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Lovers of old-time radio hold a special place in their heart for
Agnes Moorehead. She was one of the busiest and most definitive
actresses of that medium. The bottom line is that Agnes Moorehead
is one of the few actresses who succeeded in every realm of show
business: stage, radio, film, and television. The respect of her
peers can be summed up in these statistics: four Academy Award
nominations, seven Emmy nominations - with one win - two Golden
Globe nominations - with two wins - and the Best Actress award from
the New York Film Critics. This impressive, 400+ page biography,
complete with filmography and radiography, proves to readers and
scholars alike that she was much more than the witch of Endor!
*This is the 2nd edition of the bestselling book, with new material
and cover!*
Fredric March (1897-1975) was one of the most dynamic and versatile
actors of his time. On the screen he created memorable performances
in such classic films as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Death Takes a
Holiday, Les Miserables, A Star is Born, Nothing Sacred, One Foot
in Heaven, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Best Years of Our
Lives, Death of a Salesman and Inherit the Wind. Along the way he
was nominated five times for an Academy Award and won the coveted
statuette twice. He had an equally distinguished career as a stage
actor-appearing in such acclaimed Broadway productions as The Skin
of Our Teeth and Long Day's Journey Into Night-winning two Tony
Awards-including the very first presented to an actor. Despite this
great record of success, Fredric March isn't as well remembered
today as some of his peers (Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, James Stewart)
because unlike them he never developed a recognizable screen
persona that followed him from film to film. He was always
characterizing-always hiding his own personality behind that of the
character he was portraying. He was the consummate actor who richly
deserves to be rediscovered. About the Author: Charles Tranberg has
written six previous books: I Love the Illusion: The Life and
Career of Agnes Moorehead, Not so Dumb: The Life and Career of
Marie Wilson, Fred MacMurray: A Biography, The Thin Man Films:
Murder over Cocktails, Robert Taylor: A Biography and Walt Disney
& Recollections of the Disney Studios 1955-1980. In addition he
has written articles for such publications as Classic Images and
Films of the Golden Age. Mr. Tranberg lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
Walt Disney was a pioneer in the art of animation but by the
mid-fifties due to the increasing costs of producing animated
films, Disney began to specialize in producing live-action films.
The films explored in this book include such classics as Old
Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Pollyanna, The Absent-Minded Professor, The
Parent Trap, Mary Poppins and The Love Bug. But the films covered
also include some wonderful, yet lesser known Disney titles such as
Toby Tyler, Babes in Toyland, Miracle of the White Stallions,
Savage Sam, Summer Magic, Blackbeard's Ghost-and many more. The
book's main focus is on the live-action films that the studio
produced from roughly 1955 thru 1980 and the people who were part
of them including a solid stock company of actors who audiences
identified immediately-even if they didn't always know the name of
the actor. Many of those actors give their memories in this book as
do several others including Fess Parker (Davy Crockett), Tommy Kirk
(Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog), Ann Jillian (Babes in Toyland), Billy
Mumy (Rascal), Arthur Hiller (director of Miracle of the White
Stallions), Marta Kristen (Savage Sam), James Drury (Pollyanna, Ten
Who Dared), Eddie Hodges (Summer Magic, The Happiest Millionaire),
Peter Brown (Summer Magic, A Tiger Walks)-and many more.About the
Author: Charles Tranberg has written five previous books: I Love
the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead, Not so Dumb:
The Life and Career of Marie Wilson, Fred MacMurray: A biography,
The Thin Man Films: Murder over Cocktails, and Robert Taylor: A
Biography. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
Robert Taylor was one of Hollywood's biggest stars for over
thirty-years and starred in such classic films as Magnificent
Obsession, Camille, A Yank at Oxford, Waterloo Bridge, Johnny
Eager, Quo Vadis, Ivanhoe and The Last Hunt. He worked with the
cream of Hollywood leading ladies: Irene Dunne, Joan Crawford,
Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, Lana Turner, Katharine Hepburn and
Barbara Stanwyck, who he later married, just to name a few. An open
and friendly man who usually tried to avoid controversy, Taylor
stepped into it when he became a so-called friendly witness
appearing before the House Un-American Activities Committee during
the height of the Washington investigations into alleged Communism
in Hollywood. It has haunted his reputation to this day. A happy
second marriage to actress Ursula Thiess produced two children and
gave Taylor a contentment he lacked in his earlier marriage. Author
Charles Tranberg takes a fresh look at the actor who was once
called, "The man with the perfect profile." This book also takes a
fascinating look at the Hollywood Studio system which existed
during Taylor's hey-day.
The Thin Man films are one of the most highly regarded and
successful series of films from Hollywood's classic era. This book
looks at the people who populated the films, including full chapter
profiles of its stars, William Powell and Myrna Loy, whose
chemistry together was a huge reason for the success of the films.
As Nick and Nora Charles they knocked the stereotypes of on-screen
marriage out of the park and replaced the stiff and formal with fun
and sexy. But not to be forgotten are the great character actors
who added their own special magic to each and every film. Each
chapter includes profiles of these actors as well as the creative
teams behind the films. The book offers up detailed synopses of
each of the films as well as behind-the-scenes anecdotes and
trivia. If you love The Thin Man then this is the book for you!
Praise for Charles Tranberg's other books: "By virtue of its
amazing output and longevity, Moorehead's career, not to mention
life, would be almost impossible to contain in a single volume, but
Tranberg is in command of his subject, deftly covering the wide
expanse of Agnes Moorehead's world." Laura Wagner, Classic Images,
review of I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes
Moorehead. "This is a fond look at one of the most durable and
under-appreciated stars in Hollywood history." Tom Clegett, The
Santa Fe New Mexican, review of Fred MacMurray: A Biography.
