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On April 12, 1938, a damning report shook Hollywood to its core. The Independent Theatre Owners’ Association released a list naming several prominent actors as ‘box office poison’, claiming their high salaries were unjustified by their dwindling ticket sales. Among the names listed was Kay Francis, a once-celebrated actress whose career had soared at Warner Bros. just a few years earlier. For Kay, this public denunciation felt like a betrayal, a culmination of her frustrations with the roles she had been forced to accept under studio head Jack Warner’s regime. She had long known that her artistic potential was being stifled by the studio’s focus on her beauty over her talent. “I detest posing for pictures. I despise fittings yet I’ve been called one of the ‘best-dressed women of the…

The immigration clerk at the American Consulate in Mexico stared hard at Billy Wilder, his gaze unblinking. He had the power to approve the immigration visa in his hands and Billy worried he might say no. He’d been forced to leave Germany with limited paperwork and his story of fleeing the Nazis hadn’t earned him any sympathy. “What do you do for a living?” the clerk asked. “I write movies,” Billy replied. A tense moment passed. Would he be let into America? “Write some good ones,” the clerk said, sending a relieved Billy on his way, so inspired to live up to that advice he became one of the greatest writer-directors Hollywood would ever see. Billy was born Samuel Wilder on June 22, 1906, in Sucha, Austria (now part of…

In 1985, Oleg Vidov saw his chance and ran with it – literally. He’d been given permission by the USSR government to move to Yugoslavia to marry second wife Verica Stamenkovic several years earlier, but as his marriage disintegrated he was called to go back to Moscow. And so he made a daring plan to flee across the border to Austria for a chance of freedom from the Soviet regime. “In the Soviet Union, an actor is not only an artist but a soldier on the ideological front whose purpose is to help the government disseminate ideas to the masses,” he would testify in front of the United States Congress three months after his defection, having been granted a refugee visa. “I was unable to compromise or conform.” A tough…

Sitting back in his chair to watch himself in the dailies after a long day of filming 1928’s The Last Command, William Powell let out a sigh. The actor seemed to have no trouble picking up work, but each role was the same. He was always cast as the bad guy. He’d played the villainous king standing between the heroes in 1922’s When Knighthood Was in Flower, a terrible husband to Lillian Gish’s character in Romola in 1924, a sleazy thief in Beau Geste in 1926 and a blackmailer in 1927’s Love’s Greatest Mistake. This time, he was portraying a vengeful film director. “Must I continue to always play these so and so’s,” he bemoaned. “Has my face always doomed me to play the villain?” William wasn’t the only one…

“You have to be self-reliant and strong to survive in this town. Otherwise you will be destroyed.” In 1925 when Lucille LeSueur arrives as a new girl among many new girls at M-G-M, there is nothing inevitable or mapped out about her path, nothing to make her imagine any decision she makes will have permanent consequences, and nothing to stop her from falling flat on her ass and failing if she doesn’t learn what to do in front of a camera and how to make friends with it. M-G-M is not yet the fully formed behemoth it will become. All the principals involved, including studio head Louis B. Mayer and his right-hand man, Irving Thalberg, are already important figures in Hollywood, but the merger of the Metro Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn…

The announcement on March 19, 1962, came as a shock. Grace Kelly, the Princess of Monaco, was planning to come out of retirement. “A spokesperson for the Prince of Monaco announced today that Princess Grace has accepted to appear in a motion picture for Mr Alfred Hitchcock to be made in the United States this summer,” a press release from the filmmaker’s office declared. He’d sent her the script for his upcoming thriller, Marnie, via her agents, Hitchcock would tell London journalist Peter Evans. “Then a week ago, I was told that she would do it, just like that. I have not spoken to her about it, not even a wire. I supposed I should send her a wire, congratulations or something.” Rumours abounded as to the price it would…

Stella Adler stepped off the elevator and entered the small apartment in Paris. In the corner of the lounge stood famed Russian acting teacher, producer and director Konstantin Stanislavsky, surrounded by friends, students and contemporaries. It was 1934 and the young actress, having recently spent some time in Russia rediscovering her love of acting, was eager to meet the man whose acting techniques had informed much of her own training. After moving outside to sit under the shade of a tree, the group was jovial and relaxed. Yet Stanislavsky noticed that Stella had barely uttered a word. As she sat looking troubled, he turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “Young lady,” he said, “everybody has spoken to me but you.” Suddenly, Stella heard the words tumble out of her…

Down by the pool, the dogs were whining and scratching at the gate. It was late, after 3am, and photographer Bob Landry had just returned home. He was renting the guest house at 5118 Bluebell Avenue, North Hollywood, part of the sprawling ranch home belonging to Universal Studio’s former head of wardrobe, Vera West, and her husband, Jack. Bob went to see why the dogs were fussing and found Vera, dressed in a nightgown, face down in the swimming pool. It was the day after her 47th birthday, June 29, 1947, and Vera was dead. Jack was nowhere to be found. The police arrived first, followed by reporters. “I always come in the back way … but I heard the dogs fretting and I saw that all the lights were…

