Feeling Especially Official: The Ann Dvorak Book is on the TCM Website
On June 19, 2013 by Christina Rice With 16 Comments
- Personal
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 170
I am not sure how long it’s been there, but someone recently notified me that Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel is now showing up for pre-order on the Turner Classic Movies website. I have to say, this really makes me feel like a legitimate classic film biographer.
Also, I was contacted by two separate places in the Chicago area for screenings/book signings. After 15 years, this is all becoming quite real!
Congratulations! I hope the book gets included in their “hot off the presses” segment as the publishing date approaches.
Christina: With TCM using different hosts now; you are an absolute natural to host a series of Ann Dvorak movies for TCM. What can we do to help kick start a ground swell of pressure to help TCM see a good thing for them (and for you and for your loyal fans)?
I’ll take whatever they give me!
Oh gee Dick, I don’t think I am notably enough to host anything on TCM!
WRONG!!! You’re a perfect fit for their audiences!!
Very good to hear!
And great idea, Dick. To paraphrase Sam Goldwyn, give Christina a couple of years on TCM and she’ll be an overnight success!
If you go to the TCM website, at ‘Books/Biography & Autobiography’, right next to “Ann Dvorak: Hollywood’s Forgotten Rebel”, seen above, is an upcoming bio on Vivien Leigh.
Looking at the cover photo on that one, you kind of get the feeling the publishers of that book adopted a similar approach to what went on with the cover photo choices for the Ann book — as in selecting a very ‘provocative’ (or, maybe THE most ‘provocative’) choice.
The camera angle used for those photographs of both Ann and Vivien have them looking at you in the same way.
Thanks fellas! You’re too kind!
That photo of Vivien was used in the 1970s or 80s for a Countess Isserlyn makeup ad with the tagline “It was created for the women that every other woman wanted to look like.” I came across it in a stack of old magazines in an art class and thought it was so striking that I framed it and had it hanging up for years. Simply stunning portrait.
Speaking of Vivien, there was a biography published shortly after she passed away called “Light of a Star: The Sensitive and Intimate Story of the Bewitching Vivien Leigh.” Now, that’s a title!
The Vivien photo is striking, but please, do we need another VL bio, when we still wait for our first book on Joan Bennett, Sylvia Sidney, Miriam Hopkins, Lizabeth Scott, Veronica Lake…………. Do you see another potential project here to fill up your next 15 years?
I agree. There are a handful of actors that should be off limits at this point, and Vivien is one of them.
A Miriam Hopkins bio has been in the works for some time and hopefully will be showing up soon. If you have not read, “The Bennetts: An Acting Family” pick it up. It’s one of my favorite Hollywood bios and one of the big reasons why I wanted University Press of Kentucky to publish the Dvorak book. www.amazon.com/gp/product/0813123291/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0813123291&linkCode=as2&tag=anndvoholsf0e-20
If I ever decide to commit to something like this again, I would probably do Glenda Farrell or Aline MacMahon.
Just stumbled across the link to this post on Twitter (congratulation, Christina!) and after reading the comments just thought I’d put it out there that I’m the author of said Vivien Leigh book that people seem to be questioning. It’s to correspond with her centenary this year and, in my opinion, she does deserve a fresh perspective. My dedication to Vivien has been quite similar to Christina’s dedication to Ann Dvorak. It’s been a complete labor of love, and a long road from start to finish. But I couldn’t be more proud of the finished product.
Cheers,
Kendra
Hi Kendra. Congrats on the upcoming book and I hope you don’t take any offense to the comments here.
I definitely took the safe route in writing about Ann, who was not well documented and does not have rabid fanbase like Vivien. I actually think it takes a lot of guts to write about her and if you’re able to bring something new to light, then that’s wonderful. Besides Ann, she is my absolute favorite and has been since I was six years old. Despite what I said earlier, I will still be buying it!
My negative gut reaction upon hearing of another Vivien book was more in regard to other deserving actresses who have not yet received the bio treatment.
I am delighted to hear/read about the upcoming Miriam Hopkins release. Like Ann, her best (and best remembered) films were from the first half of the 30s. And thanks for mention of “The Bennetts”; will be doing an upcoming library search.
Aline MacMahon & Glenda Farrell are 2 excellent bio candidates. My initial feeling is that they do not have enough name value to interest a publisher, but then again, if you found a taker with Ann, who knows?
After further thought, the actress I would love to see receive a full fledged, thorough, biographical exposure is Claudette Colbert. A recently published life story was a terrible letdown, revealing little about this wonderful star.
I am still amazed I found a taker for Ann! I was so fearful I would have to self-publish. Another one I might be interested in is Paul Muni. There have books about him published in previous decades, but I think he might be due for a reevaluation.
The Bennetts is one of the few Hollywood bios I could not put down. Constance & Richard were characters!
No offense taken. I just thought I’d speak up as the Vivien book has been years in the making and it was actually a lot of work to get a publisher (despite the prevalence of Gone With the Wind, she doesn’t fall into the “safe” category with Monroe, Hepburn and Kelly that commercial publishers tend to go for these days).
@Mike – If you think someone deserves a biography, why not take it upon yourself to write it? It’s a challenge, to be sure, but a worthy one in the end.
Best of luck Kendra. The description of your book on the TCM website makes it sound very interesting, indeed. AND it’s $10 less than Christina’s book! (I keed … I keed…)
For the record, I had nothing to do with the price-point on the book. Though I guess it is my fault for submitting 69 photos, which probably set the price higher. Guess I should have used less.