Hollywood Diva

Hollywood Diva
Author :
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Total Pages : 540
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0520924576
ISBN-13 : 9780520924574
Rating : 4/5 (574 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Hollywood Diva by : Edward Baron Turk

Download or read book Hollywood Diva written by Edward Baron Turk and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1998-11-01 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jeanette MacDonald, the movie musical's first superstar, was an American original whose onscreen radiance mirrored a beguiling real-life personality. Based in large part on the author's exclusive access to MacDonald's private papers, including her unpublished memoir, this vivid, often touching biography transports us to a time when lavish musical films were major cultural events and a worldwide public eagerly awaited each new chance to fall under the singer's spell. Edward Baron Turk shows how MacDonald brilliantly earned her Hollywood nickname of "Iron Butterfly," and why she deserves a privileged position in the history of music and motion pictures. What made MacDonald a woman for our times, readers will discover, was her uncommon courage: Onscreen, the actress portrayed strong charcters in pursuit of deep emotional fulfillment, often in defiance of social orthodoxy, while offscreen she personified energy, discipline, and practical intellect. Drawing on interviews with individuals who knew her and on MacDonald's own words, Turk brings to life the intricate relations between the star and her legendary costars Maurice Chevalier, Clark Gable, and, above all, baritone Nelson Eddy. He reveals the deep crushes she inspired in movie giants Ernst Lubitsch and Louis B. Mayer and the extraordinary love story she shared with her husband of twenty-seven years, actor Gene Raymond. More than simply another star biography, however, this is a chronicle of American music from 1920s Broadway to 1960s television, in which Turk details MacDonald's fearless efforts to break down distinctions between High Art and mass-consumed entertainment. Hollywood Diva will attract fans of opera and concert music as much as enthusiasts of the great Hollywood musicals. It is first-rate cultural and film history.


Hollywood Diva Related Books

Hollywood Diva
Language: en
Pages: 540
Authors: Edward Baron Turk
Categories: Performing Arts
Type: BOOK - Published: 1998-11-01 - Publisher: Univ of California Press

GET EBOOK

Jeanette MacDonald, the movie musical's first superstar, was an American original whose onscreen radiance mirrored a beguiling real-life personality. Based in l
This Was Hollywood
Language: en
Pages: 236
Authors: Carla Valderrama
Categories: Performing Arts
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-11-17 - Publisher: Running Press Adult

GET EBOOK

In this one-of-a-kind Hollywood history, the creator of Instagram's celebrated @ThisWasHollywood reveals the forgotten past of the film world in a dazzling visu
Hollywood's Hellfire Club
Language: en
Pages: 385
Authors: Gregory William Mank
Categories: Performing Arts
Type: BOOK - Published: 2007-10-01 - Publisher: Feral House

GET EBOOK

They made fans go crazy and censors apoplectic, spent fortunes faster than they made them, forged Rembrandts and hung them in major museums, went on trial for c
Diva Duck Goes to Hollywood
Language: en
Pages: 34
Authors: Janice Levy
Categories: Juvenile Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-09-01 - Publisher: ABDO

GET EBOOK

Diva Duck and her farm friends have returned from their world travels. But Diva isn't as happy to be home as the rest of the animals. She is destined for greatn
Redefining Diva
Language: en
Pages: 226
Authors: Sheryl Lee Ralph
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-03-13 - Publisher: Simon and Schuster

GET EBOOK

Secrets about love, life, and Hollywood from the Tony Award-winning actress from the Broadway production of Dreamgirls —in the role recently made famous by Be