“On the screen I am usually suave and cynical ... but in reality I am a sentimentalist.”– George Sanders During the five years I was married to Zsa Zsa Gabor I lived in her sumptuous Bel Air mansion as a sort of paying guest. I was allotted a small room in which I was permitted to keep my personal effects until such time as more space was needed to store her ever mounting stacks of press clippings and photographs. All of the tables, walls, cupboards, and closets of various kinds were pressed into similar service. Unless the hours on a picture I might be making were excessively long, I would be home in time to stand at the bar under the large portrait of Zsa Zsa and fix drinks for…

Fans rarely had the chance to meet, or even see a star in person, so they figured out ways to feel close to what was happening in Hollywood. One way was to possess a photograph or, better still, a collection of photographs of their favourites. Millions of letters were mailed to the studios requesting photographs – signed if possible. Every studio had an active portrait gallery out of which those glamorous images, many of which appear in this book, were created. The studios had offices devoted to opening, processing, and responding to these requests; millions of photographs were mailed, typically in the 8 x 10 or 5 x 7 inch format. There was no cost to fans, a small price for the studios to pay in return for dutiful allegiance…

Universal appeal Born Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg in Sweden on September 29, 1931, Anita grew up with seven siblings. But while she may have competed for attention at home, her striking looks saw her take up modelling as a teen. After winning the Miss Sweden pageant in 1950, the following year Anita found herself on a plane to the US, representing her homeland in the Miss Universe competition. Despite speaking very little English, Anita made it to the final six and earnt a starlet’s contract with Universal Pictures. Receiving lessons in drama, elocution and dancing, she made small appearances in films including The Mississippi Gambler (1953) with Tyrone Power and The Golden Blade (1953) with Rock Hudson. Making headlines Despite Universal’s investment, Anita would often skip classes and was eventually…

Charles K. Feldman’s lips tightened with displeasure under his pencil-thin moustache as he read the Variety review of 1945’s Confidential Agent. “The yarn’s development is inept … [and] Lauren Bacall suffers from a monotony of voice and an uncertainty of performance …” The next was no better. “Lauren Bacall is a fizzle,” proclaimed The New York Times in its opening line. “[Her] performance … comes close to being an unmitigated bore … Her appearance is far from attractive … and her voice is monotonous and dull.” As was Charles’ workday wont, he was sitting on the patio overlooking the pool of his Coldwater Canyon home, a platter of crackers and a pot of honey by his side. As Bacall’s agent, he’d seen the insouciance that the 21-year-old actress could bring…

A new direction For Sal Mineo, born on January 10, 1939, life on the streets of the Bronx was tough. After Sal joined a street gang and was thrown out of school, his mother enrolled him in acting and dancing classes to redirect his energy. It was a decision that would change the direction of Sal’s life. Soon he was onstage, first in The Rose Tattoo with Eli Wallach and later as the young prince opposite Yul Brynner in The King and I, the veteran actor taking Sal under his wing during a three-year stint with the production. Sal made the move to television as a teenager, and appeared in several shows. Film quickly came calling – and a role which would propel him to stardom at just 16. Time…

The Knickerbocker Ball was the highlight of the social season, as guests floated through the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York in their finest eveningwear. Actresses, celebrities and socialites mingled as they wined and dined to support various charities. On this December evening in 1952, C.Z. Guest stunned fellow partygoers with her embellished dress, paired with dazzling diamond earrings and a bold necklace. Her bright blonde hair rested atop a showstopping cape in matching bedazzled fabric to her dress, with layers of tulle creating an ethereal radiance around her. These charity events and galas were all too familiar for C.Z. She was undoubtedly one of the most popular socialites both in the United States and abroad. Her wealth was enviable, but it was C.Z.’s cool and effortless nature that drew…

A myriad of colours shine down upon Twiggy as she reclines upon a lavish gold couch. Her shimmering ebony gown, with matching gloves and hat, are finished off with pink tights and chunky suede heels to match. She looks quintessentially Biba. Lush carpets and bold architecture surround her, and soft hues from the colourful roof illuminate the expansive space. While the face of the ’60s has her photograph taken, she looks right at home in the Biba store. A frequent visitor to fill her own wardrobe, Twiggy forged a close bond with the founder of the fashion wonderland, Barbara Hulanicki. IN BARBARA’S OWN WORDS“Clothes carry so much emotion.” But before it was a multi-storey kaleidoscope of fashion, Biba came from humble beginnings. Invented by creative minds Barbara Hulanicki and her…