James Robert Parish

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Jeanette MacDonald Story by James Robert Parish.Billed as "The girl with the red-gold hair and sea-green eyes" on Broadway, and known as the "Iron Butterfly" in Hollywood, legendary singer/actress Jeanette MacDonald (1903-1965) is revealed here as a warm, irrepressible person with a surprisingly whimsical sense of humor. Born in Philadelphia, her stage career began when she was a youngster; later she performed in vaudeville and left high school in order to appear in the Demi-Tasse Revue. An indefatigable worker, this world-famous soprano/actress never stopped performing unless she was too ill to go on. For those who wondered why she worked so hard she explained, "The minute you let yourself ride along on the wave just because people around you are telling you how wonderful you are, you're sunk."One of Hollywood's superstars of the 1930s, she worked oncamera with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy (San Francisco), Maurice Chevalier (The Love Parade, One Hour with You, The Merry Widow), and Nelson Eddy, with whom she reached the pinnacle of movie success in such classic cinema vehicles as Naughty Mariette, Rose-Marie, Maytime, and Sweethearts.Here is the real Jeanette MacDonald, a supertalent who enjoyed a long marriage to screen star Gene Raymond. She emerges from behind the legend in anecdotes and stories retold by those who knew her, respected her, and loved her. This IS The Jeanette MacDonald Story.

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Great Movie Series by James Robert Parish.This comprehensive volume details 25 of the greatest sound film series even ever produced by Hollywood. It reveals the intriguing background behind such memorable movie series as: Andy Hardy, Blondie, Bomba, Boston Blackie, The Bowery Boys, Charlie Chan, Crime Doctor, Dr. Christian, Dr. Kildare, Ellery Queen, The Falcon, Francis the Talking Mule, Hopalong Cassidy, James Bond, Jungle Jim, The Lone Wolf, Ma and Pa Kettle, Maisie, Matt Helm, Mr. Moto, Philo Vance, The Saint, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, and The Thin Man.Each chapter provides a history of the big-screen series from its literary origins, including versions utilized for television and radio as well as the cinema. There are also biographies of each series' leading players, with revealing career studies on such well-known Hollywood stars as Mickey Rooney, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Johnny Weissmuller, Warner Oland, Marjorie Main, George Sanders, Arthur (Dagwood) Lake, Donald O'Connor, Maureen O'Sullivan, Warren William, Ann Sothern, William (Hopalong Cassidy) Boyd, Warner Baxter, Peter Lorre, Lew Ayres, Dean Martin, and Sean Connery, Every chapter contains a detailed filmography for each episode of the series, giving cast and character names, technical credits, running time, name of the producing studio, and year of release. This entertaining book explains why the series film was such a staple of Hollywood studios and how moviegoers found it reassuring to have a recurring group of familiar screen performers whose exploits they could follow and with whom they could identify when going to the cinema. This then is the lively and wonderful world of The Great Movie Series.

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to Hollywood Players: The Forties by James Robert Parish and Lennard DeCarl.For Hollywood, World War II meant a greater demand for both escapist films and realistic war movies. So the film capital assembled a cast of hundreds to populate these movies. Hollywood Players: The Forties focuses on 83 of the busiest actors-the screen talent who helped America pass the hours in darkened theaters on the home front, on the sea, and in the rear lines just behind the battlefields. This volume probes the lives and films of these players, uncovering gossipy details about moviemaking and starmaking, and revealing glimpses into the personalities and lives of these 83 stars. How they grappled with the Hollywood studio system provides a rare look at how Tinseltown functioned behind the cameras at that time.The roster of Hollywood Players: The Forties includes individual career/biography chapters on: Robert Alda, Louise Allbritton, the Andrews Sisters, Evelyn Ankers, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Diana Barrymore, William Bendix, Turhan Bey, Vivian Blaine, Janet Blair, Ann Blyth, Eddie Bracken, Scott Brady, Barbara Britton, Geraldine Brooks, Rod Cameron, Macdonald Carey, Jack Carson, Marguerite Chapman, Dane Clark, Steve Cochran, Richard Conte, Tom Conway, Wendell Corey, Laird Cregar, Cass Daley, Billy De Wolfe, Bobby Driscoll, Dan Duryea, Wild Bill Elliott, Faye Emerson, Dale Evans, William Eythe, Betty Field, Barry Fitzgerald, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Nina Foch, Susanna Foster, Mona Freeman, Peggy Ann Garner, Virginia Gilmore, Farley Granger, Sydney Greenstreet, Signe Hasso, June Havoc, Sterling Hayden, Dick Haymes, Wanda Hendrix, John Hodiak, Celeste Holm, Tim Holt, Robert Hutton, Harry James, Arthur Kennedy, Evelyn Keyes, Joan Leslie, Oscar Levant, John Lund, Lon McCallister, Dorothy Malone, George Montgomery, Patricia Morison, Tom Neal, Donald O'Connor, Dennis O'Keefe, Janis Paige, Robert Paige, Larry Parks, Robert Preston Ella Raines, Gail Russell, Peggy Ryan, Sabu, Martha Scott, Zachary Scott, Kent Smith, Craig Stevens, Gale Storm, Sonny Tufts, Martha Vickers, Dooley Wilson, Teresa Wright, and Gig Young.With anecdotes, film listings, production notes, contemporary reviews, and commentary about films, filmmaking, and filmmakers, Hollywood Players: The Forties throws new intriguing light on the cinema decade that saw Hollywood's star burn brightest.

