Are you ready? Come Monday night in West Hollywood, the glamour, the chic, and the literary will convene on the venerable Circus of Books to present Robert Starr, author of the new book, “The Heartbreak of Static Cling,” a memoir of the 70s and 80s in New York City and beyond. The Circus of Books bookstore is a landmark in LGBTQ+ history and culture in Los Angeles. Originally a bookstore and adult film store, it became a hub for the local LGBTQ+ community and played a key role in the city’s gay rights movement. The evening will be hosted by the apparently eternal Constance, also known as Robert Sherman, who has worked as the maitre ‘d at Bar Marmont in Hollywood’s hillside hotel. Mr Starr will be signing the books, and rumor has it, Constance will read passages from the newly published book.
Robert Starr worked in advertising in the 70s in New York City (thus, the title comes from a Bounce TV commercial) as an Executive Art Director for DDB – Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), one of the most iconic advertising agencies in the world, with a rich history of creating memorable campaigns, including those from the 1960s and 1970s when they were known for groundbreaking ads with a distinctive, witty style. They revolutionized advertising with their creative approach, particularly during the “Mad Men” era when humorous, relatable storytelling became a central focus of TV commercials. Starr has lived a charmed life. As he says in his book, “Things seem to happen to me”, and they do. But all is not an endless party—this book takes us to the 80s in New York City— a time when AIDS was on the prowl and took the lives of so many (a chapter on the death of lover Don Hall is particularly compelling, indeed heartbreaking.)
The book is a fast-paced ride through the decades, punctuated with the appearance of celebrities Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, Angelica Huston, and Jennifer Connelly. Starr moves to the West Coast only to wake the sounds of the Northridge Earthquake tossing him into the Santa Monica sky. Stints as a car salesman, a would-be actor, and a retail clerk at an art store, his journey west introduces us to Holly Woodlawn, a superstar from Andy Warhol’s underground films in the 1970s. Never a dull moment, Starr’s memoir is a reminder of a time long gone but not forgotten.
