Black Star over Hollywood - Hardcover

Ravage, John W

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1543426026 ISBN 13: 9781543426021

Publisher: Xlibris, 2017

Synopsis

Black Star tells the story of Ted Masters, a burned-out tap dancer and guitarist who leaves the southern black theater circuit (TOBA) and ventures west, eventually finding Sid Grauman (and his famous theater), the mom-and-pop movie producer Nat Levine, as well as Hattie McDaniel, Rex Ingram, Stepin Fetchit, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, and a host of other moviemakers who pitch in, attempting to turn Masters into the first black cowboy movie star. A long-lost love appears at the most inopportune time. It is a unique look at African Americans and their struggles in the moviemaking years prior to WWII.

About this title

Review:

Pacific Book Review

Black Star over Hollywood relives the Golden Age of Hollywood in a delightful novel by John Ravage. With a mixture of humor, history, and Hollywood glamor, Ravage spins a tale about trying to be a star in La-La Land. This book tells the story of an African- American dancer Ted Masters, who tries to become famous in Hollywood. He meets up with legendary producer Sid Grauman (of the famous theatre), who wants him to star in an all-Black low-budget Western. He ends up working with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, like Gone with the Wind’s Hattie McDaniel. However, the film gets bogged down in production troubles. In addition to those problems, an ex-girlfriend- and a ghostwreak havoc on Ted’s life.

Black Star over Hollywood sheds light on the often forgotten Black actors of the 30’s and 40’s. Ravage references legends like McDaniel and Stepin Fetchit, who often had to take demeaning roles to survive as actors. Ted must contend with racism throughout the novel, and even has to overcome his own self-doubt. The ghost that haunts Ted is a white supremacist slave owner in his head that plagues Ted and makes him insecure about his ability to succeed.

Ted is a well-developed protagonist that has many layers. He’s an optimist that wants to make it in Hollywood, but is also hindered by segregation in the town. The psychological and supernatural aspects of the novel add depth to Black Star over Hollywood. While the novel has many serious moments, there is plenty of humor and light moments in this book. Ted is often accompanied by his transgender agent/cab driver Frankie, a smart-mouthed and sensible guide through Hollywood. Grauman and other Hollywood executives are more concerned with profit than with the production of their movies. There are also many practical jokes that are played on Ted that add levity to the novel.

This book not only looks at the history of Black Hollywood, but the hidden LGBT history of L.A. as well. Francine is a proud gender-fluid person at a time when binary gender roles were expected. There is also a male muscle pageant that is freely enjoyed by male viewers. Black Star over Hollywood would be perfect for fans of old Hollywood Bmovies or classic movies featuring African-Americans. The book would also be great for readers who want to read about minorities in Hollywood during the Depression era. John W. Ravage has written a story that will resonate with readers and make them believe any dream can come true in Hollywood.- Ella Vincent

 

KIRKUS BOOK REVIEW

A black vaudevillian finds success and adventure on the silver screen. The latest novel from Ravage (Grandpa Ben and His Pirates, 2012, etc.) opens backstage at the Memphis Star Theater in 1939 at a black vaudeville performance where Ted Masters paces the wings. Ted’s a talented, tasteful, teetotaling musician and dancer who, in his own words, gets “kicked on my butt so often it’s got Neolite stamped on it.” His bandleader fires him; his girlfriend walks out on him; and more than a few of his friends urge him to give up the circuit and start afresh. Arriving in Los Angeles, he meets Francine “Frank” Compton, a cross-dressing cabdriver who shows him the town and introduces him to the cluster of theater owners, promoters, and producers who hustle Ted his first Hollywood gig. Worried at first he might have what booker Benny Pickles calls “the same chances in pictures as any other black man with looks and talent—between zero and none,” Ted soon finds luck with Sid Grauman, owner of the eponymous Chinese Theater, and dreams he didn’t know he had start coming true. As celluloid cowboy Rod Lang, he rides, strums, and dances his way through his first screen Western, a crossover B-roll for Republic Pictures called Silver Sage. Along the way, he suffers the indignities of low-budget filmmaking, the mysteries of the growing industry (“what amounts to a small town wrapped inside a big city”), and the thrill of seeing his name in lights. He also encounters his old flame Carmen Lassouer, a reunion fraught with so much passion it leads to gunplay. In a ghostly touch, Ravage gives Ted a spectral revenant for an interlocutor, the spirit of the planter who owned Ted’s ancestors and from whom his family takes its name. That name is Masters, and the somewhat obvious pun the author exploits with it (the slave owner was one sort of master, but Ted is entirely another) is one of the few moments when the book’s gears come too much into view. But in the overwhelming body of the text, Ravage evokes questions of race with rare delicacy and descriptions of midcentury Hollywood with learned skill (“Movie stars are made, not born, bucko. Nobody came out of his mommie looking for the key light or the makeup man”). This is both a pleasurable and an illuminating book. A captivating and inspiring story of struggle and acceptance in the prewar dream factory.

 

I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man. - William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 4, scene 2 The book opens with these lines, and there is nothing as beautiful as a work that derives strength from another work. I absolutely love the way the author starts the story. The use of such poetic lines is an indication of the kind of writing that will follow Black Star Over Hollywood is a stunning tale by John Ravage. It amalgamates a variety of ideas and isn’t just restricted to the world of Hollywood glamor. The narrative chronicles the tale of an African-American dancer Ted Masters. It tells the story of the struggle and overcoming of the protagonist. The protagonist is asked by a famous producer to be the star of an all-Black western. However, the movie gets “bogged down” due to a number of reasons. This novel lends voice to certain areas of silence, projecting the reality of the struggles of black actors in the ‘30s and ‘40s. It intricately describes the ordeals faced by the black actors and questions how such a narrative has been lost. This novel derives inspiration from a multitude of sources, telling the forgotten stories of many actors to shed some light on that aspect of Hollywood. The most interesting thing about this novel is the character development of the stunningly irresistible characters. Ted is a well-rounded, dynamic character who undergoes a beautiful transformation in this story. His struggle is enhanced due to the legacy of oppression and segregation in the town. He is an optimist, but he certainly has his lows due to the obstacles that are faced by him. The plot of the story is absolutely beautiful. The way the story proceeds is shockingly brilliant and there is an amalgamation of different stories in a single narrative. The central theme is that of survival, and the author explores this theme extensively. While this novel predominantly explores the lives of black actors, it also sheds some light on the LGBT community in that time. Francine is a transgressive person who questions and condemns the gender rigidity in the society. The writing style of the author is quite commendable. There are many poetic lines in the novel and the author has used and experimented with language in a multitude of ways. The author also infuses elements of humour in a mainly serious work of fiction. For these reasons, I would happily rate this novel 4 out of 4 stars. I feel that this rating is well deserved.- HouseOfAtticus

About this edition

• Publisher: Xlibris
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1543426026
• ISBN 13: 9781543426021
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 238