The Golden Girls of Mgm : Glamour and Grief - Softcover

Jane-ellen-wayne

3.53

265 ratings by Goodreads

9781861056450: The Golden Girls of Mgm : Glamour and Grief

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861056451 ISBN 13: 9781861056450

Publisher: Robson Books Ltd, 2004

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This is the fascinating inside story of MGM's silver-screen debutantes - exquisite properties of the most prestigious movie studio in the world - as they struggled to reconcile the demands of the studio and the intrusive control of its boss Louis B. Mayer with the luxury and glamour afforded by their Hollywood careers. The MGM girls seemed to be an untouchable breed of womanhood and, to ensure that their public image remained untarnished, somebody was hired specially to shield the truth from the press. The truth now emerges, with numerous tales of secret affairs, abortions and love children concerning such big names as Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Liz Taylor and Lana Turner.

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About the Author:

Author, broadcaster and show business journalist Ellen Jane Wayne is the author of fourteen other books, and regularly appears on television in the US. She lives in Los Angeles.

From Publishers Weekly:

Wayne, a seasoned biographer of studio-era stars (Eva's Men; Gable's Women; etc.), serves up fun dish on the gals from the studio that once billed itself as having more stars than there are in the heavens. She presents them all-Jeanette, Joan, Judy, Ava, Liz and more-in breathless style, paying equal attention to the undergarments they didn't wear and to the men they loved most. With the adeptness of someone familiar with her subjects and not afraid to read minds, Wayne eases in and out of the stars' thinking as they love, drink, act, divorce and attempt suicide. Throughout all these goings-on, there is the overwhelming presence of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In Sunset Boulevard, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) complained it was the pictures that got small, but this book makes the case that it was the studios that died and ruined movies. All Wayne's subjects appear to be controlled by studio head Louis B. Mayer, through both his direct actions and the influence of his thinking. As Wayne tells it, he kept lovers from marrying and dictated roles his stars resented. Yet generally, the stars remembered him fondly, e.g., Jeanette MacDonald, who said after his death, "One of the greatest sadnesses of life is to realise [sic] how much you owe someone when it's too late...." For diehard fans, there's not much new here, but what is, is choice. 16 pages of b&w photos.-- how much you owe someone when it's too late...." For diehard fans, there's not much new here, but what is, is choice. 16 pages of b&w photos.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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