Who Knew

“Who knew” that Barry Diller was a giant in the entertainment business (actually many, many businesses), and he writes so very well. Read this book!

A page turner. Savored each chapter, wow

Really well written. Great story from beginning to end.

Really good book about Hollywood and him!

I’ve been a Barry Diller fan for a long time and this book was delightful in that he didn’t hold back in what he thought about most everything and everyone in his life.

Life is a series of circumstances, some of them end sadly, some of them end happily, this is a story of a happy ending.

I’ve heard of Barry Diller forever & his unique history of internet investing. What Ididn’t realize is I really knew of his early careers just not by his name. As a movie aficionadohow could you not know of Paramount Pictures during the period after Bob Evans. Barryoversaw Paramount and some of the favorite movies of my life. But the story is muchmore complicated: a high school educated loner whose family knows Danny Thomasgets him the job but he’s an underachiever. Until he’s not with the idea of getting the jobtrailing ABC into producing internally their own weekly movies and then he’s a hit.Particularly with the miniseries like Rich Man Poor Man which I loved. So I watched hiswork from ABC to Paramount. But how about another act, running the start-up 4thnetwork: Fox. Interestingly, he has incredibly positive things to say of the controversialRupert Murdoch.Other subjects covered are his complicated love life and his sailing life as he achieveshis goal of being an owner and not a hired hand. BUY THIS BOOK, IT’S FANTASTIC!

Easy read, amazing story of a series of serendipitous events and street smarts that made the man, the lifetime impact of his disfuncional family and then the love of his life

Loved this read. What an amazing life. And the best part is he is a billionaire who has given back over and over. Something missing from the new batch of tech billionaires.

This book was very well written, and enjoyed it so much, a self built man and interesting life. I knew of him and the one thing I was hoping he would talk about was when he was at Fox and the Joan Rivers talk show, but did not mention that at all, and the the last 30 years maybe got 45 pages so wish he would have dived a little deeper but over all a good book

Great easy read. Love the title, play on words yet so appropriate. It’s fascinating to read about the wheeling and dealing at such high levels, the betrayals, yet Mr, Diller appears to hold no grudges, accepts it’s just business and learns the lessons. Found the book very honest and insightful- highly recommend

Decent book, but not as riveting as I had hoped.

ATTENTION all my movie lovers. You KNOW who Barry Diller is. He was a titan in Hollywood in that magical era of the late 70s and early 80s when we all loved movies like Saturday Night Fever, Ordinary People, and Raiders of the Lost Ark (Diller was responsible for making all of these movies when he ran Paramount Pictures). I knew Diller's story so I looked forward to being dazzled by his genius -- but knowing how memoirs are usually watered down to protect people's reputations and to not incur defamation lawsuits, Diller's frankness about the movie and TV industry and people he worked with is truly refreshing. If you thought you knew everything about the behind the scenes on movies like Sorcerer, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, American Gigolo, etc. -- you're going to love this book! I give it 5 stars!

Who KnewBarry DillerWho knew what an extraordinary life he has had – and what an extraordinarily revealing memoir this is. A successful studio head who was not afraid to walk away from success – or rather sail away - to new successes.Beautifully written “tried and tired summer-seersuckered group” and “icy stare”. And much good advice such as “Data can tell you what has happened, not what can or will happen… .”Do read this – you’ll learn a lot and be enchanted enough to wish to be in his company

One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time. It’s honest and insightful. His has the ability to read situations beyond the obvious and deliver a lifetime of observations without judgement in a single sentence. This is a kind and a brilliant writer.

Growing up in LA, I feel as if I've known of Diller my whole life. Which made this impressively insightful, candid, and lessons-learned memoir a genuine surprise. I'd always lumped him in with Eisner and other big studio heads, but Diller is so much more than that. This is an honest accounting of his many successes and sometimes failures. In fact, the failures are what brings him to life in this memoir. This is not grandstanding or settling old scores in the Robert Evans manner. Diller somehow manages to take his tremendous fame and makes it seem ordinary. Better still, he demonstrates how retaining a sound moral compass among sharks is possible. And he writes well!

Honest and inciteful telling of an extraordinary life. Luck? Yes, but charisma, kindness, relentless desire to learn, and a fear of riding his own success to boredom make Diller a remarkable man

I don’t know how anyone who read this book couldn’t have given a it 5 star review. From beginning to end Barry pulls the reader into his world in a way that makes one feel they are actually there. I knew nothing about Diller before picking up “ Who Knew” but I find him an excellent writer, as well as a fighter with deep humility and principles. What a shame we don’t have more Barry Dillers in today’s leadership roles. This is one of the most fascinating biographies I’ve read in years.

It must be difficult to write a memoir. The author has to examine his life - so far - and be honest about his relationships with family, friends, and the world at large. A good memoirist must intuit what he should include and what he should spare his readers. Far too many people who write memoirs think everything should be exposed.However, Barry Diller, movie and television wonderkin, was judicious in choosing what to include in his memoir. The book’s title, “Who Knew” is a clever way to address the two questions most readers would want to know the answers to. The first would be Diller’s sexual orientation. “Who knew” if he was gay, straight, or “Diane”? He sensitively explores his life as a man who seems to have compartmentalized his interests, passions, work, and familial relations. His parents were indifferent to their two sons and his older brother was a drug addict who made life miserable to Barry as a child. Not a happy childhood, I think.Diller opens up about his relationship with Diane von Furstenburg, which began in the 1970’s, and took a ten or so year breakup. He reunited with her in the 1990’s and the two married in 2001. They continue to share their lives, both on land and sea, and her family is his.“Who knew”, too, about how he made his mark in the entertainment industry? He is open, self deprecating, and funny about the companies he ran, the movies he made, and the technology he embraced. And, of course, the people he met along the way.I read many memoirs and Barry Diller’s is one of the best.

Mr. Diller describes his remarkable, important life with the skill of a mystery writer, i.e.- the reader is forever curious to discover "what happens next." And "what happens" is inevitably interesting.The writing is notable for its honesty: he is unafraid to share his foibles and/or failures, but is refreshingly not coy about articulating his talents and successes which are quite extraordinary, all described without conceit.His many decades spent among countless luminaries in the industry allows for the sharing of many entertaining observations and anecdotes, but there is no hint of snark in the telling.His is a story that deserves to be told, and he tells it with great skill and modesty. Anyone with an interest in tv, movies, etc. is sure to enjoy!