Kiss Hollywood Good-By

While this book wasn't quite what I wanted--it focused on the wrong period of Anita Loos's life for my research needs--I still gleaned many notes and found it an okay read though it must be considered within the context of the times. Anita Loos was one of the powerhouse writers of the silent film industry who gained worldwide acclaim (that continues today) for her short novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She stopped writing for years after that due to the jealousy of her husband, who went so far as to develop a psychosomatic throat disorder to force her into the role of constant nursemaid. In the 1930s, with talkies the new thing, she returned to Hollywood with her husband and they began work at MGM.

The focus of the book is on sex along show more with a heaping helping of gossip. She details several almost-affairs she had and analyzes how Hollywood addressed sex in the Code era versus contemporary times (this was published in the 1970s). She spills the beans on Judy Garland, who she could not stand, and other stars who populated the MGM set. A lot of that commentary feels petty, though her discussion of William Randolph Hearst and Mae West was more enjoyable. Her memories of her husband, "Mr. E" come across as flippant, which is appalling at times. He was terribly abusive, attempting to kill her and absconding with her funds and even her book rights, and yet she stayed devoted to him until his death. show less

One of two memoirs written by Anita Loos, this one concentrates on her work for the movie studios, mainly in the 1910s, 20s and 30s. She wrote or co-wrote lots of scripts; many of the early ones were one reel silent movies. Best known as the author of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, Loos was witty and smart in many ways but let her husband take advantage of her terribly.

Born in 1894, Loos was a flapper with short dark hair and short skirts. She was a career girl; although she was pretty and social enough to have become a gold digger, she supported herself and her husband with her writing. She worked and socialized with many of the days celebrities; Clark Gable, Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst, Aldous Huxley, H.L. Mencken, show more Greta Garbo, Dorothy Parker, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jean Harlow and many, many more.

This volume is a ‘sort of’ biography; I say ‘sort of’ because while she tells us what she was doing, she actually tells us more about the people she spent time with. The book is rich in anecdotes about the famous, warts and all, although she is most often very kind in her recollections. She is even kind about her thieving and manipulative husband- it turned out that he was mentally ill and couldn’t help but do the things he did to her. Loos throws some social commentary in with the anecdotes and the book is extremely amusing. show less

Take a pinch of salt when reading