Carole Gene Marer spent her girlhood
dreaming of meeting Rock Hudson, but when she finally had
the chance—on her second date with her future husband,
television mogul Aaron Spelling—she was so shy she hid all
night in the powder room. How Candy morphed from that
quiet, insecure girl into a seemingly-confident, stylish
trophy wife, mistress of the largest house in Los Angeles
(70,000 square feet when you count the attic) is at the
heart of Stories from Candyland.
The life
Candy created for her family—her husband and children Tori
and Randy—was fabulous, over-the-top, and often magical. So
what if California Christmases don’t come with snow? Let’s
make some on the tennis court! How do we take a
cross-country family vacation with a dad who doesn’t fly? By
private train car, of course (with an extra for the 52
pieces of luggage). The kids want to dress up for
Halloween? No problem, why not call in Nolan Miller to
design their costumes?
Candy had a hand in some of the
most beloved television shows of all time (she once stopped
production on “Dynasty” because Krystle Carrington’s
engagement ring was not spectacular enough), has entertained
half of Hollywood in epic fashion, and lives an enviable
life. But under all the fun and showmanship lies a more
interesting character, still wrestling with some of the
insecurities of her ingénue self. Oprah threw her into a
major panic with a discussion of hoarding. A lifelong
humming habit evolved as a unique coping mechanism. And
there’s nothing like being defined as, “well, you know,
complicated” by your daughter on television and in her own
book.
Stories from Candyland sparkles with
glamour and grand gestures. But it also satisfies with some
more intimate Candy concerns: why being a perfect wife and
mother was so important to her, how cooking and cleaning can
keep the home fires burning, why collections matter, and
whether dogs are better judges of people than people
are.
Visit Candyland in these pages and get a
glimpse of a generous, glittering world revealing many of
its surprising (and funny?) secrets for the first
time.
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