Old Hollywood Books and Book Reviews

Reviews of books and biographies about Old Hollywood or the Golden Age of Hollywood and its magical actors and actresses.

Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman (Book Review of a Fascinating Biography)

January 24, 2022 By Joi

The Garner Files and Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise

Before I get to my review of the extraordinary Cary Grant biography by Scott Eyman, I’ll remind anyone who reads my Old Hollywood and Classic TV Book Reviews that I go to great lengths to keep from giving anything away (including not showing any of the pictures inside the book).

I want the reader to experience the book as I did – with the luxury of making their own lovely discoveries along the way! It’s what’s best for the reader and what’s best for the author. An author, after all, devotes years to writing about their subject, carefully planning everything from the title of the book to the photos used inside. For anyone to give away or over-share what they’ve worked so hard to put together is, in my opinion, about as wrong as wrong gets.

I love watching old movies and classic television with an unmeasured passion and I love reading biographies and autobiographies of the stars with an equal passion. I am ALWAYS in the middle of at least two “new to me books,” while carrying around at least 4 additional books for cross-referencing the new books and researching for posts or Tweets.

I take this commitment to keeping these wonderful stars’ legacies alive and well very seriously!

Fortunately there are authors such as Scott Eyman who feel just as strongly. If I had been a star from the Golden days of Hollywood, he’s one of the first authors that comes to mind when I think of the one I’d want to write about me. He’s thorough, fair-minded, and never writes with even an ounce of salaciousness or judgment. He doesn’t try to sensationalize the star’s life and seems to always remember that the star was, first and foremost, a human being.

When I’m reading an old Hollywood biography, there is one word that comes to the forefront of my mind when I begin reading and it stays there until the end. The word is respect. If I ever detect that the author does not respect the individual they’re writing about, I throw the book out, simple as that. It has happened before and I’m, unfortunately, sure it’ll happen again.

Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise

Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise (Amazon link)

Scott Eyman’s biography, Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise (Amazon link), is… understandably.. a must have for Cary Grant fans but it’s also a must have for anyone who loves old Hollywood. Through the fascinating exploration of Cary Grant’s life, you bump into a whole world of other stars – something that always intrigues me. You often get to see a whole other side of a star when you bump into them this way. For example, a June Allyson autobiography gave me more beautiful insight into Judy Garland than any Judy Garland biography I’d ever read.

The same is true with this compelling book. Seeing Cary Grant’s co-stars through his experience is an eye-opener and I find myself EVEN bigger fans of two in particular: Grace Kelly and Ingrid Bergman. I already adored Katharine Hepburn to distraction or she’d be right there with them.

One of the things I love most about this biography is the fact that, while I knew a great deal about “Cary Grant who was once known as Archie Leach,” I knew next to nothing about “Archie Leach who would one day be known as Cary Grant.”

In fact, something occurred to me about half way through the book. You know the incredible performance Hayley Mills gave in The Parent Trap (1961)? The way she convinced you there really WERE two actresses playing the roles?! I am fascinated by the way author Scott Eyman presented what often seemed to be two personas (Archie and Cary) yet, at the same time, blends them together to give us the legend we only thought we knew.

We see early on things that shaped Archie Leach‘s life that HAD to have lasting effects on the man who he’d become, Cary Grant.

I’ll be honest with you, this Archie guy was every bit as interesting! The way his mind worked and the level of confidence stopped me in my tracks a few times. His audaciousness will always stick with me – and I do not mean that in a bad way, whatsoever.

Was Cary Grant perfect? Did he always make the best decisions, say the right things, and do only reputable things? Heck no! And frankly, I’m glad of it – what a boring book that would have made! I’m sure a great author like Scott Eyman could have made it interesting, of course, but I’m relieved Cary Grant didn’t make that necessary as there was no part of his life that was ordinary or even remotely boring.

This amazing, hard to put down biography is nearly 500 pages in length and is the definitive biography on Cary Grant. There are 56 photos which are truly remarkable – many I’d never seen, in spite of spending a GREAT deal of my life’s waking hours in Old Hollywood. Well, non-waking hours too, if we’re being completely honest.

I truly hope you’ll grab a copy of Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise (Amazon link) as soon as possible. I’m very anxious for more people to see just how complex and interesting Cary Grant was. There was so much more to him than most of us realize and I am forever grateful that author Scott Eyman brought it to light.

While this book would be a wonderful addition to your own library, it would also make an excellent gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Valentine’s Day.

Thanks so much for reading my review. You’re going to absolutely love this book! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise (Back Cover)

The New Year Brings a Few Changes to Hollywood Yesterday!

December 31, 2021 By Joi

Olivia de Havilland, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

First of all, I will be adding a lot more content on the old Hollywood and classic television blog in the coming year.

More reviews of movies and classic tv shows.
More book reviews (biographies, autobiographies, reference books, memoirs..)
More biographical information about the stars and directors we love so much.
More quotes from these stars and directors.
More quotes from movies, radio shows, and classic television shows.
More collectibles for those of us who adore them.
More classic cartoons and animated movies – two personal obsessions that I don’t talk nearly enough about!

More content is a better way to keep the stars’ shining brightly and to encourage old Hollywood friends like you to see their films and read their biographies.

At first I considered stopping the Picture of the Day but, after thinking about it, I’m going to keep it going and simply add more content as well.

Also, about the comments. Blogs have “plugins,” little beauties that help the blogger run their blog more efficiently. One such plugin I used for years helped keep “spam” out of the comments. Unfortunately this plugin simply stopped working and I have been flooded with spam comments – so many that I can’t even see the quality ones half the time! For this reason, I have disabled comments until I can find a new plugin that actually comes to work each day!

In the meantime, if you have something you’d like to tell me, my e-mail address is to the right and on my About page and Contact Page. Also, I am always on my Hollywood Yesterday Twitter Page – if you want to discuss any film or star, I’d love to hear from you! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Olivia De Havilland 1946 Photo Print (Amazon link)

Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It by Eve Golden (Book Review)

November 30, 2021 By Joi

Jayne Mansfield Biography by Eve Golden

I’ve often wished for a really well-written, extensively-researched biography about Jayne Mansfield and my wish has been granted! Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It (Amazon link), by Eve Golden, is exactly the book I’ve always wanted in my personal library. The author treats the mysterious and complex Jayne Mansfield with respect and admiration – as a woman and not simply an iconic figure WITH an iconic figure.

