The image of Hollywood often translates as some otherworldly dreamscape filled with fantastic lives and fantasy fulfillment. The real deal was carved from the Southern California desert as an outpost northwest of Los Angeles. The movie industry arrived when tumbleweeds were not simply props and actual horsepower pulled the loads. Everyday workers, civic management, and Main Street conventionalities nurtured Hollywood�s growth, as did a balmy climate that facilitated outdoor photography and...

A New York Times bestseller and a “charming tribute” (Kirkus) to Hollywood’s most beloved eraFilm and television star Robert Wagner has been delighting audiences for more than sixty years, and his many fans flocked to bookstores when he began to record his memories on the page. In his second New York Times bestseller, Wagner shares stories of Hollywood life behind the scenes from the 1930s through the 1950s. As poignant as it is revealing—and filled with ...

There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a downloadable walking tour from walkthetown.com is ready to explore when you are.Each walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also incl...

M-G-M: Hollywood’s Greatest Backlot is the illustrated history of the soundstages and outdoor sets where Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced many of the world’s most famous films. During its Golden Age, the studio employed the likes of Garbo, Astaire, and Gable, and produced innumerable iconic pieces of cinema such as The Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain, and Ben-Hur.It is estimated that a fifth of all films made in the United States prior to the 1970s were sho...

"You’ll like Louis Mayer," Mary Pickford told Charles Foster in 1943. "He is from Canada, too." As Foster was soon to discover, Mayer was not alone: a great many of those who helped shape Hollywood into the movie capital of the world were Canadian.Stardust and Shadows brings together the stories of 18 Canadians who were celebrities during Hollywood’s formative years. Most of those profiled were known to Foster, and stories they told him about Hollywood’s early days, enhanc...

Who can forget the over-the-top, white-on-white, high-gloss interiors through which Fred Astaire danced in Top Hat? The modernist high-rise architecture, inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, in the adaptation of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead? The lavish, opulent drawing rooms of Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence? Through the use of film design—called both art direction and production design in the film industry—movies can transport us to new worlds of l...

In Michael Tisserand's biography Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, the creator of history's greatest comic strip finally gets his due.A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOKWINNER OF THE EISNER AWARDFINALIST FOR THE NBCC AWARD IN BIOGRAPHY AND THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHYKrazy is an eye-opening biography that lays bare the truth about Georg...

The sensuality and glamour epitomized by Marilyn Monroe are immortalized in the pages of this book. More than 200 of Marilyn's most beautiful and memorable magazine cover appearances and showcased in full color, and are highlighted by life-revealing quotes, anecdotes and collectible values. Marilyn's persona, spirit and unrivaled allure are captured in this timeless volume.

The classic guide to who-did-what-where in Los Angeles, on- and off-screen, including:Film & TV locations: the Hollywood Hills house where Barbara Stanwyck seduced Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity...the funky apartment building where William Holden lived in Sunset Boulevard...the exotic Frank Lloyd Wright mansion that's housed everyone from Harrison Ford in Blade Runner to David Boreanaz on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer....the ...

The classic guide to who-did-what-where in New York, on- and off-screen, including:Classic film and TV locations: Marilyn Monroe’s infamous Seven Year Itch subway grating . . . the deli where Meg Ryan famously faked an orgasm in When Harry Met Sally . . . the diner where Courteney Cox (in Friends) and Kirsten Dunst (in Spider-Man) waitressed . . . Men in Black’s Manhattan headquarters . . . The Godfather mansion...

Movies during the silent era were hugely influential. They were the primary means of how people leaned social etiquette, how to dress, how to act on a date, and even the proper way to kiss. People studied their favorite movie stars intensely and emulated their mannerisms, speech, and demeanor. The women were just coming out of the Victorian Era and into the Jazz Age, and they were looking for guidance in how they should fit into this new age of freedom for them. Men also were groping for h...

On September 4, 1781, 11 families 44 people, including 26 blacks walked out of Mission San Gabriel Arcangel to establish a community closer to the harbor. That village, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles (The Town of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angel), was to become the City of Los Angeles. The Mission San Gabriel Arcangel is still here and you can visit it. The old and the new blend well in Los Angeles. It is the largest city in the state and the second-largest in the nati...