My Father - My Son

Publisher: Frederick Fell Publishers, Inc.

In this great book, which is destined to become a classic of its kind, Eddie takes us through his childhood - heartbreakingly lonely days in private school - an agonizing and humiliating initiation ceremony - expulsion from school after school - to his almost weekly brushes with the law. We are drawn into the Hollywood life of the Robinson family. The lavish birthday parties for the young son, the European tours, the glitter and splendor of Movieland, the fabulous life of the motion picture idols.We watch Edward, Jr. Become roaring drunk at eleven, entertain the exotic French star Arletty at thirteen, become a "man of the world" at sixteen. We experience the anguish of Little Caesar himself when he tries to fight his way back from defeat and frustration and blacklisting; and we understand the great provocation that caused father to say to son: "Don't bother me with your problems. I'm making the picture now. Get off my back!"

The highlight of this brilliant self-portrayal is reached when Eddie describes the despondency that led to his suicide attempt and his reactions as he faded into a world of unreality, with only a stomach pump between him and death....

Robinson was known for his turbulent lifestyle and was a regular subject of the tabloid press. At age 19, he eloped to Tijuana with the first of his three wives. His furious father later threw him out of the house. During his three marriages, he fathered two children. In 1968, Superior Court judge, Marvin A. Freeman, adjudged him the legal father of a daughter, Shawn, born in 1966 to him and Lucille Kass. He was also arrested for and accused of drunk driving during the 1950s.

His health declined in the early 1970s due to his long battle with alcoholism. Robinson died of a heart attack at the age of 40 in Los Angeles on February 26, 1974, only one year after the death of his father.

Robinson appeared in some films and numerous television series during the 1950s and early 1970s. He appeared briefly in Some Like It Hot (1959). Other works include Invasion USA (1952), and Tank Battalion (1958). He also appeared in shows like Wagon Train, Laramie, Gunsmoke and Markham.