Hollywood Boozers, Brawlers and Hard-Luck Cases - by Laura Wagner (Paperback)

About the Book

"In the Golden Era of moviemaking, motion picture studios "owned" Hollywood from the beat cops on up, meaning that the wild misadventures of top-earning movie stars were regularly swept out of the public eye. But no such effort was expended on behalf of minor stars, and their shenanigans became tabloid gold in newspapers across America, damaging careers, reputations and lives. This book presents 15 life stories of Golden Age Hollywood from the sordid to the sad, from battles with the bottle to nightclub brawls, hard-luck childhoods, and even murder. Each write-up includes biographical information, much of which has gone unseen for decades, and filmographies"--

Book Synopsis

In the Golden Era of moviemaking, motion picture studios "owned" Hollywood from the beat cops on up, meaning that the wild misadventures of top-earning movie stars were regularly swept out of the public eye. But no such effort was expended on behalf of minor stars, and their shenanigans became tabloid gold in newspapers across America, damaging careers, reputations and lives.

This book presents 15 life stories of Golden Age Hollywood from the sordid to the sad, from battles with the bottle to nightclub brawls, hard-luck childhoods, and even murder. Each write-up includes biographical information, much of which has gone unseen for decades, and filmographies. Actors covered include Ross Alexander, David Bacon, Bruce Cabot, James Cardwell, William Eythe, Wallace Ford, Billy Halop, Weldon Heyburn, Ronald Lewis, Tom Neal, Allan Nixon, Craig Reynolds, Danny Scholl, Lawrence Tierney, and Sonny Tufts.

Review Quotes

"From the author of Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies (2020) comes this look at fifteen actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood whose lives, both personal and professional, didn't go exactly the way they were expected to. ... The author approaches her subjects with empathy and compassion-this isn't one of those more nasty, muck-raking film books. She genuinely wants readers to see these men as talented, driven men whose careers and lives took disastrous right-angle turns. An interesting, enlightening addition to the literature of film."-Booklist

"Wagner devotes a chapter each to 15 actors, many unknown today, who enjoyed some fame before tragic circumstances or bad decisions took it all away. ...movie mavens will lap up Wagner's book. This is Hollywood Babylon for "B" movie stars."-Library Journal

About the Author

Writer Laura Wagner lives in New York. She is the book reviewer and contributing editor of the magazines Classic Images and Films of the Golden Age.