Many old Hollywood actresses are treated as one dimensional by writers… so much so that it’s always very refreshing to see one treated as a person first and Hollywood legend second.`

Jayne Mansfield (19331967) was driven not just to be an actress but to be a star. One of the most influential sex symbols of her time, she was known for her platinum blonde hair, hourglass figure, outrageously low necklines, and flamboyant lifestyle. Hardworking and ambitious, Mansfield proved early in her career that she was adept in both comic and dramatic roles, but her tenacious search for the spotlight and her risqué promotional stunts caused her to be increasingly snubbed in Hollywood.

In the first definitive biography of Mansfield, Eve Golden offers a joyful account of the star Andy Warhol called “the poet of publicity,” revealing the smart, determined woman behind the persona. While she always had her sights set on the silver screen, Mansfield got her start as Rita Marlowe in the Broadway show Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?. She made her film debut in the low-budget drama Female Jungle (1955) before landing the starring role in The Girl Can’t Help It (1956). Mansfield followed this success with a dramatic role in The Wayward Bus (1957), winning a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year, and starred alongside Cary Grant in Kiss Them for Me (1957). Despite her popularity, her appearance as the first celebrity in Playboy and her nude scene in Promises! Promises! (1963) cemented her reputation as an outsider.

By the 1960s, Mansfield’s film career had declined, but she remained very popular with the public. She capitalized on that popularity through in-person and TV appearances, nightclub appearances, and stage productions. Her larger-than-life life ended sadly when she passed away at age thirty-four in a car accident.

Golden looks beyond Mansfield’s flashy public image and tragic death to fully explore her life and legacy. She discusses Mansfield’s childhood, her many loves―including her famous on-again, off-again relationship with Miklós “Mickey” Hargitay―her struggles with alcohol, and her sometimes tumultuous family relationships. She also considers Mansfield’s enduring contributions to American popular culture and celebrity culture. This funny, engaging biography offers a nuanced portrait of a fascinating woman who loved every minute of life and lived each one to the fullest.

Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It (Amazon link) isn’t just a fast-reading, highly enjoyable biography, it’s a beautiful coffee table book as well and one that guest would very much enjoy looking through. There are many wonderful photos in the center of the book, many of which I’d never seen (and I live in old Hollywood 24/7!).

Something else that stands out to me is the humor. This feels like an enriching film history text book but without the dryness that comes with a lot of such books. There’s wonderful humor and a colorful personality emanating from each page.

A few of the raving reviews this wonderful book has received:

“There have been other Jayne Mansfield books―but none like this one. Eve Golden’s even-handed, clear-eyed approach to Jayne’s often convoluted life pegs Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It as one of the best star bios ever.”―Laura Wagner, book reviewer for Classic Images and author of Hollywood’s Hard-Luck Ladies

“Eve Golden has given us an impeccably researched, fast-paced, unvarnished but loving tribute to one of Hollywood’s great 1950s blonde bombshells.”―Robert Dance, author of Glamour of the Gods and Hollywood Icons

“Pop the pink champagne for Eve Golden’s breezily written tribute to the phenomenon known as Jayne Mansfield, which quite notably includes an appreciation of her undervalued talent and sadly unfulfilled potential. Immersed in the giddy pleasures of mid-century pop culture, this book is consistently entertaining while always respectful. Even when it’s funny, it never treats Mansfield as a joke.”―John DiLeo, author of Ten Movies at a Time: A 350-Film Journey Through Hollywood and America 1930-1970

“Eve Golden brings impeccable research and stylish writing to this mid-century American icon. Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It dispels the myths about Jayne Mansfield and examines her continuing popularity.”―Larry Harnisch, retired L.A. Times editor, writer, columnist and blogger

“As Eve Golden reveals in this ferociously readable biography, there were always two Jayne Mansfields: a dramatic actress who dressed like a stripper, an avowed Christian and serial adulteress, an animal-lover swathed in mink. Ms. Golden takes on the daunting task of reconciling these contradictions and succeeds admirably, giving us a vivid, well-rounded (no pun intended) account of a unique life.”―Stage and Cinema

“Exemplary in its research and detail, Golden’s book may well become the definitive word―if not the last word―on the Mansfield story.”―Library Journal

“An engrossing picture of a woman who was both a throwback to classic Hollywood glamour and a harbinger of modern, “famous for being famous” reality stars.”―Foreword Reviews

“Golden treats Mansfield with respect and sympathy. [Golden] delves deep into her life, past the gossip and (increasingly desperate) publicity stunts that so dominated her career, to reveal the insecurities that truly dominated, and eventually decimated, her life.”―YES! Weekly

“In this eye-opening, intriguing and oft-times laugh-out-loud biography of the busty blonde bombshell, Eve Golden has managed to bring to three dimensional life the facts and fantasies surrounding the ubiquitous sex symbol of the 50’s and 60’s.”―oscaremoore.com

“In Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It, Golden tells the story of a 1960’s American icon who made a name for herself in the entertainment industry and also in pop culture – and this was before the evolution of social media and more modern-day methods of self-promotion. She was a reality show unto herself. Golden’s book delves into the world of that self-promotion and also how relevant it is today.”―Newsnotes Dance Blog

“In Golden’s capable hands, Mansfield becomes a multi-dimensional person―never just a joke with a big bosom. The research is scrupulous and meticulous, showing us Jayne’s complex nature in startling detail. She’s not perfect, of course, and Golden describes her affairs and mistakes, while also making her sympathetic. . . . This is a definitive, stylish biography, separating fact from fiction, presenting the good with the bad. There has been quite a lot of fiction attached to Mansfield, and Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It is here to sort it all out.”―Laura Wagner, Classic Images

“As with any person we encounter on screen or in the pages of a magazine, Jayne Mansfield was more than just what the media portrayed. These other facets of her life as well as what the public saw is what author Eve Golden has chronicled in her new biography, Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It. Golden takes her reader through a very detailed account of Mansfield’s entire life bringing forth a more holistic picture of the Hollywood legend as a celebrity, actress, mother, woman, and person.”―Cinema Sentries

Final Thoughts…

After reading a book, I often ask myself, “If I were to write a book about this particular subject, would I do so after reading this particular book?” Often I answer, “Yes, because I’d like to know more about ____ or I wish the individual had been fleshed out in more detail…” but after reading Eve Golden’s Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It (Amazon link), not only is my answer, “No, there’d be absolutely no need to!,” I have no idea why anyone else would even bother as well.

