thank you to NetGalley and High Bridge Audio for the ARC!

As a fan of WEST SIDE STORY for over forty years, I couldn't wait to hear Mr. Chakiris's recounting of the making of both the stage play and the iconic film. Those chapters provide a fascinating middle to his story, but I was surprised by how fascinating I found the next chapters in his life, when he had to navigate the highest temporary fame the most famous industry in the world can provide -- the winning of an Academy Award -- with his natural modesty, loyalty, and trust in others. Mr. Chakiris comes across as so gracious, humble, hardworking, dedicated, and professional an actor, that his winning for the screen performance of the swaggering Bernardo now seems, in retrospect, even more deserved than at the time. Personal note: my mother was 16 when this movie came out, and I have always loved her story of going to see the movie on Friday night with her older sister, and then going back for both the Saturday and Sunday matinees, in part because of how electrifying Chakiris was onscreen. We are lucky he has shared that creative experience and many other Hollywood stories with us in this kind-spirited and elegant account.

My West Side Story: A Memoir by George Chakiris
Narrated by George Chakiris; George Newbern
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs | Entertainment | Nonfiction (Adult)
Release Date: March 2, 2021

My West Side Story: A Memoir by George Chakiris is a memoir, recounting Mr. Chakiris's of his life and Hollywood experience.

As a huge fan of West Side Story, I was so excited to read this!

Overall, I found this to be an interesting collection of stories from Mr. Chakiris and his experience with Hollywood royalty of his time.

I'm so grateful to George Chakiris, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

George Chakiris can't say enough about the cultural significance of West Side Story, and he couldn't be more right. The musical and then the movie were brilliant, and continue to be brilliant. So I was greatly looking forward to an inside look at things.

Needless to say then, that the sections about the actual production of the movie and musical were thrilling. My favorite parts of the book by far. I wish the author spent a little more time in that era of his life. That being said, who am I to tell anyone how to craft their memoir? And the author certainly had a plethora of interesting experiences not directly related to West Side Story to relate as well. Overall, it was a very pleasant memoir. Nothing earth-shattering or groundbreaking, but some interesting experiences related in a pleasant conversational way.

3.5 rounded up
Love West Side Story and watch at least once a year. I grabbed the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. Interesting and fun if you love WSS, otherwise it is another Hollywood bio.

George Chakiris provides a great inside look into one of the great classic musicals of its time! THe story details his time on the set of West Side Story, interactions with co-stars, the impact of the movie on his life, and the rest of his career.

I am a fan of the movie, but I do feel the need as a Latina to address the fact that Latinx roles were played by non-Latinx actors. I think the book should have addressed this. This was a product of its time, and I understand that this was an older custom, but it would have been better to address it rather than omit it totally.

That being said, I enjoyed the rest of the audiobook. Chakiris had some great stories to tell. I was interested to hear about his experience on set and working with Natalie Wood.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley and HighBridge Audio in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say, requesting this was a bit impulsive of me. I have fairly mixed feelings about West Side Story, and I can't say I'm really familiar with George Chakiris's work outside of West Side Story, so after it got approved I was kind of like, "why did I do that?"

However, I am an optimist, and I was definitely interested in getting some sort of behind-the-scenes look at the making of the famous movie musical.

Unfortunately, I can't say I found the content to be incredibly interesting. The first couple chapters were pretty good. And I did find the West Side Story bits of it somewhat interesting, but it really didn't capture my attention. And after that it mostly was just him choosing different points in his career to tell stories about and name drop a ton of people. I mean, I don't think that he was trying to name drop for the sake of it, but a lot of it was him just talking about how fantastic all the different people he had worked with were. "She's an incredibly generous and smart and beautiful woman," etc. (that's not a direct quote, I'm paraphrasing, but I felt like that's what he said about almost everyone.) There wasn't any sort of solid thread through the memoir, other than a chronological one. I have no idea why he chose to tell the stories he did, because, once again, they all kind of sounded the same.

To boil it down: there's nothing here that makes this particular memoir any different from any other classic hollywood celebrity memoir. The voice and point of view don't stand out enough in terms of originality. The stories don't bring anything particularly powerful or new to the table. It's just kind of bland.

In addition to this, I can't say I really enjoyed the audiobook experience. The narration wasn't great; it often had odd pauses and inflections.

Even with all this, the thing that disappointed me the most was that I did come in looking for something else. I was kind of hoping that Chakiris would acknowledge the fact that he had played a Puerto Rican man when he is not Puerto Rican or even Latino. Obviously this was a common practice in the fifties, but I was kind of waiting for him to say something like, "This was common practice back in the day, but I now acknowledge that it was harmful to have white actors playing non-white characters. It's shameful that there's only one actual latinx actor in the entire movie." You know? Like I just kept waiting for him to acknowledge how harmful it can be to have white writers and producers and actors telling stories that aren't actually theirs, without any input from the people they are supposedly representing. Especially since Rita Moreno has been fairly open about her own negative experiences on set, and the racism she experienced. So the lack of anything was noticeable and deafening.

So, yeah, 2 stars.

I’ve been a fan of West Side Story ever since I can remember. My parents went to the theatre to see the movie when it came out, over and over so many times that they lost count. George Chakiris may not be a household name, but he is well known in my house and my sister’s kids have known the lyrics to all the songs before they learned to speak English. That said, how could I not adore Nardo’s memoir? He is such a charming person! Listening to the audiobook is like chatting with him in his living room. Following an adage that autobiographies should start with chapter 2, he doesn’t spend much time on his childhood. Just enough to show how committed and passionate he’s always been to music. He goes through his first steps as a newbie in Hollywood. Since this is classic Hollywood that he’s talking about, Chakiris was around the biggest legends: Judy Garland, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and so many other stars that every anecdote is covered in stardust. There is obviously a big part devoted to West Side Story, full or trivia that had me calling my parents to tell them what I had learned. Chakiris was involved in the theatrical production and then the greatest film of all time. There is his recollection of the ceremony where he won his Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. After he ended his run, he kept working in theatre and TV. He is humble and relatable and sounds so much like a fanboy that it’s easy to forget that he’s a legend in his own right. Lastly, it’s refreshing not to have any political commentary. Remember when Hollywood was there to just entertain and make us dream? I now must stop my review to watch the Quintet, one of my favorite pieces of art ever created and in which Chakiris plays a big part. Thank you, George, for sharing your story with us!
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ HighBridge Audio!