This N That - August 2012

Summer is nearly over and there has been plenty going on.

Right now, if you are in LA over Labor Day Weekend you can head over to Hollywood Blvd. for Cinecon, one of the longest continuing film festivals.  They're got some terrific movies lined up.  Visit their website for details here.  All the movies are screened at the 1922 movie palace The Egyptian!

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 Esteemed author Frank Thompson can now add podcaster to his lenghty resume.  He's doing a fabulous podcast called The Commentary Track and he's interviewing plenty of great people about classic film.  You can subscribe via iTunes and visit Frank's website  for direct downloads.

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My book, Rudolph Valentino the Silent Idol - His Life in Photographs is now available in an eBook edition for iPad and iPhone.  On the iPhone it will be teeny but it looks great on the iPad.  Rudolph Valentino would be pleased to move into the digital age, he loved gadgets.  The iBook duplicates the print edition exactly except for a font change and can be had at a fraction of the cost of the print edition ($25.99).  You can find it and preview the first 72 pages here.  Yes, I am proud of it!

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Sad news for film geeks, Luke McKernan retired new postings for his fabulously informative Bioscope Blog.  Luke has left the blog up as an archive and it's a rich resource of information.  Bookmark it and keep it!  I can't thank Luke enough for the 5 years of hard work and am grateful he's left everything up for us to continue to use this excellent reseource.  Best wishes Luke for your future endeavors.

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Are you a fan of Greta Garbo?  Here's your chance to a personal item belonging to the reclusive star.  Julien's Auctions is handling this auction and the catalogue is fascinating with vintage clothing and lots of vintage memoraibilia.  How about Garbo's gold pocket knife?  It can be yours!

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America's Sweetheart Mary Pickford has made it on to blu-ray at last.  Milestone Films and the Mary Pickford Foundation have worked together and released three great films in standard and blu-ray DVDs.  The Poor Little Rich Girl, The Hoodlum and Sparrows (with the added bonus of the 1910  version of Ramona).  Pickford is a favorite of mine and I was positively THRILLED to get these on DVD.  You can buy it here, blu-ray or standard dvd, you won't be dissapointed.  Now I am waiting for Stella Maris, please!!!

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I'm not going to shamelessly flog only my book on this blog, oh no!  Always room for new books! On my radar a few of which are already out or soon to be published.  Kathleen Riley has published a book long overdue The Astaires chronicling the famous dancing pair of siblings, Adele and Fred Astaire.  Before Fred became a movie star.  It's on my Xmas wish list and I'm dying to read it!

Speaking of Mary Pickford, publishing on November 15, 2012 will be Mary Pickford Queen of the Movies edited by Christel Schmidt.  Produced in conjunction with the Library of Congress and published by the University Press of Kentucky it's a book I am very much looking forward to.

Eve Golden, a biographer and witty writer who has more talent in her pinky finger than I ever will.  I wish I could write half as well as she does.  Eve has penned several excellent books on Jean Harlow, Theda Bara, Vernon and Irene Castle and has silent hearthrob John Gilbert coming up next in 2013.  So looking forward to it.  If you want to keep up with Eve and her weekly doings, she blogs wonderful obits and other things over at the Daily Mirror. 

Fellow author and good friend Mary Mallory also blogs there and her posts are also not to be missed.

Another book I am anxiously awaiting will be the long anticipated chronicle of the silent film portrait photographers by David S. Shields.  You can see some of his research and stunning photos on his Broadway page.  During my Valentino research David shared some chapters with me.  His prose combined with the incredible photos that I anticipate are going to make this a book to treasure for years to come.  It's coming out in 2013, watch this space as I plan to flog it and swoon over it endlessly!

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That's all that is on my mind this Friday of Labor Day weekend.  Have a safe weekend and all my cinegoon peeps know I'm missing them not being at the Egyptian this weekend.  Do not miss The Goose Woman if you are in LA.

On the Bedside Table - Hollywoodland by Mary Mallory

I am very excited about the newly published book (today!) on Hollywoodland by a good friend of mine, Mary Mallory.  I've got mine on order and can't wait to get it on the bedside table to read.  Hollywoodland chronicles the story of how the Hollywood(land) sign came to be and the neighborhood that was built around the now iconic image that represents Hollywood.

Mary Mallory is a film historian, photograph archivist, and a member of the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Studio City Neighborhood Council. She serves on the Board of Hollywood Heritage, Inc., for which she also acts as a docent at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. Hollywood Heritage, Inc., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation of the historic built environment in Hollywood and to education about the early film industry and the role its pioneers played in shaping Hollywood's history.

Mary recently was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times regarding her new book:

My book is an Arcadia Publishing book detailing the history in photographs of the neighborhood of Beachwood Canyon originally known as Hollywoodland.

Hollywoodland extends from 2690 N. Beachwood Drive up towards Mt. Lee and the Hollywood Sign (this was originally in Hollywoodland before being donated to the Department of Parks and Recreation in 1945). The book details the early history of Beachwood Canyon, the construction of the development, amenities, histories of many of the homes and architects, a history of the Hollywood Sign, listings of famous residents, and a chapter on movies filmed up there.

It is based on Hollywood Heritage’s S. H. Woodruff Collection (one of the developers of Hollywoodland) and other Hollywood photograph collections, photos from Bison Archives, the Margaret Herrick Library, me, and others, and all profits got to Hollywood Heritage.

I made the suggestion to the HH Board, on which I serve, that we should try to do something with the Woodruff Collection, and since I made the suggestion, I got to do it. I’ve always wanted to do a book, and especially one on Hollywood history.

I learned so much about the architects, homes, and residents. It was fun, but I continue to research. I just walked most of it recently trying to get photos of the original homes, trying to identify homes with photos we have.