The definitive (and highly, highly enjoyable) book has been written.

About the Author

Eve Golden is the author of numerous theater and film biographies, including Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway, The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall, and John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars.

This is just one of the many, many wonderful books from The University Press of Kentucky. They have SO MANY books dealing with Old Hollywood, it’s one of the first places I send people who are looking for such books.

Thank you so much for reading! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Mean…Moody…Magnificent! by Christina Rice (Fascinating Book about Jane Russell)

November 15, 2021 By Joi

Mean…Moody…Magnificent! by Christina Rice

Before I go any further…. about the eye-catching title: This is not an assessment of Jane Russell by the author or publisher! When you see, early in the wonderful book, where the title comes from, you’ll get a kick out of it.

It may seem unusual for someone like me (completely immersed in all things old Hollywood) to say, but Jane Russell is a star I’ve never been particularly familiar with. Naturally, I’ve always known who she was and certainly knew she was very beautiful and very talented. We simply haven’t crossed paths often as I have not seen many of her films.

After reading Christina Rice‘s (link to the author’s Amazon profile) fascinating biography, however, I plan to see each and every one.

Description

By the early 1950s, Jane Russell (1921–2011) should have been forgotten. Her career was launched on what is arguably the most notorious advertising campaign in cinema history, which invited filmgoers to see Howard Hughes’s The Outlaw (1943) and to “tussle with Russell.” Throughout the 1940s, she was nicknamed the “motionless picture actress” and had only three films in theaters. With such a slow, inauspicious start, most aspiring actresses would have given up or faded away. Instead, Russell carved out a place for herself in Hollywood and became a memorable and enduring star.

Christina Rice offers the first biography of the actress and activist perhaps most well-known for her role in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Despite the fact that her movie career was stalled for nearly a decade, Russell’s filmography is respectable. She worked with some of Hollywood’s most talented directors—including Howard Hawks, Raoul Walsh, Nicholas Ray, and Josef von Sternberg—and held her own alongside costars such as Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, Clark Gable, Vincent Price, and Bob Hope. She also learned how to fight back against Howard Hughes, her boss for more than thirty-five years, and his marketing campaigns that exploited her physical appearance.

Beyond the screen, Rice reveals Russell as a complex and confident woman. She explores the star’s years as a spokeswoman for Playtex as well as her deep faith and work as a Christian vocalist. Rice also discusses Russell’s leadership and patronage of the WAIF foundation, which for many years served as the fundraising arm of the International Social Service (ISS) agency. WAIF raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, successfully lobbied Congress to change laws, and resulted in the adoption of tens of thousands of orphaned children. For Russell, the work she did to help unite families overshadowed any of her onscreen achievements.

On the surface, Jane Russell seemed to live a charmed life, but Rice illuminates her darker moments and her personal struggles, including her empowered reactions to the controversies surrounding her films and her feelings about being portrayed as a sex symbol. This stunning first biography offers a fresh perspective on a star whose legacy endures not simply because she forged a notable film career, but also because she effectively used her celebrity to benefit others.

Mean…Moody…Magnificent! by Christina Rice

As you can tell from the three photos in this post, Christina Rice and Jane Russell spent this past summer with me. We tended to flower beds, herb beds, vegetables, and then we’d crash and escape into the world old Hollywood. It was glorious and they were excellent company.

While I never like to swim in controversial waters… heck, I don’t even like to wade into them… I feel I must get something out of the way. When one Christian (as Jane Russell was and as I am) takes a stance or voices their opinion, that opinion casts a large blanket over all of Christianity and the words tend to stick to all Christians…. as though we had said them ourselves (when, many times, we are as taken aback by the words as anyone). Why is this? I have no idea. It doesn’t happen with… say… Leos, Texans, brunettes, Democrats, Republicans, Australians, Vegetarians, Tree huggers (raises hand), the Keto crowd (guys, how can you live without potatoes?!?) or other groups of people. It seems pretty exclusive to religious groups. I often read something along the lines of, “all Catholics believe….” or “when Christians say…”

Basically, if you want to know what an individual (who happens to live within a particular group of people) believes, you need to get that from them. Not someone else. That’s all.

I want to thank Christina Rice for realizing this. Many authors take what one person believes or says and tattoos everyone else with it. This simply isn’t reality. The author, as any mature individual would do, treats her subject with respect, whether she agrees with everything the legendary star said or not.

That’s class. That’s decency. That’s appreciated.

As someone who wasn’t very familiar with this fascinating star, I was very anxious to meet her and boy did she exceeded my expectations?! The lady was an absolute joy and what a study in contrasts! If I had had a thought bubble over my head as I read this book, you’d have seen the word “Fascinating!” a million times.

Not only did Jane Russell, herself, leave me gobsmacked, so did the gorgeous photos, the author’s enthusiasm, and the stroll through old Hollywood.

You meet the most wonderful people along the way.

Christina Russell gives more than just a glimpse into Jane Russell’s life and experiences, you also get to know others better through the process.

After reading a book – whether it’s an old Hollywood biography, historical non-fiction, or Agatha Christie mystery – something always, always, always stays with me from the book. If it’s a biography or autobiography, facets from the star’s life or words from their lips stick with me. Often, however, something from the author will also become a lifelong companion. In this case, Jane Russell’s boldness and contrasts will permanently reside in my mind and heart. She truly was a remarkable woman and did a LOT of good that transcends Hollywood.

Something else from Mean…Moody…Magnificent will stick with me and that’s the manner in which the wonderful author, Christina Rice, handled her star – with great, great respect mixed with an understandable level of amusement and enjoyment! She did what any great author should do – she fully told the story of her subject, holding nothing back. A great author is like a great journalist – they give the facts and keep themselves out of the story…. rather, allowing the reader to make up their own minds about events, quotes, and choices.

That’s class. That’s decency. That’s appreciated.

