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The First Lady of Hollywood : A Biography of Louella Parsons

The First Lady of Hollywood : A Biography of Louella Parsons

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(Hardcover)-Hollywood celebrities feared her. William Randolph Hearst adored her. Between 1915 and 1960, Louella Parsons was America's premier movie gossip columnist and in her heyday commanded a following of more than forty million readers. This first full-length biography of Parsons tells the story of her reign over Hollywood during the studio era, her lifelong alliance with her employer, William Randolph Hearst, and her complex and turbulent relationships with such noted stars, directors, and studio executives as Orson Welles, Joan Crawford, Louis B. Mayer, Ronald Reagan, and Frank Sinatra--as well as her rival columnists Hedda Hopper and Walter Winchell. Loved by fans for her "just folks," small-town image, Parsons became notorious within the film industry for her involvement in the suppression of the 1941 film Citizen Kane and her use of blackmail in the service of Hearst's political and personal agendas. As she traces Parsons's life and career, Samantha Barbas situates Parsons's experiences in the broader trajectory of Hollywood history, charting the rise of the star system and the complex interactions of publicity, journalism, and movie-making. Engagingly written and thoroughly researched, The First Lady of Hollywood is both an engrossing chronicle of one of the most powerful women in American journalism and film and a penetrating analysis of celebrity culture and Hollywood power politics.
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User Reviews for The First Lady of Hollywood : A Biography of Louella Parsons

Overall Rating: Star FullStar FullStar FullStar HalfStar Empty ( 7 reviews )
  1. Star FullStar EmptyStar EmptyStar EmptyStar Empty Posted: Oct 14 2008

    This book embarassed me. How could I be interested in so unflattering a woman as Louella Parsons. And, actually, I found her life boring boring boring.

  2. Star FullStar FullStar FullStar FullStar Full Posted: Jul 27 2008

    I wanted a good summer book to read and this is it. A fun book and it does tell an in depth account of Louella Parsons life. Who knew this much about her? It is her whole life story. I love biographies and this one kept my interest.

  3. Star FullStar FullStar FullStar FullStar Empty Posted: Apr 11 2007

    This book was surprisingly interesting about the life of screen gossip Louella Parsons and her shenanians in tinseltown. I thoughoutly enjoyed it. This would make an interesting movie.

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Product Specs for The First Lady of Hollywood : A Biography of Louella Parsons

Author: Samantha Barbas
Number Of Pages: 426
Category: Hardcover
Brand: University of California Press
Dewey Decimal Number: 070.44979143092
Label: University of California Press
Manufacturer: University of California Press
Product Group: Book
Publication Date: 2005-10-24
Edition: 1
See item at: Amazon: $26.44

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