BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD
Latest Episodes
Now we come to episode 25 of the novel, in the words of Katharine Hepburn — life is hard, after all, it kills you.
The streets of Beverly Hills, unlike the streets of the Hollywood Hills, were nearly empty. One morning I saw a woman of about seventy, with the poise and stance of a dancer, shining long silver hair side-parted like Veronica Lake — probably just as it...
Episode 24. People with nerves should never go into the movies, and people without nerve can’t.
I loved recording this chapter, it’s got Hollywood history, everlasting friendship, and of course some very strange goings-on… There we sat, the mogul’s daughter turned academic, the copywriter turned designer,
Episode 23. Hollywood is apt to make one lose perspective on life. It takes a steady hand to keep your sense of balance… Luise Ranier
We are all the lead character in our personal narrative yet this bothered me. Behind the scenes was my forté, I wasn’t ready for a starring role, never had been. Why was that? And why couldn’t I stop thinking about myself in relation to Cooper?
Episode 22. If you’re gonna to be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.
Chapter 20, in which Billie travels to Vegas and comes to a seismic realization. I tended to think of sleep as something healing, freshening, and cleansing. I traced this somewhat peculiar notion to parental influence.
Episode 21. Hollywood is like a one-night stand, unless one is careful.
Merle Oberon said that thing about Hollywood and one night stands. We’ll talk about her joy ride with David Niven later. Now we’re back to the story of Billie and chapter 19 — A film set is a constantly shifting sea.
Episode 20. Jane was steaming out a gown that was draping, gathered, a form fitting sheath with a train and veil that looked like it had been stored pristinely, waiting for this day, since the 1930s. “Madeleine Vionnet,” Jane explained, “she did this
Chapter 18 begins with a quote from Bette Davis: I’d marry again if I found a man who had fifteen million dollars, would sign over half to me, and guarantee that he’d be dead within a year. On a Saturday following the first week of shooting, I woke,
Episode 19. The dog walker had a reputation in town for being deft and diplomatic, the kid who once lived in his car had his fingers to the pulse of current events — how would a former nanny be perceived? It depended entirely on how much money my mov
There’s nothing a man can do, that I can’t do better and in heels. So said Ginger Rogers, and thus begins chapter 17. There are so many myths on which the reality of Hollywood is based. Some are funny and fun, some are sad, and some are desperate. I…
Episode 18. Under an engineer’s iron guidance the silent film star’s aerie was remodeled, stripped of original architectural character, and sold for enough cabbage to deposit Engineer and Executive in a ticky-tacky enclave for millionaires off the 40
I’m feeling celebratory, so there will be three chapters of Hollywood & Mine going up this weekend. This is episode 18 (chapter 16, for those of you keeping track) and it starts with a quote from good old Greta Garbo: If only those who dream about Holl...
17. “If you want to see the girl next door, go next door.” Joan Crawford
And thus, Anne Brown and her roommate, Tatiana Schneider were dispatched to a TV star’s mountain top domicile. They felt charged with responsibility and a certain kind of contempt for their elders’ unmanageable peccadilloes, “God, how gross,
16. “Don’t be afraid to be as angry or as loving as you can…” Lena Horne
“I recorded that section about the riots of ’92 one week before the May-June protests in 2020. Pandemic, economic collapse, police brutality… Three horsemen of the apocalypse are quite enough, thank you.” *** That’s a quote from the novel I’m podcastin...
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