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Swashbucklers by James Robert Parish and Don E. Stanke.Thankfully, movies have always been "behind the times." Take military science. While advanced aircraft carriers and the newest artillery made the old ways of warfare obsolete, one feisty band of mounted swordsmen continued to flail away on the screen. These were the Swashbucklers-heroes of a thousand exciting films from silents to talkies and on to the latest widescreen epics. Sometimes knighted by their king, but always embraced by their one true love, acclaimed by adoring peasants, these dashing cinema champions nevertheless worked their stirring derring-do adventures without proper recognition-until now.The Swashbucklers brings you these daring movie heroes up close and personal. Let their names ring out : TYRONE POWER-he handled six-shooters, rapiers, horses, and beautiful women with the same wiry and enduring strength.ERROL FLYNN-hero of a self-destructive lifestyle where the ending could only be tragic, he will always be Robin Hood.DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS SR.-when Hollywood was truly Camelot, he reigned as the gallant, fun-loving monarch both on and off the soundstage.RONALD COLMAN-what was the elusive something this charming vivid star added to his every film role? STEWART GRANGER-he proved to be too dashing and gallant for a mere movie screen.VICTOR MATURE-this Beautiful Hunk of a Man had a great saving grace: an infectious sense of humor.CORNEL WILDE-celluloid villains bothered him less than onscreen stereotypes.TONY CURTIS-Clifton Webb educated the kid from the Bronx on how to wear clothes; Frank Sinatra taught him something more dangerous.The Swashbucklers contains comprehensive career studies of these eight genre standout actors, including reviews of all their movies, detailed filmographies, and comprehensive accounts of their intriguing offcamera lives. This book captures the thud-and-blunderbuss sagas that turned the Silver Screen into a wonderfully inaccurate history book - where villains paid the price, beggars did ride on horseback, and virtue and gallantry always carried the day.

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Leading Ladies by James Robert Parish and Don E. Stanke.Each of these major Hollywood movie stars had her own very special blend of glamour, persistence, and magnetism. One was a flippant, saucer-eyed, wisecracking blonde. Another was a sharp-edged rugged individualist. A third was delicate-looking, a demure pretty heroine with great reserves of strength. All six major talents profiled in this volume were uniquely themselves. But they had one thing in common: the tenacity and adaptability to survive in the Hollywood film business for many decades. They were the great, indestructible Leading Ladies.JOAN BLONDELL: "I play Joan Blondell, and I play her the best the I can."JOAN CRAWFORD: "A Star will last always, as in the heavens. A personality will go down just as quick as it appears."BETTE DAVIS: "I survived because I was tougher than everybody else."OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND: "I love to work. It's something I need very much."ROSALIND RUSSELL: "It's okay to have talent. But talent is the least of it. In a performance or a career, you've got to have vitality."BARBARA STANWYCK: "I'm the best action actress in the world. I can do horse drags, jump off buildings, and I have the scars to prove it." The six lengthy career studies in The Leading Ladies are enhanced by detailed filmographies and expansive personal narratives of these inimitable Hollywood stars that are full of insights into what made them such enduring, unforgettable Tinseltown legends.