You can find Mean… Moody…. Magnificent by Christina Rice on University Press of Kentucky’s website (if you’re fast, you can take advantage of their great Holiday Sale!). This would be a gorgeous gift idea for any film lover in your life.

You can also find Mean…Moody…Magnificent (Amazon link) on Amazon… where I just saw that Christina Rice has an Ann Dvorak biography?! (I told Ann I would be right back, and that’s where I’m headed!)

~ Thanks so very much for reading! Joi (“Joy”)

Mean…Moody…Magnificent! by Christina Rice

Wonderful James Garner Memoir: The Garner Files (Review)

November 14, 2021 By Joi

The Garner Files, A Memoir by James Garner

If you’ve ever seen one of my “top 10” favorite actor lists, you already know that James Garner is one of my absolute favorites. Like Lucille Ball (another absolute), James Garner wasn’t just phenomenal on the small screen, he left his mark on the big screen as well. He was masterful at drama, comedy, westerns, romantic films… there simply wasn’t a role this talented actor couldn’t play.

Like a handful of stars from “Hollywood Yesterday,” he has another distinction I believe would make him very, very happy: He’s one of those actors everyone seems to like! Does he make everyone’s list of top 10 favorite movie actors? No… not everyone’s, but that’s only because they’ve yet to see…

Murphy’s Romance
Support Your Local Sheriff!
Victor Victoria
Support Your Local Gunfighter
The Notebook
Marlowe
How Sweet it Is
Duel at Diablo
Etc!

However, everyone LIKES James Garner. He had a wonderful personality, wasn’t involved in embarrassing scandals, and tried to make the world a better place for everyone… not just himself.

Anyone who has seen any of this wonderful actor’s films knows what I’m talking about when I say he had something extra special – a once in a lifetime charisma and likability that came through every scene. Debbie Reynolds, Eve Arden, Jimmy Stewart, Ann-Margret, Jack Lemmon, and James Garner are six stars I think of immediately when I think of this extra special quality.

(Continued below one of my cats, Delilah, clearly a James Garner fan as well…)

James Garner and One of His Adoring Fans, Delilah

As I’ve often said, I read A LOT about stars from old Hollywood, classic television, old music, and old radio shows. Call it a passion… or call it an obsession – either shoe fits. I’ve read about far too many men and women to even begin to count but there are a few who always, always, always stand out as having been almost too good to be true.

James Garner is one of these “too good to be true” stars. He was incredibly talented, outrageously colorful, charismatic, a very GOOD person, a loving family man, and genuinely cared for other people and animals. Civil rights and animals were particularly important to him.

Let’s just go ahead and state the obvious… he was one in a million.

The wonderful book pictured here is The Garner Files: A Memoir (Amazon link) by James Garner and Jon Winokur and it’s one of my all-time favorites. Ever seen an episode of The Rockford Files or one of the best romantic comedies (and a movie I am in love with!) Murphy’s Romance? The book reads as though Jim Rockford or Murphy Jones is visiting with you. Come on… how are you going to beat that?!

Product Description:
Told in the charming and self-deprecating style that has made him one of America’s most beloved celebrities—the real story behind Hollywood legend James Garner, from his Depression-era childhood to his colorful career.

His incredible story, in his own words.

One of Hollywood’s all-time great leading men, James Garner enjoyed a remarkable career spanning six decades, and whether you know him as Bret Maverick or Jim Rockford, his appeal bridges generations. Few know the real story, now told in this intimate memoir of growing up in Depression-era Oklahoma and triumphing in Hollywood.

After physical abuse at the hands of his stepmother, Garner left home at fourteen. He was Oklahoma’s first draftee of the Korean War, receiving two Purple Hearts for combat wounds. Back in Los Angeles in need of a job, Garner reluctantly tried acting and was surprised to find his career taking off. Working with such luminaries as Julie Andrews, Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, and Clint Eastwood, he became a star in his own right. He threw himself into his work, and despite stage fright and bouts of depression, constant physical pain and epic battles with the Hollywood establishment, he became the acting equivalent of a national monument.

Written with Jon Winokur, The Garner Files is a wry, engaging self-portrait chronicling the vagaries of a screen career along with the cast of personal and professional characters that helped shape a great American life. – From Amazon

James Garner and Sally Field, Murphy’s Romance

“[an] enjoyable memoir…there’s plenty to love in this book. Garner…has a knack for telling a story and finding the perfect quote to tie it all together…charming…[It] resembles a conversation with an old friend who loves to tell colorful stories.” –PublishersWeekly.com

James Garner has been one of my favorite stars for as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl, I watched him on reruns of Cheyenne and Maverick with my dad and then, when it came to The Rockford Files, it was watched and celebrated each week like a University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball game (if you’re familiar with basketball fever in Kentucky, you’ll know how huge this was!).

We also never missed one of his movies. He was my dad’s favorite actor and he quickly became one of mine as well. He still is – right up there with James Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Buster Keaton.

Being such a fan of this actor, I have read countless articles, quotes, and books. Before reading The Garner Files: A Memoir (Amazon link), I thought I knew a great deal about him and believed I had a pretty good mental picture of the actor as a person.

I was wrong. I didn’t even know half as much as I thought I knew. Not until reading about his childhood, career, and much loved family in his own words did I understand the many facets and layers to this wonderful actor and quality human being.

“Garner follows his own heroic dictum: Plenty of self-deprecating, humor, a general air of live-and-let-live, but when it comes down to it, no pulled punches. For Garner fans, ‘The Garner Files’ is catnip…it is a fine, frank and fun collection.” –LOS ANGELES TIMES

James Garner as Jim Rockford

I want desperately to give away fascinating (and often as juicy as a summer peach!) details and quotes, but (as I often say with my book reviews and movie reviews, too, for that matter), I want future readers to come across the treasure as unexpectedly as I did.

Suffice to say, you will laugh and you will cry. He was, by all accounts, as likable, honest, and funny as the many lovable characters he brought to life.

“Garner tells his life story with the same wry, self-effacing charm that characterized his classic TV characters: the laidback cowboy Bret Maverick and the down-on-his-heels gumshoe Jim Rockford…Garner comes across as likable on the page as he does on screen.” –“Kirkus Reviews”

I hope you’ll grab a copy of The Garner Files: A Memoir (Amazon link) as soon as you can and dive right in. James Garner was all class and even more entertaining and charismatic than all of his characters combined. Yes, even including Murphy and Jim!