Hardback edition. Fred MacMurray was one of the most durable stars
in motion picture history. Fred arrived in Hollywood in 1934 and
within a year he was one of the top leading men in the movie
industry. He was the leading actor or one of the leads in films
through 1973 when Walt Disney Studios released his final starring
role in a motion picture, Charley and the Angel. Thirty-nine years
- five separate decades. Few stars have equaled that distinction.
Of course every star career has its peaks and valleys. The initial
peak of Fred';s stardom was from his days as a Paramount leading
man, beginning in 1935 and running roughly until the end of the
Second World War. Like many aging stars, the post-war years were a
mixed bag for Fred. Public tastes were changing and the kind of
frothy, romantic comedies which had been his forte were going out
of fashion. But he persevered and continued to do leading roles in
a variety of pictures and from time to time found a film which
registered strongly with film audiences and critics alike, such as
The Egg and I (1947), and especially The Caine Mutiny (1954). By
the mid 1950s Fred was appearing, increasingly, in that favorite
genre of the aging leading man - the western film. Eight of ten
films he made between 1955 and 1960 were westerns, not Fred's
favorite genre. But they did keep his name before the public. Then
in 1959, Fred began the second peak of his career thanks to Walt
Disney, who cast Fred in his studios first live action comedy film,
The Shaggy Dog. Incredibly this film which was made for under $1
million became the third biggest box office hit of that year, and
Fred found a new audience. Over the next several years, Fred
starred in a series of hugely popular family films for the Walt
Disney Studios. Then in 1960, Fred did something that solidified
his new family friendly image. He accepted the lead in a new
television series called My Three Sons. For the next twelve years
he played Steve Douglas, a widower with three rambunctious sons.
Fred became THE quintessential father figure for a new generation
of kids. In accepting My Three Sons Fred succeeded at something
that few film actors had achieved up to that time. He became a star
in both television and motion pictures. Look at it this way. In
1951 when Lucille Ball began I Love Lucy she had already spent
nearly two decades as a motion picture actress, but she never had
the kind of movie fame that Fred MacMurray had achieved when he
became a television star. Loretta Young began a long running
anthology series in 1953, and had been a popular, and Academy Award
winning, movie actress prior to that, but when she began on
television her days as a film actress were over. When Fred began
doing My Three Sons in 1960, he was enjoying a rejuvenated film
career thanks to the Disney films and his superb performance in
Billy Wilder's hugely popular and Academy Award winning The
Apartment. Fred was simultaneously enjoying popularity on both the
big and small screens. Many film actors attempted this after Fred,
including his contemporaries Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda, but
both proved failures in their own series.
Fred MacMurray was one of the most durable stars in motion picture
history. Fred arrived in Hollywood in 1934 and within a year he was
one of the top leading men in the movie industry. He was the
leading actor or one of the leads in films through 1973 when Walt
Disney Studios released his final starring role in a motion
picture, Charley and the Angel. Thirty-nine years - five separate
decades. Few stars have equaled that distinction. Of course every
star career has its peaks and valleys. The initial peak of Fred';s
stardom was from his days as a Paramount leading man, beginning in
1935 and running roughly until the end of the Second World War.
Like many aging stars, the post-war years were a mixed bag for
Fred. Public tastes were changing and the kind of frothy, romantic
comedies which had been his forte were going out of fashion. But he
persevered and continued to do leading roles in a variety of
pictures and from time to time found a film which registered
strongly with film audiences and critics alike, such as The Egg and
I (1947), and especially The Caine Mutiny (1954). By the mid 1950s
Fred was appearing, increasingly, in that favorite genre of the
aging leading man - the western film. Eight of ten films he made
between 1955 and 1960 were westerns, not Fred's favorite genre. But
they did keep his name before the public. Then in 1959, Fred began
the second peak of his career thanks to Walt Disney, who cast Fred
in his studios first live action comedy film, The Shaggy Dog.
Incredibly this film which was made for under $1 million became the
third biggest box office hit of that year, and Fred found a new
audience. Over the next several years, Fred starred in a series of
hugely popular family films for the Walt Disney Studios. Then in
1960, Fred did something that solidified his new family friendly
image. He accepted the lead in a new television series called My
Three Sons. For the next twelve years he played Steve Douglas, a
widower with three rambunctious sons. Fred became THE
quintessential father figure for a new generation of kids. In
accepting My Three Sons Fred succeeded at something that few film
actors had achieved up to that time. He became a star in both
television and motion pictures. Look at it this way. In 1951 when
Lucille Ball began I Love Lucy she had already spent nearly two
decades as a motion picture actress, but she never had the kind of
movie fame that Fred MacMurray had achieved when he became a
television star. Loretta Young began a long running anthology
series in 1953, and had been a popular, and Academy Award winning,
movie actress prior to that, but when she began on television her
days as a film actress were over. When Fred began doing My Three
Sons in 1960, he was enjoying a rejuvenated film career thanks to
the Disney films and his superb performance in Billy Wilder's
hugely popular and Academy Award winning The Apartment. Fred was
simultaneously enjoying popularity on both the big and small
screens. Many film actors attempted this after Fred, including his
contemporaries Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda, but both proved
failures in their own series.
Ready for the first biography on blonde, bubbly Marie Wilson? Was
she really that vapid? Well - read the book on the My Friend Irma
star!
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