
Tinseltown
Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood
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Narrated by:
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Christopher Lane
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By:
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William J. Mann
About this listen
The Day of the Locust meets The Devil in the White City and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in this juicy, untold Hollywood story: an addictive true account of ambition, scandal, intrigue, murder, and the creation of the modern film industry.
By 1920, the movies had suddenly become America's new favorite pastime and one of the nation's largest industries. Never before had a medium possessed such power to influence; yet Hollywood's glittering ascendancy was threatened by a string of headline-grabbing tragedies - including the murder of William Desmond Taylor, the popular president of the Motion Picture Directors Association, a legendary crime that has remained unsolved until now.
In a fiendishly involving narrative, best-selling Hollywood chronicler William J. Mann draws on a rich host of sources, including recently released FBI files, to uncover the story of the enigmatic Taylor and the diverse group of people who surrounded him - including three beautiful, ambitious actresses; a grasping stage mother; a devoted valet; and a gang of two-bit thugs, any of whom might have fired the fatal bullet. And overseeing this entire landscape of intrigue was Adolph Zukor, the brilliant and ruthless founder of Paramount Pictures, locked in a struggle for control of the industry and desperate to conceal the truth about the crime. Along the way, Mann brings to life Los Angeles in the Roaring Twenties: a sparkling yet schizophrenic town filled with party girls, drug dealers, religious zealots, newly minted legends, and starlets already past their prime - a dangerous place where the powerful could still run afoul of the desperate.
A true story recreated with the suspense of a novel, Tinseltown is the work of a storyteller at the peak of his powers - and the solution to a crime that has stumped detectives and historians for nearly a century.
©2014 William J. Mann (P)2014 Blackstone AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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- Unabridged
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Dark City expands with new chapters and a fresh collection of restored photos that illustrate the mythic landscape of the imagination. It's a place where the men and women who created film noir often find themselves dangling from the same sinister heights as the silver-screen avatars to whom they gave life.
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Good overview, summary of the genre
- By Buretto on 03-31-22
By: Eddie Muller
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American Lightning
- Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century
- By: Howard Blum
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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It was an explosion that reverberated across the country—and into the very heart of early-twentieth-century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty-one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned out, this was just a prelude to the devastation that was to come.
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very interesting popular history
- By D. Littman on 11-28-08
By: Howard Blum
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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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For Hollywood gossip lovers!
- By Janna Wong Healy on 06-01-24
By: Josh Young, and others
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Oscar Wars
- A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears
- By: Michael Schulman
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs
- Unabridged
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In Oscar Wars, Michael Schulman chronicles the remarkable, sprawling history of the Academy Awards and the personal dramas—some iconic, others never-before-revealed—that have played out on the stage and off camera. Unlike other books on the subject, each chapter takes a deep dive into a particular year, conflict, or even category that tells a larger story of cultural change, from Louis B. Mayer to Moonlight. Schulman examines how the red carpet runs through contested turf, and the victors aren't always as clear as the names drawn from envelopes.
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Fascinating and FUN
- By Peter Riley on 06-11-23
By: Michael Schulman
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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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Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties
- The Collapse of the Studio System, the Thrill of Cinerama, and the Invasion of the Ultimate Body Snatcher—Television
- By: Foster Hirsch
- Narrated by: Foster Hirsch
- Length: 36 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Hollywood in the 1950s was a period when the film industry both set conventions and broke norms and traditions—from Cinerama, Cinemascope and Vistavision to the epic film and lavish musical. It was a decade that saw the rise of the anti-hero; the smoldering, the hidden, and the unspoken; teenagers gone wild in the streets; the sacred and the profane; the revolution of the Method; the socially conscious; the implosion of the studios, the end of the production code; and the invasion of the ultimate body snatcher: the “small screen” television.
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Captivating from start to finish
- By Steve C. on 02-01-25
By: Foster Hirsch
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Deliberate Cruelty
- Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century
- By: Roseanne Montillo
- Narrated by: Mia Barron
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote.
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An interesting true crime story buried in here
- By Quinn on 11-11-22
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The Contender
- The Story of Marlon Brando
- By: William J. Mann
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 21 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The award-winning film biographer presents a deeply-textured, ambitious, and definitive portrait of the greatest movie actor of the 20th century, the elusive Marlon Brando, bringing his extraordinarily complex life into view as never before. The most influential movie actor of his era, Marlon Brando changed the way other actors perceived their craft. His approach was natural, honest, and deeply personal, resulting in performances - most notably in A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront - that are without parallel.
