From time to time I receive a box of books from a publishing company for book reviews and the recent box from Bear Manor Media provided some entertaining reading in the past month. Biographies about Hollywood actors who cemented a legacy on celluloid on both the silver screen and small screen. I am pleased to say they are all great (the books that were not great I chose not to do a book review at all), so take a moment and check these out.
By Joseph Fusco
I know Ray Danton more for his guest appearances on Warner Brothers TV programs such as Hawaiian Eye and Maverick, not from his LP records. But for others, he was a songbird of huge proportion. Ray Danton was an actor who exemplified a particular Hollywood period even though he was not famous. He was a contract player during the demise of the studio system, a precarious time for the grooming of stars. Like the big stars of his time, Ray Danton earned his share of press and publicity puff pieces announcing business deals, vacation plans, personal appearances, industry parties and movie and television contract signings. His name had its time in bold tintype, especially in the late 50‘s through the mid-60‘s: the Eisenhower-Camelot eras.
Danton’s heyday was the Hollywood of slick hair, cigarette smoking, hard drinking and two-fisted negotiations. His sharp-edged baritone matched dark chiseled features, making him a natural for his roles as suave heroes or venal hustlers. He had the look of a sly fox and the smooth moves of a dancing thief. Ray Danton’s confident attitude, serpentine movements, switchblade stare, and silver-tongued voice gave his characters a touch of menace and panache. This book documents his career both in front of – and behind – the camera.
By Aileen J. Elliott
Robert Horton was born in Los Angeles, in July 1924. He came from a family peopled by professional men; lawyers, doctors and churchmen. His father was a highly successful insurance agent. The family was a large Mormon clan on both his paternal and maternal side, and Robert Horton never felt at home in it. From an early age he knew he was as unlike his relatives as chalk is to cheese. He rebelled against all its conformities and he only found his true vocation when he turned to the stage and decided to become an actor. Blessed with incredible looks, as well as a wonderful baritone singing voice, he pursued his dream with dedication and determination. His passionate drive was rewarded when he won the role of scout Flint McCullough on NBC’s fabulously successful Western series, Wagon Train. His portrayal of McCullough lasted for five years and brought international fame, making him one of the most famous stars on television.
When he walked away from Wagon Train to fashion a career for himself in musical theater, his fame gradually dwindled. There were many reasons for that, in and out of his control, but he subsequently claimed that the twenty or so years he spent treading the boards were as rewarding to him as he needed or wanted them to be. His marriage (fourth) to singer Marilynn Bradley lasted fifty-five years, until his death, and much was written in its early stages about their love and commitment to one another. After he retired in his mid-sixties, however, that changed, and though living comfortably in the suburbs of Los Angeles, the last years of his life were full of sadness, bitterness and remorse. Nevertheless, he continues to have a following of devoted fans and admirers and this book will help to inform them of his rich legacy, his life and his talents.
This is one of those tribute books that is worth reading if you are a fan of the actor, or a fan of Wagon Train.
By Scott O’Brien
What better compliment can bestow a book than a foreword by Kevin Brownlow? Scott O’Brien wrote a great biography about Herbert Marshall, the character actor who rarely received top billing but certainly deserves more attention than he has received. Whether embracing the silky essence of Kay Francis in Trouble in Paradise (1932), or enduring the machinations of Bette Davis in The Little Foxes (1941), Herbert Marshall was the essence of smooth, masculine sensitivity. Dietrich, Garbo, Shearer, Stanwyck, and Hepburn eagerly awaited to be, as Shearer put it, “so thoroughly and convincingly loved” on screen by Marshall. While many knew that the actor had lost a leg in WWI, he preferred audiences to concentrate on his acting. Even so, he volunteered hundreds of hours to hospitals encouraging amputees during WWII.
His legacy as a versatile actor, and morale booster is as compelling, as it is complicated. “Marshall’s personal story,” noted the late Robert Osborne, “is a fascinating one.” Herbert Marshall is Scott O'Brien's seventh biography of classic cinema legends and he continues with his high-quality and thorough research.
By Nat Segaloff
First published to acclaim in 2011, Arthur Penn: American Director was the first biography of the acclaimed director of The Miracle Worker, Little Big Man, Alice’s Restaurant, The Chase, Mickey One, The Missouri Breaks, and, of course, the motion picture that fired the first shot in the film revolution, Bonnie and Clyde.
Born in Philadelphia to immigrant parents in 1922 and raised in Dickensian circumstances, Penn (and his older brother, Irving, who became the innovative fashion photographer) found himself behind the German lines at the Battle of the Bulge, a student in the formative years of Black Mountain College, in the director’s seat at the beginning of the Golden Age of television, and at the blossoming of the Actors Studio, all of which influenced his filmmaking.
Arthur Penn: American Director charts his personal and artistic odyssey. Written with Penn’s intimate participation, it was completed days before his death in 2010. The book features interviews with dozens of his collaborators and is brought back into print by Bear Manor Media with an all-new Afterword containing tributes by his peers and a stunning revelation about the mysterious woman who educated young Arthur in the arts. As a fan of live television drama, this is one of those books that I personally thank the author for assembling.
