SUSIE…AIN’T SHE A DOOZIE? MY HAZEL DAYS AND BEYOND (SOFTCOVER EDITION) by Julia Benjamin
SUSIE…AIN’T SHE A DOOZIE? MY HAZEL DAYS AND BEYOND (SOFTCOVER)
ISBN 9781629330778
The captivating autobiography of a child star surviving the glare of spotlights to emerge into the real world of casting challenges, career downturns, and dramatic personal upheavals.
Julia Benjamin is best-remembered as a child actress in the role of Susie Baxter on Hazel (1961-1966) with Emmy Award-winning Shirley Booth. Julia also appeared in My Three Sons (1967-1969), Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones (1971), The Jordan Chance (1978), The Rockford Files (1978), and Riptide (1984).
She intimately knew icons of show business, such as James Garner, Desi Arnaz, Jr., Bobby Buntrock, Fred Macmurray, and Tony Franciosa, yet few of them realized the shaky pedestal on which she stood as she approached her thirties: an out of wedlock pregnancy and subsequent turbulent marriage that set the stage for a horrific personal event that nearly killed her.
Julia’s story of laughter and joy drowned by tumult and tears evolves into a miraculous tale of survival, faith, courage, and determination.
194 total pages. Illustrated with photos from Julia’s private life, her television series, and family and friends behind the scenes.
About the author: Julia Benjamin is an actress and voice artist, and daughter of casting director Phil Benjamin.
“Julia’s book will make you both laugh and cry. It’s filled with wonderful insights about what Hollywood was like for a child actor who started working professionally when she was six and continued right on into adulthood. Julia was talented enough to be hand-picked by Shirley Booth to play Susie Baxter in the fifth and final season of Hazel. Her successful career continued into her young adult years, but then something tragic happened to Julia that would change her life forever. Her whole story is here—the good, the bad, the terrifying, and the eventual recovery. Julia Benjamin is a survivor, and now for the first time, she shares her life with everyone in one of the most emotional books ever written.” -Stu Shostak, TV historian
“I first met Julia Benjamin at Columbia Pictures, when she signed on to the popular Hazel television series. She was, then and now, adorable. When A Minor Consideration started up in the early 1990s, Julia came back into my life as she began her courageous recovery from a vicious dog attack on Valentine’s Day. Julia’s will to bravely face life’s ups and downs is remarkable.” –actor Paul Petersen