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Psychobabble run amok
- By Dr. Susan Tice-Alicke on 06-07-20
By: William J. Mann
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Reclaiming Parkland
- Tom Hanks, Vincent Bugliosi, and the JFK Assassination in the New Hollywood
- By: James DiEugenio
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 19 hrs and 37 mins
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Reclaiming Parkland details the failed attempt of Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman - cofounder of the production company Playtone - to make Vincent Bugliosi’s mammoth book about the Kennedy assassination, Reclaiming History, into a miniseries. It exposes the questionable origins of Reclaiming History in a dubious mock trial for cable television, in which Bugliosi played the role of an attorney prosecuting Lee Harvey Oswald for murder, and how this formed the basis for the epic tome.
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The CIA in Hollywood is worth the price alone
- By Ksquared83 on 02-06-14
By: James DiEugenio
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From the Moment They Met It Was Murder
- Double Indemnity and the Rise of Film Noir
- By: Alain Silver, James Ursini
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The behind-the-scenes story of the quintessential film noir and cult classic, Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity—its true crime origins and crucial impact on film history—is told for the first time in this riveting narrative published for the film's 80th anniversary. Authors Alain Silver and James Ursini tell the complete history of Double Indemnity in their latest and most provocative work on film noir: From the Moment They Met It Was Murder.
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The authors did not, could not know ..............
- By steve finkelstein on 05-17-25
By: Alain Silver, and others
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Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg
- The Whole Equation
- By: Kenneth Turan
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
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One was a tough junkman's son, the other a cosseted mama's boy, but they dreamed the same mighty dream: that the right movies could make a profit and change both the culture and individual lives. Sharing a religion and an evangelical zeal for film, Louis B. Mayer (1884-1957) and Irving Thalberg (1899-1936) were unlikely partners in one of the most significant collaborations in movie history. Over the course of their decade-long relationship, as key players at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and major players in Hollywood, they joined forces in redefining and mastering the template for the film industry.
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Lives of two Hollywood Giants
- By rumdok on 03-08-25
By: Kenneth Turan
What made the experience of listening to Tinseltown the most enjoyable?
The information in this book was fascinating and very sad. That such a place who creates such dreams can also be the origin of such nightmares makes me torn. Torn because I love movies, but the people who are involved with the, both then and now seem to pay an awful price.How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
I would change nothing, truth is what it is and it needed to be said.Which character – as performed by Christopher Lane – was your favorite?
I enjoyed his performance of all of them.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When the actress whose mother was so desperate to keep her virginal subjected her to an abortion. It disgusted me that a mother could be so very greeded as to do that to her own daughter.Proof of truly bad behavior at the very beginning
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Like Hollywood, TINSELTOWN has everything!
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Very interesting read!
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Fattie Arbuckle downfall told
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
It's a good book if someone is a history buff and especially a Hollywood history buff. I wouldn't recommend it to the average person who wants to be entertained.Who was your favorite character and why?
Fatty Arbuckle. He was the only sympathetic character in the whole story. His life and career were totally ruined self-righteous groups. The studio hung him out to dry to mollify the "church ladies."Have you listened to any of Christopher Lane’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I don't believe so. He does an excellent job.What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
Early Hollywood seemed to be made up of liars, thieves and bunco artists. Everybody had secrets and a past.A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD
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Any additional comments?
interesting perspective on early life in los angeles.....nothing earth shattering though. well put together narrative using some real people's lives to illustrate the way the world was back then. not worth full price unless you are into this era. but a good listen if discounted.lots of details about early hollywood
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Murder, Madness and Mayhem Indeed
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If you could sum up Tinseltown in three words, what would they be?
Interesting, but dragsAny additional comments?
I really wanted to like this story. I'm interested in the early movers & shakers that built Hollywood. I also figured the story would be a perfect companion to my daily commute when I didn't need anything too heavy to go with the aggravation of traffic. However, about half-way through, I found my mind wandering as the story dragged on & on. I know I'm in trouble when I start skipping chapters to just get to the end. The story is well-researched & does have interesting points, but it really could have been covered in about half the time. If you are more patient than I am, I'd say it is worth a try, just expect some lulls. The performance was well-done.Interesting, but...
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-The narrater was excellent, and well matched to the subject matter.
-Even though there was one major theme, the book covered many people who helped build LA into the movie making place it has been for over 100 years.
-It is not sensationalist, but instead tries to present the facts based on first hand testimony, and the author calls out people if it’s pretty clear that they are lying.
What a fascinating look at early Hollywood!
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WELL DONE
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