Hollywood celebrities feared her. William Randolph Hearst adored her. Between 1915 and 1960, Louella Parsons was America's premier movie gossip columnist and in her heyday commanded a following of more than forty million readers. This first full-length biography of Parsons tells the story of her reign over Hollywood during the studio era, her lifelong alliance with her employer, William Randolph Hearst, and her complex and turbulent relationships with such noted stars, directors, and studio executives as Orson Welles, Joan Crawford, Louis B. Mayer, Ronald Reagan, and Frank Sinatra - as well as her rival columnists Hedda Hopper and Walter Winchell. Loved by fans for her 'just folks', small-town image, Parsons became notorious within the film industry for her involvement in the suppression of the 1941 film Citizen Kane and her use of blackmail in the service of Hearst's political and personal agendas. As she traces Parsons' life and career, Samantha Barbas situates Parsons' experiences in the broader trajectory of Hollywood history, charting the rise of the star system and the complex interactions of publicity, journalism, and movie-making.
Engagingly written and thoroughly researched, "The First Lady of Hollywood" is both an engrossing chronicle of one of the most powerful women in American journalism and film and a penetrating analysis of celebrity culture and Hollywood power politics.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"As a co-founder of the culture of celebrity, she merits a thoughtful biography, which Barbas delivers." * New York Times * "Barbas's thoroughly researched and footnoted biography of the powerful gossip columnist who virtually invented celebrity journalism asks to be taken seriously as a chronicle of American history at a pivotal time-but it is also a fast and fascinating read. . . . This is a terrific book about an unusual life, and the author has done a great service by documenting it so carefully, incidentally exposing all the falsehoods Parsons related in her own 1945 autobiography, The Gay Illiterate." * Publishers Weekly * "Barbas' book is rich in detail of all aspects of Louella's time including the cultural and the political, of the other players during the decades through which she reigned as Queen of Hollywood, and of her effect on entertainment and the industry she covered. . . . It belongs in every university library, on the shelves of cultural anthropologists, film fanatics and just folk who enjoy a juicy dish." * Variety * "Thoughtful [and] well-written." * Hollywood Reporter * "Set within the framework of evolving American popular culture, this insightful first biography of legendary Hollywood columnist Louella Parsons is also a fascinating look at the world of movies, newspapers, politics, publicity, and ever-changing social roles. . . . The in-depth description of the power that Parsons wielded within the industry is especially illuminating, as is the chronicle of intense rivalries with other columnists-most notably, Hedda Hopper. Solid details of Parsons's life aid in presenting a three-dimensional portrait of both the woman and the public figure. This well-researched and finely written work will appeal to a wide readership." * Library Journal * "Fascinating. . . . This is a model of biographical writing." * CHOICE * "An important work for those interested in the history of American celebrity culture, gender, Hollywood, or journalism, or for anyone who enjoys a fascinating read." * H-Net Reviews *
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Produkt-Hinweis
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Maße
Höhe: 229 mm
Breite: 152 mm
Dicke: 25 mm
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ISBN-13
978-0-520-24213-5 (9780520242135)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Samantha Barbas has a Ph.D. in American History from the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author of Movie Crazy: Fans, Stars, and the Cult of Celebrity (2001).
Acknowledgments Prologue PART I 1. Early Years 2. Essanay 3. The Column 4. New York 5. "The Lovely Miss Marion Davies" PART II 6. On the Way to Hollywood 7. Hollywood 8. Feuds 9. Radio 10. The Best and the Hearst PART III 11. The First Lady of Hollywood 12. Raising Kane 13. The Gay Illiterate 14. War and Peace 15. Scandal 16. The End of an Era 17. Eclipse Notes Bibliography Index