About the Author
Jon Winokur is the author of various nonfiction books, including The Portable Curmudgeon, Zen to Go, and Advice to Writers. He lives in Los Angeles.

James Garner has starred in numerous television shows and films, from Maverick and The Rockford Files to The Great Escape with Steve McQueen and Victor Victoria with Julie Andrews.

Wonderful Book on Alfred Hitchcock and His Films: Alfred Hitchcock (The Legacy of Victorianism)

November 13, 2021 By Joi

Alfred Hitchcock: The Legacy of Victorianism by Paula Marantz Cohen

When I think in terms of old Hollywood books (biographies, autobiographies, film studies, memoirs…), I think of some as falling under their own sweet category: Film History. These are the books that allow those of us who consider ourselves to be Film Historians by way of our own reading, research, and (of course) film viewing and dissecting.

This is meant to take absolutely nothing away from those who have – through great diligence, hard work, and study – have earned their film history degree from a University. These film historians have my utmost respect and I would share a cup of coffee and/or Twitter conversation with them any day of the week.

Not all of us have the opportunity for a college film degree education, so we have to create the environment ourselves and creating such an environment begins one place in particular… our library! Some of my favorite books to review are those which would fit within a film history library because I love few things more than educating myself on things that fascinate me: Old movies, Amelia Earhart, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Cleopatra, American History, Ancient Egypt, Bob Gibson, old Hollywood stars and directors, and so on.

The book pictured here, Alfred Hitchcock: The Legacy of Victorianism by Paula Marantz Cohen is one of the newest additions to my old Hollywood library and it most definitely features prominently on the “film history” shelf.

I LOVE that Alfred Hitchcock Introduces the Reader to Each Chapter!

From the Back Cover:

This provocative study traces Alfred Hitchcock’s long directorial career from Victorianism to postmodernism. Paula Marantz Cohen considers a sampling of Hitchcock’s best films—Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho—as well as some of his more uneven ones—Rope, The Wrong Man, Topaz—and makes connections between his evolution as a filmmaker and trends in the larger society.

Drawing on a number of methodologies including feminism, psychoanalysis, and family systems, the author provides an insightful look at the paradox of a Victorian-style gentleman who evolved into one of the leading masters of the modern medium of film. Cohen posits that Hitchcock’s films are, in part, a masculine response to the domestic, psychological novels that had appealed primarily to women during the Victorian era. His career, she argues, can be seen as an attempt to balance “the two faces of Victorianism”: the masculine legacy of law and hierarchy and the feminine legacy of feeling and imagination.

Cohen asserts that Hitchcock’s films reflect his Victorian legacy and serve as a map for ideological trends. She charts his development from his British period through his classic Hollywood years into his later phase, tracing a conceptual evolution that corresponds to an evolution in cultural identity—one that builds on a Victorian inheritance and ultimately discards it.

Wonderful Pictures from Hitchcock’s Films

This extremely well-researched book provides such insight to Hitchcock’s films that I fully intend to watch each one, book in hand, and see them in a whole new light. The author, Paula Marantz Cohen, does such a beautiful job of taking you through Hitchcock’s wonderful films, one by one. You see a picture take shape and realize that… when looked at in this way… his films not only provide you with an overall view of film history but of world history as well.

Trust me when I say the view is utterly fascinating.

I love many things about this book, including:

The informative, yet easy to read style of writing by Paula Marantz Cohen.
Meeting Alfred Hitchcock, the man, as well as Alfred Hitchcock, the legend.
Revisiting favorite films and seeing how they fit into the larger picture.
The wonderful photos included.
The fact that Alfred Hitchcock, himself, through his unmistakable profile, welcomes you to each chapter of the book.

You can find Alfred Hitchcock: The Legacy of Victorianism on The University Press of Kentucky website, as well as countless other wonderful old Hollywood biographies, film history books, and memoirs. It’s one of my favorite sources for Old Hollywood books AND there’s currently a great deal going on! Information about their Holiday Sale is available on their homepage.

This book would make an excellent gift for any film lover in your life.

Alfred Hitchcock: The Legacy of Victorianism (Amazon link) is also available on Amazon.

Thanks for reading! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Alfred Hitchcock: The Legacy of Victorianism by Paula Marantz Cohen

Jimmy Stewart and His Poems: A MUST HAVE for James Stewart Fans!

September 4, 2021 By Joi

Jimmy Stewart and His Poems

If you’re even remotely familiar with me, you know all about my HUGE obsession with old Hollywood books (biographies, memoirs, cookbooks, autobiographies, poems..). I spend some of my happiest moments curled up with one of these prized possessions.

The one pictured here is one of my favorites. Not just because it was written by one of my absolute favorite actors but also because the poetry is breathtakingly wonderful.

From Amazon:

“I’m sure I never said to myself: ‘Now, Jim–why don’t you sit down and write a poem.’ It’s still a mystery to me, but I think probably it’s something that happened by accident–like a lot of things have happened in my life.”

So begins this delightful collection of poetry by America’s best-loved actor, Jimmy Stewart. Interspersed with vivid recollections and charming illustrations, the poems document a life that isn’t too different from yours or mine.

Jimmy Stewart won the hearts of generations of movie viewers with a confused innocence and stammering delivery that made his acting seem genuine and effortless. Somehow he managed to make the boy next door into a national hero. Now, in Jimmy Stewart and His Poems, the consummate Everyman shares tales from his everyday life.

From fishing trips and dog stories to a hilarious account of a photo safari where the camera was lost to a hungry hyena, the poems are related in Jimmy Stewart’s inimitable voice and are enlivened with charming illustrations.

The book confirms what we all expected–that the real Jimmy Stewart is every bit as endearing as the film characters he’s portrayed. Jimmy Stewart and His Poems is a perfect gift, one that fans will treasure as much as Jimmy Stewart’s timeless performances.

I love to read and reread his wonderful poetry – it’s an insight into just how special this legend truly was.

You can find Jimmy Stewart and His Poems on Amazon. It’d make a great gift idea for any James Stewart fan in your life… just be sure to grab a copy for yourself!

