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This Was Hollywood: Forgotten Stars and Stories
- Turner Classic Movies
- Narrated by: Carla Valderrama
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
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Publisher's summary
In this one-of-a-kind Hollywood history, the creator of Instagram's celebrated @ThisWasHollywood reveals the forgotten past of the film world in a dazzling visual package modeled on the classic fan magazines of yesteryear.
From former screen legends who have faded into obscurity to new revelations about the biggest movie stars, Valderrama unearths the most fascinating little-known tales from the birth of Hollywood through its Golden Age.
The shocking fate of the world's first movie star. Clark Gable's secret love child. The film that nearly ended Paul Newman's career. A former child star who, at 93, reveals her #metoo story for the first time. Valderrama unfolds these stories, and many more, in a volume that is by turns riveting, maddening, hilarious, and shocking.
Drawing on new interviews, archival research, and an exhaustive library of photographs, This Was Hollywood is a compelling and visually stunning catalogue of the lost history of the movies.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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"Carla Valderrama genuinely loves Hollywood history, as you can tell from every page of this book. Her enthusiasm is matched only by her determination to back up her stories with good, old-fashioned research. I learned a lot from This Was Hollywood and you will, too." (Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian)
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Story
Believe it or not, America's fascination with celebrity culture was thriving well before the days of TMZ, Perez Hilton, Charlie Sheen's breakdown, and allegations against Woody Allen. And the stars of yesteryear? They weren't always the saints that we make them out to be. Part biography, part cultural history, the stories contained in this book cover the stuff that films are made of: love, sex, drugs, illegitimate children, illicit affairs, and botched cover-ups.
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Riveting journey
- By Jennifer on 10-07-14
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Pictures at a Revolution
- Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
- By: Mark Harris
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde - and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood and America forever.
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Would It Be Too Much To Ask?
- By Casey Keller on 12-31-08
By: Mark Harris
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I Loved Her in the Movies
- Memories of Hollywood's Legendary Actresses
- By: Robert Wagner
- Narrated by: Robert Wagner
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In a career that has spanned more than 60 years, Robert Wagner has witnessed the twilight of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the rise of television, becoming a beloved star in both media. During that time he became acquainted, both professionally and socially, with the remarkable women who were the greatest screen personalities of their day. I Loved Her in the Movies is his intimate and revealing account of the charisma of these women on film, why they became stars, and more.
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Outstanding!
- By Ernie D. Casciato on 12-02-16
By: Robert Wagner
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The Big Goodbye
- Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood
- By: Sam Wasson
- Narrated by: Sam Wasson
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its twist ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making. In Sam Wasson's telling, it becomes the defining story of the most colorful characters in the most colorful period of Hollywood history. Here is Jack Nicholson at the height of his powers, as compelling a movie star as there has ever been, embarking on his great, doomed love affair with Anjelica Huston.
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This book is cursed
- By Dobbs on 04-13-20
By: Sam Wasson
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The Fixer
- Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars, and Marilyn
- By: Josh Young, Manfred Westphal
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays, Manfred Westphal
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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During the height of Hollywood’s golden age, one man lorded over the city’s lurid underbelly of forbidden sin and celebrity scandal like no other: Fred Otash. An ex-Marine turned L.A.P.D. vice cop, Otash became the most sought-after private detective and fixer to the stars by specializing in the dark arts that would soon dominate the entertainment industry. The Fixer delves into the extraordinary life of Hollywood’s most infamous private detective and “fixer” to the stars, revealing newly discovered shocking revelations from his never-before-seen investigative files.
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Absolutely riveting!
- By Tennessee Wilson on 06-08-24
By: Josh Young, and others
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20th Century-Fox
- Darryl F. Zanuck and the Creation of the Modern Film Studio
- By: Scott Eyman
- Narrated by: Suehyla El-Attar
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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March 20, 2019 marked the end of an era - Disney took ownership of the movie empire that was Fox. For almost a century before that historic date, Twentieth Century-Fox was one of the preeminent producers of films, stars, and filmmakers. Its unique identity in the industry and place in movie history is unparalleled - and one of the greatest stories to come out of Hollywood.
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Our media world is unlike anything we’ve ever known
- By Amy Evans on 12-04-21
By: Scott Eyman
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The Genius of the System
- Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era
- By: Thomas Schatz, Steven Bach - preface
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 24 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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At a time when the studio is making a stunning comeback, film historian Thomas Schatz provides an indispensable account of Hollywood's traditional blend of business and art. Working from industry documents, Schatz traces the development of house styles, the rise and fall of careers, and the making - and unmaking - of movies, from Frankenstein to Spellbound to Grand Hotel. The Genius of the System gives the definitive view of the workings of the Old Hollywood and the foundations of the New.
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A Textbook on Old Hollywood
- By Charlie Morton on 05-26-23
By: Thomas Schatz, and others
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The Fixers
- Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine
- By: E.J. Fleming
- Narrated by: Mike Hennessy
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling are virtually unknown outside of Hollywood and little-remembered even there, but as General Manager and Head of Publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, they lorded over all the stars in Hollywood’s golden age from the 1920s through the 1940s—including legends like Garbo, Dietrich, Gable and Garland. When MGM stars found themselves in trouble, it was Eddie and Howard who took care of them—solved their problems, hid their crimes, and kept their secrets. They were “the Fixers.”
