Fred Lawrence Guiles (1921–2000)

An intriguing look into the life of Marion Davies, silent screen star and the hostess of some legendary house parties at Hearst Castle. This book traces Marion from her origins in Brooklyn, her work as an actress on Broadway, and her success as a silent screen star. Of course, the book also delves heavily into her involvement and relationship with William Randolph Hearst. In today's world, her name is synonymous with his and his fantastic castle on a hill. The book also describes how Marion actually helped to save Hearst from financial ruin. I loved how the book gives us a glimpse of a time gone by.… (more)

A loving biography of the creative half of my favorite comedy duo, Laurel & Hardy, well-written and illustrated with a small sampling of photographs. It was fascinating to me to discover how much of the creativeness of this legendary team flowed from Stan Laurel, and gratifying to learn that the impression one gets from their films was essentially true: that the two are genuinely nice and polite men, anxious only to get along in a hard world without hurting anybody, and with a genuine affection for each other that shines through the slapstick and mild violence toward one another. Includes a catalogue of their films. Includes Stan Laural's immortal last words to his nurse as he lay dying: "I'd rather be skiing than doing this," he told her. "Oh, do you ski, Mr. Laurel?" "No," he said, "but I'd rather be doing that than this." A moment later he was dead.… (more)