The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall: Review of a Biography About an Extraordinary Actress

July 17, 2021 By Joi

Kay Kendall, Genevieve

Most classic film lovers in America, while we certainly know who Kay Kendall was, lack a thorough understanding or knowledge of the woman behind the beauty and the spirit behind the talent. We know the name, we know the face, and we certainly know she never failed to entertain or amuse us. But how much about Kay Kendall, herself, do we know.

After watching her in Genevieve and Les Girls, I found myself always wanting to know MORE this charismatic actress. Fortunately for me, an excellent biography exists, The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall. Now, I know…. not ALL biographies can be completely trusted, but this one’s different. Not only is the author, Eve Golden a devoted fan of the actress who put in exhaustive research with countless interviews with friends and loved ones, Kay’s own sister, Kim Kendall Campbell, was involved with this biography.

Continued Below…..

Book Description:

Comedic film actress Kay Kendall, born to a theatrical family in Northern England, came of age in London during the Blitz. After starring in Britain’s biggest cinematic disaster, she found stardom in 1953 with her brilliant performance in the film Genevieve. She scored success after success with her light comic style in movies such as Doctor in the House, The Reluctant Debutante, and the Gene Kelly musical Les Girls. Kendall’s private life was even more colorful than the plots of her films as she embarked on a series of affairs with costars, directors, producers, and married men. In 1954 she fell in love with her married Constant Husband costar Rex Harrison and accompanied him to New York, where he was starring on Broadway in My Fair Lady. It was there that Kendall was diagnosed with myelocytic leukemia. Her life took a romantic and tragic turn as Harrison divorced his wife and married Kendall. He agreed with their doctor that she was never to know of her diagnosis, and for the next two years the couple lived a hectic, glamorous life together as Kendall’s health failed. She died in London at the age of 32 with her husband by her side shortly after completing the filming of Once More with Feeling!.

This book was written with the cooperation of Kendall’s sister Kim and includes interviews with many of her costars, relatives, and friends. A complete filmography and rare photographs complete this first-ever biography of Britain’s most glamorous comic star.

Kay Kendall was born Justine Kay Kendall-McCarthy on May 21, 1927 in Withernsea, Yorkshire, England. In spite of being remarkably beautiful (same can be said of her sister Kim for that matter… the photos of them from the book show two very beautiful sisters who were obviously very close), she never seemed to realize just how lovely she was.

Kay was both a comedienne and actress, as impressive in a dramatic role as she was in a comedic one. Her gift for physical comedy was on par with the greats – Lucille Ball, included. Kay is best known for Genevieve (1953). She also starred in The Constant Husband (1955), Les Girls (1957). Her role in Les Girls led her to winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy!

When doing biography and autobiography reviews, I am always uncommonly cautious about giving too much away (preferring for future readers to discover things along the way as I had the privilege of doing). Suffice, however, to say that Kay’s journey into show business and fame makes for a fascinating, often laugh out loud journey. The colorful people you meet along the way are almost as interesting as lovely Kay, herself.

One person in particular would go on to become Kay Kendall’s husband, Rex Harrison. They met and fell in love when they appeared together in Marriage a la Mode (1955). Rex learned of Kay’s leukemia from her doctor a couple of years later and married Kay in 1957. He agreed with the doctor that they would never to tell her the true reason for her failing health, protecting her from her last days being clouded by thoughts of dying.

While Kay Kendall led an eventful and colorful life, it was a very brief one. She was only 32 when she died from leukemia. THIRTY-TWO.

Before reading this wonderful biography, the only things I knew about Kay were…

She was married to Rex Harrison.
She died very, very young.
She died from leukemia.

To know more about someone’s death than their life is a perfect tragedy – of Shakespearean proportions. I am so glad I got to know this charismatic and colorful actress through the intensive efforts of Eve Golden and the generous way in which Kay’s loved ones (including her sister Kim) shared their stories. It isn’t always easy to relive parts of your life and it can feel a bit intrusive when people poke around in your family tree. What’s more, when we have lost people we loved dearly (and still love), we feel very protective of them and almost want to keep them for ourselves. The fact that Kim Kendall’s loved ones cared enough about her legacy to share their stories is a beautiful thing. It helps those of us on this side of the words get to know and understand their loved ones better.

Husband Rex Harrison once said that while he was singing I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face in My Fair Lady (1964), he was thinking of Kay to access his innermost emotion. The look of great pain in his eyes makes it apparent that he did just that.

It’s interesting that this book not only gave me the honor of feeling like I got to “meet” Kay Kendall, it allowed me to see Rex Harrison (a star I thought I knew pretty darn well) in a different light as well.

What I love most about this book:

The very interesting history of Kay’s life is fun to read and is presented in a manner that allows the book to flow smoothly and quickly. Not long ago I read a biography that had me in such a fit of boredom by chapter 3 I nearly didn’t journey into chapter 4! Many authors seem to think a subject’s childhood has to read like a textbook. Holy cats, a textbook is the last thing I ever want to see again in my lifetime! Eve Golden makes the historical aspects of the book as interesting as the pages involving household names.
The fascinating personal accounts and stories are so entertaining, I read many of them more than once!
There are so many extraordinary photographs! Surely I’m not the only one who stares at photos and dissects every star’s feature, clothing, jewelry, and setting. Heck I even examine everyone in the photo with them, star or not. In this book, I found the similarities between the beautiful sisters Kay and Kim particularly fascinating. They resembled each other in many ways, but each had her very own look. Kim was always every bit as beautiful as her famous sister.

I’ve mentioned on Hollywood Yesterday that I have my own particular favorite actresses and actors. The ones who I “collect” by making a point to acquire their every movie on dvd, every book about them, and as many photographs as I can get my hands on. Before reading this book, Kay Kendall was dangerously close to being one of these elite favorites. Now that I know how truly colorful, charismatic, hilarious, and special she was… well, suffice to say my first photograph ordered from eBay is on the way.

There will be many more. I’m so very honored to have met you, Kay Kendall.

You can buy The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall on the Kentucky Press Website.

Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway by Eve Golden

June 16, 2021 By Joi

Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway

I have been on a glorious roll when it comes to reading exceptional old Hollywood biographies and delicious books about film history lately. Vitagraph (link to my review of Vitagraph), for example, opened my eyes to a whole new world from early Hollywood I had pictured entirely incorrectly!

