“Finding Ann Dvorak” Presentation Now Available to View

Docent Luncheon-Los Angeles Public Library-Ann Dvorak-Presented by Christina Rice from Russell Pyle on Vimeo.

As many of you may know, I work for the Los Angeles Public Library, overseeing the library’s Photo Collection. A couple of weeks back, the Central Library docents invited me to be the guest speaker at their annual Spring luncheon. Of course, I was honored to receive the invitation but I was especially pleased to be asked to speak about Ann Dvorak. My parents and one of my sisters were able to come, which was great,  and the audience was very receptive.

The presentation discusses my history with Ann, from when I first encountered her until the completion of the book. It’s pretty much the same talk I gave for LAVA in November, though the quality of this video is probably a bit better.

Enjoy!

And don’t forget that Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel  is still 30% off when ordering directly from University Press of Kentucky!

6 Comments

  1. Vienna June 9, 2014

    Enjoyed viewing your talk, with all the lovely illustrations too. You are definitely spreading the word about Ann and I hope you get plenty more book sales.
    Ever thought about an Ann Dvorak museum?

  2. admin June 11, 2014

    Thanks Vienna for your continued support. Yes, I actually have thought about an Ann-D museum, but figured no one would show up!

  3. mike June 20, 2014

    Christina, a thoroughly entertaining presentation. A great late nite viewing experience for me; enjoyed it even more than watching the last 2 innings of Clayton Kershaw’s no hitter yesterday. You are not only a talented writer, but also a talented public speaker. You would make an excellent teacher.

    I, too, like the idea of an Ann Dvorak Museum. Perhaps appointments in advance when interested parties know they would be in the area? Devotees would love to see your Dvorak memorabilia.

    BTW, received the July TCM viewing guide a few days ago; it’s gonna be a good month for us Ann fans.

    Regardless of what you say, I still dig the fish dress!

    Lovers of Ann and old movies are so fortunate for your existence.

  4. admin June 20, 2014

    Mike, thanks you so much for the kind words and continued encouragement, though I will always stand by the hideousness of the Fish Dress.

    My TCM notifications are set, so I will not miss posting those films here (which I think had been the case lately. Still recovering from 365 straight days of blogging).

    I guess you could say my house is an Ann Dvorak museum, though I doubt my husband would take too kindly to random visitors.

    Cheers!

  5. Ed Miller August 31, 2015

    Ms. Rice, I just watched the video of your library talk (with one eye, I just had surgery for a detached retina), and I want to thank you for your devotion to and biography of the fabulous Ann Dvorak. Thanks to TCM, I’d pre-ordered “Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel,” so we might say that I was one of your first readers. I just turned 65, and I fell in love with Ann (and vintage movies) around the time I turned 10, and I can still remember my first impression of her in her dazzling song-and-dance routine in “G-Men”. Over the decades, I’ve made many an enemy by my long and loud claim that Ann should have had the film career and superstardom that Bette Davis did; in my opinion, her acting talent exceeded Davis’, plus she could sing and dance, and was something that Davis never was: jaw-droppingly beautiful. Thanks to your diligent research, I’ve finally come to understand why Ann didn’t become the superstar that she initially seemed destined to be, and I’m also saddened that, in many ways, she sabotaged herself. In any case, as long as film exists and as long as people like you and I continue to enjoy her incandescent screen presence, Ann Dvorak shall be immortal.

  6. admin September 2, 2015

    Hi Ed, Thank you so much for the kind words and I’m happy I could help you kill some time while you’re convalescing. When I first discovered Ann back in the mid-1990s, I wanted to know why she had not become a bigger star. This is what I set out to answer in the book, so it means a lot to hear that I achieved this goal. Bette was so determined that I don’t think anyone could have stopped or eclipsed her, but given that they were both dramatic actresses at Warner Bros., I don’t think it’s a stretch to imagine Ann in some of those patented Bette roles. Cheers!

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