Memoir by artist/filmmaker Negulesco

Things I Did and Things I Think I Did, by Jean Negulesco. New York: Linden Press/Simon & Schuster. Illus. 317 pp. $18.95. Although now in his 80s, Jean Negulesco has decided to become a writer. For some, it might seem late in life to pursue a new career, but as ``Things I Did and Things I Think I Did'' makes clear, Negulesco has already been through several careers.

What's more, he's been successful at all of them.

Today he's remembered, if at all, for his work as a Hollywood director on such films as ``Johnny Belinda,'' ``How to Marry a Millionaire,'' and ``Three Coins in the Fountain.''

His book is an anecdotal review of his life, particularly in Hollywood.

It begins with his birth in Romania, his career as an artist in Paris, and his turn as a ``gigolo-dancer'' on the Riviera in the '20s.

Along the way, he profiles the people he's known -- among them the artist Modigliani the dancer Isadora Duncan.

It also contains a virtual Who's Who of Hollywood.

Still an artist, he has illustrated many of his stories himself.

It's a delightful book, and if Negulesco occasionally tells the slightly risqu'e story, one wants to suppress a chuckle while sternly admonishing him for being naughty.

Now living in retirement in Spain with his wife of some 40 years, Negulesco has earned the right to look back and smile.

Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston-based film reviewer. He is a frequent contributor to the Monitor.