I didn’t expect to read (and thoroughly enjoy) another book that opened up a whole new world right on the heels of Vitagraph, but here we are. Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway by Eve Golden is also from The University Press of Kentucky and, like Vitagraph, introduced me to people I have never “met,” while introducing me to people I only thought I knew.

Before going any further, I have to say how gobsmacked I am by the research that went into this book. While writing, say, a biography about Farrah Fawcett or Ava Gardner would be difficult, the level of difficultly would (in no way) compare with doing the necessary research to dig deep into the past. Furthermore, when individuals span several continents during their lifetime (as was the case for Vitagraph and Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway), it adds even more challenges.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that Eve Golden took the both the time and the (great) effort that went into writing such an exceptional book.

From the Back Cover:

Anna Held was America’s most popular musical comedy star during the two decades preceding World War I. In the colorful world of New York theater during La Belle Époque, she epitomized everything that was glamorous and provocative about turn-of-the-century Broadway. Overcoming an impoverished life as an orphan to become a music hall star in Paris, Held rocketed to fame in America. From 1896 to 1910, she starred in hit after hit and quickly replaced Lillian Russell as the darling of the theatrical world. The first wife of legendary producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Held was the brains and inspiration behind his Follies. Together, they brought the Paris scene to New York, complete with lavish costumes and sets and a chorus of stunningly beautiful women, dubbed “The Anna Held Girls.”

While Held was known for a champagne giggle as well as for her million-dollar bank account, there was a darker side to her life. She concealed her Jewish background and her daughter from a previous marriage. She suffered through her two husbands’ gambling problems and Ziegfeld’s conspicuous affairs with showgirls. With the outbreak of fighting in Europe, Held returned to France to support the war effort. She entertained troops and delivered medical supplies, and was once briefly captured by the German army. Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway reveals one of the most remarkable women in the history of theater. With access to previously unseen family records and photographs, Eve Golden has uncovered the details of an extraordinary woman’s life in 1900s New York.

Below are the things I love most about this meticulously researched book.

You Can Hear Their Laughter and See Their Faces

The entire era of showgirls and Ziegfeld has always fascinated me but finding really quality books is a challenge. I love a book that feels like you’ve stepped back in time to this particular era, so much so that you can practically hear their laughter, smell their p and see their faces. Few books, for whatever reason, have ever achieved this for this era – I have no idea why other than, perhaps, it’s all but impossible to send a reader back to a place you have never, yourself, visited.

Unless Eve Golden is a time-traveler, she simply has visited the era simply with exceptional research and unparalleled passion. Personally, I prefer the thought of her time-traveling but I’ll go with the latter explanation.

Anna Held Can, Finally, Have Her Story Told

Anna Held has always.. well, sorry for the pun, but she has always held my attention. The way I see it, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. was such a fascinating man, surrounded by so much beauty, that any woman he was drawn to must have been a real force of nature. It’s fairly easy to find information about actress Billie Burke (Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. was married to Billie Burke from 1914 to his death on July 22, 1932), but Anna has always been presented in, sadly, a one-dimensional way. Even sadder, she has often been treated almost as comic relief. As in Ziegfeld and Billie Burke are the ones to be taken seriously, while Anna was a curvy, naughty clown.

I’m sure you can see now why I am BEYOND thrilled that Anna Held has been so respectfully and even affectionately brought to life as a flesh and blood human-being – one as capable of highs and lows as the rest of us. She had wonderful qualities and she had not-so-wonderful qualities… and boy could the lady stretch the truth!?!

Frankly that’s one of the things I love the most about her – she was a deliciously entertaining little star who loved the spotlight and lived by her own rules. Rules that she made up along the way.

The fact that she has finally received what she deserved, to have her story told, makes me ecstatic.

You See More of the Real Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.

It’s up to the reader, of course, to decide whether the insightful, fleshed out look into Florenz Ziegfeld Jr makes him more or less likable to them, but (for me personally), I think I like him even better. Was he perfect? Oh, heck no… the man may not have been able to spell the word! But, let’s be honest, the same can be said for most people – especially people who are thisclose to all the fame and fortune they dared ever hope for.

Who wouldn’t do all in their power to grab all they can while they can?!

Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway

The Book Reads Like a Fascinating Historical Novel

My favorite books to read are non-fiction, however, I do love an occasional work of fiction. About halfway through this book, it occurred to me that it read like a scrumptious blend of the two – the details, history, and wonderful fascination of a biography but with the drama, mystery, romance, and intrigue of a great historical fiction novel.

I can’t wait to read everything this wonderful author has written because I am in love with her writing style, attention to detail, and humor. Most of all, I am enthralled with her ability to place you in the setting. Whenever Anna unleashes her charms on members of the media, for example, you fall just as prey to them as they do.

I don’t want to give anything away that I very, very much want you to experience for yourself as you read the book, so allow me to simply say this: Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld’s Broadway, by Eve Golden absolutely has to be the next book you read.

You can read more about the book on the University Press of Kentucky’s Website or find the book on Amazon.

Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish: A MUST-Have Book for Film Historians (Review)

May 27, 2021 By Joi

Vitagraph: America’s First Great Motion Picture Studio

Film Historian is a term that can find itself in the middle of many hot debates. Those who have studied in college classes (for anywhere between 2-4 years) for the dubious distinction of being a “film historian” and those of us who have studied outside of a college setting (over the course… excuse the pun… of a lifetime) because we believe ourselves to already be “film historians” sometimes disagree over who can and who can’t claim the term.

I sometimes wish I had earned a degree to prove to others that I am a film historian, but then I wonder…. would I be a better cook if I had been to cooking school? No. (sorry, I’m full-on cocky about my cooking!).

Like all film historians – those with the college degree to prove it and those without – I arm myself with as many books as possible to feed my addiction. Biographies, autobiographies, memoirs… trivia books… if it has to do with old Hollywood, classic radio and classic television, it’s on the bookshelves, frequently consulted and forever treasured.

The book pictured here, Vitagraph: America’s First Great Motion Picture Studio by Andrew A. Erish is the latest to join my collection and quickly became a favorite. This fascinating and eye-opening book feels like a textbook (if only my Psychology textbooks had been half as fascinating!) – one that would be used when studying film history.

Yes, inside OR outside of college.