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Fox Girls by James Robert Parish.One of Hollywood's oldest major studios is Twentieth Century-Fox, which began as Fox Film Corporation in 1915 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Two years later studio head William Fox inaugurated a West Coast movie lot in Los Angeles. By 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression, the then financially-plagued film company had merged with Twentieth Century Pictures. The new entity was Twentieth Century-Fox under the leadership of industry veteran Darryl F. Zanuck who was a genius star-maker. Through various corporate changes during the twentieth century, the studio relied heavily on a series of sparkling leading ladies to attract filmgoers to its pictures. These vibrant actresses gave the studio its own distinctive quality over the decades.The Fox Girls spotlights 16 of the most striking and celebrated of the studio's notable leading ladies over the many years. The stunning lineup includes-in alphabetical order: THEDA BARA-the celluloid vamp famous for her catchphrase 'Kiss Me, My Fool "; ANNE BAXTER-the one-girl stock company; JEANNE CRAIN-the radiant girl next door; LINDA DARNELL-the china-doll beauty; ALICE FAYE-the singing-and-dancing belle of the ball; JANET GAYNOR-the spunky waif; BETTY GRABLE-the pinup queen with All-American apple pie looks; JUNE HAVER-the song-and-dance colleen; SONJA HENIE-the Norwegian ballerina on ice; CARMEN MIRANDA-the Brazilian bombshell; MARILYN MONROE-the world's most provocative dumb blonde; SHEREE NORTH-the brassy showgirl; SHIRLEY TEMPLE-the dimpled child wonder; GENE TIERNEY-the lady aristocrat; RAQUEL WELCH-the love goddess of the 1970s; and LORETTA YOUNG-the girl who knew what she wanted. Detailed filmographies and incisive biographies of these distinctive big-screen personalities make The Fox Girls a unique volume-actually 16 books in one. This study of an enduring Hollywood film studio is also a mirror of the changing styles and tastes in American film entertainment.This then is The Fox Girls

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The All-Americans by James Robert Parish and Don E. Stanke.It may be hard to believe, but it was only a few decades ago that Hollywood's films were considered ambassadors for the American way of life. Those motion pictures featured many fine actors who represented the best the United States had to offer-among them, seven outstanding male performers.Somehow or other, these seven men captured the essence of America. Was it their laconic, low-key, almost shy, but strong emoting? Or was it the sort of screen role they typically played: a hero without heroics, quietly going about his business? Just what was the secret of their "All-American" cinema presence?The All-Americans provides expansive career studies of these seven actors, detailed filmographies, and penetrating accounts of their offcamera lives. The result is a long overdue chronicle of seven Hollywood worthies representing the clean-cut American guy who could always be depended upon in films to do the right thing . . . and still head off into the sunset with the heroine.The seven wholesome leading men profiled in The All-Americans are: GARY COOPER. "That fellow is the world's greatest actor."-John Barrymore.HENRY FONDA. An ageless picture of integrity.WILLIAM HOLDEN. "He is beyond acting. You never doubt or question what he is."-Billy Wilder.ROCK HUDSON. The very handsome leading man who, surprisingly, had superb acting talents.FRED MacMURRAY. For decades, his perfected double-take and patented smile kept him at the top of his professional game.RONALD REAGAN. Did studio mogul Jack Warner know he was responsible for his star's integrity and future entry into politics?JAMES STEWART. A magical capacity for sincerity and believability.This then is the impressive lineup featured in The All-Americans.

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Forties Gals by James Robert Parish and Don E. Stanke.Hundreds of new faces appeared in the motion pictures of the 1940s. Only a few lasted until the end of that decade. And fewer yet were able to establish long-lasting careers as major Hollywood stars.Seven of the most unique and popular actresses that endured from the 1940s are the subjects of The Forties Gals: LAUREN BACALL: one of the most self-willed and vibrant characters ever to appear on the silver screen.SUSAN HAYWARD: a loner, who grew up poor in Brooklyn and vowed to succeed.IDA LUPINO: born in London to a family whose acting reputation dated back to the 16th century, she found success both in front of and behind the camera.VIRGINIA MAYO: producer Samuel Goldwyn's beautiful answer to movies' pin-up queen Betty Grable.ANN SHERIDAN: she made a major career out of her "Oomph Girl" screen image as well as showcasing her dynamic screen presence.ESTHER WILLIAMS: the most promising and dazzling ex-swim champion ever to appear onscreen.JANE WYMAN: her acting abilities ranged from dizzy blonde roles to an Academy Award for playing a very dramatic screen part.Each of these Forties Gals is given a chapter of her own, complete with the particulars of her life and career, as well as detailed filmographies. Each feature film listed has production credits, cast credits (with roles), running time, studio, and year of release.The Forties Gals contains vivid in-depth portraits of seven film actresses who aimed for stardom . . . and saw their ambitious dreams come true in the Forties.