By: E.J. Fleming
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Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions
- My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood
- By: Ed Zwick
- Narrated by: Ed Zwick
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Though there are many factors behind such success, including luck and the contributions of his creative partner Marshall Herskovitz, he’s known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he’s worked with, notably the actors. In those intense collaborations, he seeks to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full.
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Authentic, Sobering & Full of Grace
- By David_Leah Wiley on 02-17-24
By: Ed Zwick
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Tragic Hollywood, Beautiful, Glamorous And Dead
- By: Jackie Ganiy
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you always been fascinated by the morbid side of Hollywood? Did you cut your teeth on books like Hollywood Babylon, and shows like Mysteries And Scandals? This book promises to deliver all the salacious details about the stars you remember, not for their films, but for their tragic short lives. What really happened to Natalie Wood aboard The Splendor that cold November night? Was Jayne Mansfield really decapitated? Just how decadent were the days of the silent movies? Maybe you think you've heard it all? Trust me, you haven't! Chock full of new details, shocking photos and even a ...
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WOW!!!
- By Anonymous User on 09-30-24
By: Jackie Ganiy
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City of Nets
- A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940's
- By: Otto Friedrich, Glen David Gold - foreword
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 25 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1939, 50 million Americans went to the movies every week, Louis B. Mayer was the highest-paid man in the country, and Hollywood produced 530 feature films a year. One decade and five thousand movies later, the studios were faltering....
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Disjointed and flawed
- By A. N. Onymous on 01-18-22
By: Otto Friedrich, and others
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The Lonely Life
- An Autobiography
- By: Bette Davis
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The Lonely Life details the first 50-plus years of Davis' life - her Yankee childhood, her rise to stardom in Hollywood, the birth of her beloved children, and the uncompromising choices she made along the way to succeed. The book was updated with new material in the 1980s, bringing the story up to the end of Davis' life - all the heartbreak, all the drama, and all the love she experienced at every stage of her extraordinary life.
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Bette really liked herself...
- By Anonymous User on 01-14-19
By: Bette Davis
What listeners say about This Was Hollywood: Forgotten Stars and Stories
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jonathan I. Rosenblatt
- 05-28-21
Great story, unworthy narration
Fascinating, compelling stories. Valderrama appears to be able to do research. The writing style could be more polished, less self consciously dramatic, but it is serviceable. But please Ms V, spring for a narrator who doesn’t sound like a Brownie Scout reading for the Thanksgiving cantata. And check on the correct pronunciation of possessive proper nouns ending in a sibilant.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Maria L.
- 04-27-21
This was a very interesting book!
This book was exciting and well written. Honestly, I didn't think I would like it. I was wrong!
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- Carla
- 05-02-21
Bad reader. Some tasty tidbits, sad ends.
Reader sounds like she’s reading high school graduation speech . Turning every “n’t” into a double D.
I Was hoping there would be more familiar supporting actors covered. there are some but there is a lot about near-misses and their grim descents afterward. .
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- StevenC
- 06-13-21
Enjoyed this book
Interesting stories from an earlier Hollywood and a good narrator.
If you like a bit of history give a listen.
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- ANG Girl
- 03-28-22
Great story, narrator can’t pronounce names
Enjoy the story, and all in all I give it five stars for the story, and the narrator is bright and chipper, but her inability to read names correctly leaves something to be laughed at. Can’t believe editors didn’t catch the multiple odd name pronunciations.
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- Patricia
- 07-06-23
Fascinating read about
I enjoyed this in it's entirety. well written and the details of each short story held my attention completely. Im not particularly sensitive to mispronouncing...but the reader substitutes "D" for "T". padent (patent) liddle (little) and it takes a little time to overlook it and not focus on it.
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- Mary Barletta
- 12-29-20
Great!!!
Great book for anyone interested in old Hollywood.The author did a great job reading it
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7 people found this helpful
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- Timothy A Beighley
- 04-26-21
Loved the content but...
Loved the inside stories. Very interesting and informative. That said I wish a little more attention had been paid to the pronunciation/enunciation of words, particularly those with a T in them. Books are “written” not “wridden.” A “patent” can be issued but I’m not sure a “padent” can. I appreciate the hard job it must be to read a book out loud for the rest of us to enjoy. That said, if issues like this bother you be forewarned before you purchase this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Packrat
- 08-07-21
Wonderful
I look forward to more This was Hollywood. I’m not a movie buff but found the content on known and unknown Hollywood people ver interesting. A previous reviewer said narration interfered. I did not find it to be a problem.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ray928
- 06-20-21
Very Interesting
I really liked this book. Perhaps one reason I like it is because I am 78 years old and I can remember seeing a lot of the stars and things she talks about in movies I saw when I was young. Us old folks tend to like things that are nostalgic. The content is very good/interesting and she did a good job of narrating it. Good job Carla.
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