One of my favorite subjects to read about is old Hollywood. I am talking anytime from the start of the talkies to maybe the mid to late '40s. Hollywood could be vile and deceitful and the studios would cover all of that up in an effort to appear it's stars were perfect, just like a movie plot! To me, the stars are classic, poised, graceful, but also conniving, and backstabbing (there lies the thrilling element for me). I will pick up any book, fiction or nonfiction, about classic Hollywood, and below are some of my favorites, and I admit I had so much trouble trying to limit it to this number.
1. This is more of an author and not a singular book, his name is Martin Turnbull and he seems to only write classic Hollywood and that is fine with me because he does it so well. He has a series of books called The Garden of Allah that are must-reads if you like this genre. There are nine of them and I will list them for you, but only show you the cover of one, the first one, The Garden on Sunset. Between these covers, we meet three young folks each trying to make it big in this new world called "Hollywood." They are each traveling on their own career path, but those paths cross and they form friendships that will take us through the entire journey of nine books. This series has been optioned for movie/tv rights, we will see what happens there, I personally think a series would be fabulous.
Oh, this one is fascinating! Remember when you heard that Clark Gable and Loretta Young had a romance and that love produced a child? This one features that event as the subplot. You see the romance, the pregnancy, and the aftermath where she adopts the child and never tells Clark about her. The main plot of the book features Loretta's personal assistant, Alda, and her romance with another on set member too. I liked these two plots because they paralleled the stars' affair and the supporting player's romance.
3. Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J Mann.
This book is a nonfiction, jaw-dropping plot (, almost unbelievable unsolved murder in early Hollywood. William Desmond Taylor is murdered and everyone seems to be a suspect. I have my theory of who did it, and I would be excited to see what you think too.
4. The Purple Diaries...there are two of these you need to try. The Purple Diaries: Mary Astor and the Most Sensational Hollywood Scandal of the 1930s by Joseph Egan and Mary Astor's Purple Diary by Edward Sorel. I am not going to spoil this for you, but be prepared to be SHOCKED!!! When I first read this I mainly knew Mary from the movie Meet Meet in St. Louis so I was in no way prepared for the real-life Mary.
This book is all about the last few years of the Great F Scott Fitzgerald's short life. I think you might enjoy this even if you don't care for Scott because he is entertaining.
6. Fireball-Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3 by Robert Matzen
This is a wonderful read. Carole was at the height of her game, she had a wonderful, very attractive, famous husband (The King, Clark Gable) and she was selling war bonds because America had just entered WWII. She made a decision to fly back home to Pa (her name for Gable) instead of taking a train because she missed him so. We all know she died in a fiery plane crash, this book gives you the account before the crash, the possible cause, and poor Clark in his grief.
7. Heart of the Lion by Martin Turnbull
I have to come back to Martin because I love this book. Irving Thalburg was the Golden Boy of MGM. You may not have heard of him, but if you are a classic film fan, he brought you a lot of movies and stars you know and love. He was married to one of the biggest stars on the screen (and my favorite actress), Norma Shearer, but he had lots of health issues. This book is one of the only ones I have seen on Thalburg's life, a man whose career is very much worth remembering.
8. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
Are you holding your phone right now? If you are you need to say a "thank you" to the woman featured in this book. Heddy Lamarr was a brilliant film actress, but she also had a brilliant mind. She experienced a horrible marriage, having been married to a member of the Nazi party. She was close to being "exterminated" but escapes. Then she becomes a household name as one of the most beautiful people on the silver screen. What's her connection to your phone? She also was an inventor who helped create that wireless technology that we all so adore.
9. Stars on Sunset Blvd by Susan Meissner
For the Gone with the Wind fan, as this one takes place on the GWTW set. Susan is a brilliant writer who doesn't disappoint. Audrey and Violet are the stars of the show, even though they aren't the stars of the film.
10. Marlene by CW Gortner
CW has a few wonderful books, but this one is probably my favorite of his. Maybe it is the subject, he paints Marlene in a light I never knew shone on her. I thought it was just a spotlight, but she has some interesting backstories too.
11. Goddess-The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by Anthony Summers
One of the first Hollywood books I ever read (the first is coming up). This one is written like a giant investigative report. It tries to determine whether Marilyn died by suicide or murder and if she was murdered, who did it? There are photos features, some with FBI censoring, and some autopsy photos (not for the faint at heart). I have read this so many times just trying to determine how she died myself.
12. Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford
Every Hollywood list needs to feature this one even if you think it is more of a fiction read than nonfiction (I go back and forth). This has more details than the film as it features all the children Joan adopted and all the backstories. #nowirehangers
13. Million Dollar Mermaid by Esther Williams
You will read this one and know all about the MGM Studio school of making you into a star. Esther may have had talent before she joined MGM, but they finessed it and turned her into a bonafide movie star with star billing. The only thing bigger than Esther's star was the pools MGM built for her, and only her! Esther will leave nothing to your imagination, and I do mean nothing. If you are curious about the star treatment school, or her lovers then you will love this book.
14. Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Angers
The first Hollywood book I ever owned or read, and it is a no holds barred book. The photographs can get quite graphic so no squeamish should pick up this one. This book is written in pretty much straight tabloid type of text, but it will give you some of the backstories, from here you can go research the stars you are interested in and learn the real truth.
15. The Forgotten Flapper by Laini Giles
I found this one solely by accident, and I was thrilled to have discovered it. This author writes books based on forgotten movie stars and they are all wonderful. I had to choose the first one as my favorite because I have always been interested in Olive Thomas (even have a cat named for her). Olive was a beautiful silent film star who was married to Mary Pickford's brother, Jack. They had a wild relationship and even wilder times. Olive would die very early in her life, a shocking death that plays out near the end of this book in vivid detail of what the last bit of her earthly time might have looked like.
15. The MGM Story: History of Fifty Roaring Years by John Douglas Eames
A must for any MGM fan, this book leaves nothing out. It is a perfect book for a classic film fan. I bought mine years ago and used it for more of a checklist when I desired to see all the MGM classic films. While this one is more of a research book it will entertain you because you get the movie title and a fabulous description.
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