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Slapstick Queens by James Robert Parish.At one time or another, most every nostalgia-conscious film enthusiast has laughed heartily at the wild onscreen antics of gifted movie comediennes Marjorie Main, Joan Davis, Martha Raye, Judy Canova, and Phyllis Diller. The Slapstick Queens provides an in-depth study and appraisal of the professional work of these exceptionally noteworthy funsters. Each of these five talents has a lengthy, comprehensive chapter devoted to her oncamera and personal life, containing, as well, a detailed filmography of the subject's screen work. In addition, the book provides a full survey of each of these stars' stage, radio, television, nightclub, recording, and book-writing careers. Personal interviews with Phyllis Diller and Judy Canova give this volume an added dimension.The Slapstick Queens delves deeply into the lives and times of five major laugh makers, numbered among the cream of comediennes, particularly in motion pictures and television. Moreover, these antic talents-Marjorie Main, Joan Davis, Martha Raye, Judy Canova, and Phyllis Diller-were among the highest paid non-glamour actresses in the annals of Hollywood. This volume extols not only the film careers of these exceptionally skilled comics, but also the essence of their mirthful work in other media. The Slapstick Queens is a chronicle of, and a testament to, the fabulous careers of a quintet of Hollywood's most memorable comediennes

Savor the inside scoop on over-the-top superstars ""I'm not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. . . . I'm a billionaire "" ""Acting is an empty and useless profession."" ""Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere else."" ""I'm interested in being provocative and pushing people's buttons."" Which screen icons gave us the quotes above? How do stars get away with self-indulgent, unrestrained behaviors-or do they? In The Hollywood Book of Extravagance, longtime industry insider and Hollywood historian James Robert Parish gives you a provocative look behind the scenes at the lavish indulgences and larger-than-life egos of Tinseltown's rich and famous. The featured celebrities range from heartthrobs to industry tycoons, and from yesterday's matinee idols to today's hottest celebs. The stars are grouped according to their excesses: ego, neurosis, partying, power, rich living, and romancing. You'll devour little-known details on the excesses and exploits of notables ranging from Mae West to Madonna, Greta Garbo to Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando, Bela Lugosi to John Belushi, Zsa Zsa Gabor to Paris Hilton, Errol Flynn to Jude Law, and many more.

A longtime industry insider and acclaimed Hollywood historian goes behind the scenes to tell the stories of 15 of the most spectacular movie megaflops of the past 50 years, such as Cleopatra, The Cotton Club, and Waterworld. He recounts, in every gory detail, how enormous hubris, unbridled ambition, artistic hauteur, and bad business sense on the parts of Tinsel Town wheeler-dealers and superstars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, and Francis Ford Coppola, conspired to engender some of the worst films ever.

Half of all marriages end in divorce--and then there are the really unhappy ones. --Joan Rivers Do you suppose that the person who first said ""Life is stranger than fiction"" might have had Hollywood marriages in mind? Why watch a romantic film starring a leading man and a leading lady when their real-life romances are so much more interesting? It seems that a celebrity's latest film can have a considerably longer life span in the theater than his or her marriage du jour. One would almost think that Tinseltown has come to embrace divorce as an accepted pastime. Some celebrities have seemingly collected spouses over the years, systematically adding notches in their belts of divorces. Cases in point: Zsa Zsa Gabor (nine), Lana Turner (eight), Elizabeth Taylor (nine), and Mickey Rooney (eight). This list appears to make Jennifer Lopez a mere novice with only three marriages, two divorces, and one terminated engagement to date. In The Hollywood Book of Breakups, James Robert Parish looks at scores of hot Hollywood romances that eventually fell apart. From the decade-long union of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to the ""just-for-show"" nuptials of Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates to the four-and-a-half-year marriage of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to the ""other woman"" divorce of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Parish covers it all--from the burning embers to the fizzling fires of Hollywood breakups. You couldn't make this stuff up--and James Robert Parish doesn't need to. Hollywood writes its own drama when it comes to scandalous breakups.

A longtime industry insider and acclaimed Hollywood historian goes behind the scenes to tell the stories of 15 of the most spectacular movie megaflops of the past 50 years, such as Cleopatra, The Cotton Club, and Waterworld. He recounts, in every gory detail, how enormous hubris, unbridled ambition, artistic hauteur, and bad business sense on the parts of Tinsel Town wheeler-dealers and superstars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, and Francis Ford Coppola, conspired to engender some of the worst films ever.

In their newest "Great... Pictures" volume, the authors take a lively look at some 340 motion pictures from Hollywood's most distinctive genre, providing extensive cast, credits, character names, plot synopses, contemporary review quotes, and in-depth critical observations for each movie covered, including telefilms. Features discussed in detail range from The Hollywood Review of 1929 to such lavish Busby Berkeley musicals as Footlight Parade, the Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy operettas (Rose Marie), the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers teamings (Carefree), the Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland entertainments (Strike Up the Band), Doris Day's excursions (My Dream Is Yours), and finally such contemporary genre examples as Body Rock and School Daze.