When I took photos of it to use for this review, I even created a new folder for it titled “Film History.” First time I’ve ever done that, which should tell you how informative and deliciously interesting this book is.

But, wait, there’s more.

I just created a whole new category (and Vitagraph is the first entry) called Film History because this book has renewed the desire within me to learn all I can about the fascinating subject.

Vitagraph is from the University Press of Kentucky and was sent to me to read in exchange for telling you about it. My review and opinion were, of course, left entirely up to me. I’m guessing they really had no idea just how much I would love this book.

The Vitagraph Review

When writing book reviews for Hollywood Yesterday (or my other blogs, for that matter), I’m always left with a quandary – describing how much I enjoyed reading the book without spoiling it for future readers. It’s the same with movie reviews, too, if we’re being honest, which is why my movie reviews and book reviews sometimes tend to be shorter than some – I figure, the less I say, the less apt I am to give anything away that I want others to discover for themselves AND the less I hold them here, the quicker they can get there to order the book or watch the movie!

From the Back Cover:

In Vitagraph, Andrew A. Erish provides the first comprehensive examination and reassessment of the company most responsible for defining and popularizing the American movie. This history challenges long-accepted Hollywood mythology that simply isn’t true: that Paramount and Fox invented the feature film, that Universal created the star system, and that these companies, along with MGM and Warner Bros., developed motion pictures into a multi-million-dollar business. In fact, the truth about Vitagraph is far more interesting than the myths that later moguls propagated about themselves.

Established in 1897 by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith, Vitagraph was the leading producer of motion pictures for much of the silent era. Vitagraph established America’s studio system, a division of labor utilizing specialized craftspeople and artists, including a surprising number of women and minorities, whose aesthetic innovations have long been incorporated into virtually all commercial cinema. They developed fundamental aspects of the form and content of American movies, encompassing everything from framing, lighting, and performance style to emphasizing character-driven comedy and drama in stories that respected and sometimes poked fun at every demographic of Vitagraph’s vast audience. The company overcame resistance to multi-reel motion pictures by establishing a national distribution network for its feature films. Vitagraph’s international distribution was even more successful, cultivating a worldwide preference for American movies that endures to the present. For most of its existence America’s most influential studio was headquartered in Brooklyn, New York before relocating to Hollywood.

Finally, here is a historically rigorous and thorough account of the most influential producer of American motion pictures during the silent era. Drawing on valuable primary material long overlooked by other historians, Erish introduces readers to the fascinating, forgotten pioneers of Vitagraph.

Allow me to say, somewhat red-faced, that I had no idea how vital Blackton and Smith’s contributions were. When my daughters were small, we’d build elaborate homes for their Barbies. We’d use the largest, sturdiest building pieces for the foundation. Without saying it, we knew that was the most vital part of the entire creation. Certainly the foundation wasn’t the flashiest component, but everything else rested upon it and would come crashing down without it.

As I reached the end of reading Vitagraph (or as I nearly finished the film history course!), these Barbie mega houses came to mind. Blackton and Smith were the foundation upon which so very much (yes, flashier and more eye-catching) was built upon.

Mixed in with the excitement of meeting new faces and acquiring so much wonderful knowledge was a hint of melancholy. These names (Albert E. Smith and James Stuart Blackton) should be as remembered and honored today as other film greats. It’s my sincere hope that Andrew A. Erish’s wonderful, wonderful book helps make this happen.

What I Love Most About Vitagraph:

I am, for better or worse, a VERY visual person, even when it comes to books. I appreciate efforts put into books to make them attractive and Vitagraph is a knock-out. Not only is the cover (from the image to the eye-catching fonts used) positively handsome, the nostalgic, wonderful photos throughout the book are a joy. I look at them over and over.
For posts on Hollywood Yesterday, I often dive into research of a particular individual or film. It can be very time-consuming, especially if the individual has not had a great deal written about them. I can only imagine the time and effort that went into researching this particular subject and these bold, BRAVE, world-changing individuals (more about them in a minute!). The research, alone, boggles the mind. Author Andrew A. Erish’s respect for the people he has written about (and subsequently brought back to life for us to meet) is palpable. When you come across an author who has dedicated so much of their life to shine light on the life of others, it’s a beautiful thing. If we’re being honest, it’s something that never fails to make this book lover remember why she fell in love with books in the first place. Blackton and Smith would be so incredibly honored and happy with this book.
This book is as bold as its subject. It doesn’t hesitate to let you know what is the truth, what’s close to the truth, and what couldn’t be further from the truth if Albert Pujols or Barry Bonds had taken a whack at it with a bat!
There is no other book like this in existence. Erish has taken a subject that was buried deep in history and excavated it. Film history is better and richer for his efforts.
About halfway through the book, I started fantasizing about a movie or documentary being made based on this book. I try not to allow myself to do that, as I am very much a “live in the moment with your eyes wide open” person, but every now and then I can’t help myself.
As I often say in my Old Hollywood book reviews, I get a HUGE kick out of coming across names that are as familiar to me as my own when reading a book. Bumping into familiar faces on the pages of a book brings me the same type of joy as one feels when they bump into a friend in the store. A few encounters in Vitagraph: Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mary Pickford, Jean Paige, Theodore Roosevelt, Charlie Chaplin, and many others (I want to leave the reader a few surprises they’ll get a kick out of).
Finally, what I love most about Vitagraph is simple: Albert E. Smith and James Stuart Blackton. Neither man was born anywhere near Hollywood. The fact that two English-born Americans contributed so greatly to Hollywood and American entertainment fascinates me. Imagine stepping foot in another country and, within a comparatively short amount of time, reaching far into its future and influencing it so much. Can you imagine the self confidence, boldness, and fearlessness? So far from your home in what must have seemed like a whole new world.

I always tell people that you can never, ever underestimate the power of films and entertainment. They influence so much in and around us – fashion, expressions, hairstyles, cars, ideologies… make no mistake about it, nothing stays solely “in the movie” or “on the tv.” It reaches out and touches us all.

It’s high time the fingerprints of Albert E. Smith and James Stuart Blackton get the credit they deserve and I very much hope you’ll add Vitagraph to your personal library. Andrew A. Erish has written a masterpiece.

You can find Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish on The University Press of Kentucky or Amazon.