Coming home to Oxford, Mississippi, in 1918 after a stint in the Royal Flying Corps, young William Faulkner was arty and dandified. He sometimes was seen in his airman's uniform, and he affected English manners. His pose amused some of his townsmen, and joking behind his back, they called him "The Count" and "Count No 'Count."During this period Ben Wasson met Faulkner at the University of Mississippi, where both were students. Their interest in art and literature drew them together...

**A NEW YORK TIMES Notable Book of the Year“In her book about her life, Miss Hepburn insists that that woman in the movies was not her at all. ‘I’m not going to hide behind you anymore,’ she says. ‘Who are you anyway? You're not me.’ Sure she is. The woman in the book is cocky, fearless, smart, capable, and human, on screen and off.”—Anna Quindlen, The New York Times**Admired and beloved by movie audiences for more than sixty years, four-time Academy Award...

The legendary Hollywood star blazes a fiery trail in this enthralling portrait of a brilliant actress and the movies her talent elevated to greatnessShe was magnificent and exasperating in equal measure. Jack Warner called her "an explosive little broad with a sharp left." Humphrey Bogart once remarked, "Unless you're very big she can knock you down." Bette Davis was a force of nature—an idiosyncratic talent who nevertheless defined the words "movie star" for more t...

Richard Schickel's text, combining critical analysis and a re-interpretation of all the available biographical information, masterfully maps the intersections where a great star's personal history and his screen personality met in a style as elegant, graceful and witty as the actor himself.

Some sample anecdotes: 1) Simon and Schuster once published a children's book titled Dr. Dan the Bandage Man. As a publicity gimmick, they decided to include a half-dozen band-aids in each book, so publisher Richard Simon sent this telegram to a friend at Johnson and Johnson: "PLEASE SHIP TWO MILLION BAND-AIDS IMMEDIATELY." The following day Mr. Simon received this telegram in reply: "BAND-AIDS ON THEIR WAY. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?" 2) As a young woman, ballerina Margot Fonteyn wish...

'She could look demure while behaving like an empress. Blonde, with eyes like pearls too big for her head, she was very striking, but marginally pretty and certainly not beautiful ... But it was her edge that made her memorable - her upstart superiority, her reluctance to pretend deference to others.'Bette Davis was the commanding figure of the great era of Hollywood stardom, with a drive and energy that put her contemporaries in the shade. She played queens, jezebels and bitches, ...

The Oscar-winning screenwriter of On the Waterfront recounts his life, his career, and "how Hollywood became the dream factory it still is today" ( Kirkus Reviews).When Seymour Wilson "Budd" Schulberg moved from New York to Los Angeles as a child, Hollywood's filmmaking industry was just getting started. To some, the region was still more famous for its citrus farms than its movie studios. In this iconic memoir, Schulberg, the son of one of Tinsel...

From Bing Crosby's early days in college minstrel shows and vaudeville, to his first hit recordings, from his 11 year triumph as star of America's most popular radio show, to his first success in Hollywood, Gary Giddins provides a detailed study of the rise of this American star.

In Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams, Donald Bogle tells–for the first time–the story of a place both mythic and real: Black Hollywood. Spanning sixty years, this deliciously entertaining history uncovers the audacious manner in which many blacks made a place for themselves in an industry that originally had no place for them.Through interviews and the personal recollections of Hollywood luminaries, Bogle pieces together a remarkable history that remains largely obscure to this day. W...

A hilarious send-up of sex, scandal, and the Golden Age of Hollywood by legendary cartoonist Edward Sorel.In 1965, a young, up-and-coming illustrator by the name of Edward Sorel tore away layer after layer of linoleum from the floor of his $97-a-month Manhattan apartment until he discovered a hidden treasure: issues of the New York Daily News and Daily Mirror from 1936, each ablaze with a scandalous child custody trial taking place in Hollywood st...

More than any other male movie star, the refined Clifton Webb (1889-1966) caused the movie-going public to change its image of a leading man. In a day when leading men were supposed to be strong, virile, and brave, Clifton Webb projected an image of flip, acerbic arrogance. He was able to play everything from a decadent columnist (Laura) to a fertile father (Cheaper by the Dozen and The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker), delivering lines in an urbanely clipped, acidly ...

Joan Blondell: A Life between Takes is the first major biography of the effervescent, scene-stealing actress (1906-1979) who conquered motion pictures, vaudeville, Broadway, summer stock, television, and radio. Born the child of vaudevillians, she was on stage by age three. With her casual sex appeal, distinctive cello voice, megawatt smile, luminous saucer eyes, and flawless timing, she came into widespread fame in Warner Bros. musicals and comedies of the 1930s, including Bl...