Hollywood Stories: A Book About Celebrities, Movie Stars, Gossip, Directors, Famous People, History, And More! Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
2012 Global Ebook Award Winner - Entertainment and Performing Arts Non-Fiction“A WILD, FUN RIDE THROUGH TINSEL TOWN, PAST AND PRESENT!” -- Jan Wahl, KCBS AM/FM & KRON-TVAt high noon on a cold November day in 1974, sixty-seven-year-old John Wayne faced off with the staff of the Harvard Lampoon on the famous campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The students had issued their challenge by calling the beloved American icon a fraud. Wayne, who had his new movie McQ to promote, responded by saying he would be happy to show his film in the pseudo-intellectual swamps of Harvard Square. After the screening, without writers, the former USC footballer delivered a classic performance. When one smart young man asked where he got his phony toupee, Wayne insisted the hair was real. It wasn't his, but it was real. The appreciative underclassmen loved him and after the Q and A session, they all sat down to dinner. Later Wayne, who was suffering greatly from both gout and the after effects of lung cancer (sadly the Duke only had five years to live), said that day at Harvard was the best time he ever had.Just when you thought you've heard everything about Hollywood comes a totally original new book -- a special blend of biography, history and lore.Hollywood Stories is packed with wild, wonderful short tales about famous stars, movies, directors and many others who have been a part of the world's most fascinating, unpredictable industry!What makes the book unique is that the reader can go to any page and find a completely engaging and illuminating yarn. Sometimes people won't realize that they are reading about The Three Stooges or Popeye the Sailor until they come to the end of the story. The Midwest Book Review says Hollywood Stories is, "packed from cover to cover with fascinating tales." A professional tour guide in Hollywood, Stephen Schochet has researched and told thousands of entertaining anecdotes for over twenty years. He is also the author and narrator of two audiobooks Tales of Hollywood and Fascinating Walt Disney. Tim Sika, host of the radio show Celluloid Dreams on KSJS in San Jose has called Stephen," The best storyteller about Hollywood we have ever heard."Full of funny moments and twist endings, Hollywood Stories features an amazing, all-star cast of legendary characters and icons and will keep you totally entertained! If you are interested in stories about Hollywood Celebrities, Movie Stars, Movie Gossip, Directors, Famous People, and Movie History, this book is for you!
File Size: 2542 KB
Print Length: 334 pages
Publisher: Hollywood Stories Publishing; 1 edition (February 20, 2010)
Publication Date: February 20, 2010
Sold by: Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B004EEPNKU
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray: Enabled
Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #2,659 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Humor & Entertainment > Movies & Video > Video #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Travel > United States > Regions > West > Pacific #4 in Books > Travel > United States > West > Pacific
Well finally someone wrote a book, a collection of tales and anecdotes about Hollywood and the people who work and dwell there that is actually readable and believable. I must admit that when I first received this work I was terribly skeptical and actually put if off for a awhile. I am a bit old, a bit jaded and the normal Hollywood "tell all" type of book bores me to tears...well actually, not to tears so much, due to the fact that I normally fall asleep before I finish the first few pages.Not so this wonderful collection! These stories about our acting "nobility" are quite down to earth. Some (actually many) are extremely funny, others rather whimsical and a few sort of down right sad. The author, Stephen Schochet has a wonderful no nonsense writing style that is absolutely refreshing in this genre. No lurid and off color stories which usually come from the mind and pen of `wishful thinking' so called authors wanting to sell books; no, these are bits of history; pieces of lore taken from what has been and is a strong and influential institution in our country. Like it or not, our entire society has to one extent or another, been influenced by the actors, directors, producers, writers and other workers in Hollywood or film industry.Each story is smartly written and a delight to read. The author covers the entire gambit of our film industry from the old silent films right up to current times. While not every actor that ever made a film is featured here, literally hundreds upon hundreds are, along with many producers, directors and film makers. There is a bit of something is this work for everyone. There are even stories from T.V. land and its stars to pick from. These little anecdotes are for the most part brief. Many are about a paragraph long...
Culled from author Stephen Schochet's Hollywood Stories One Minute Radio Feature, which is syndicated across North America (and can also be seen on YouTube), along with oodles of added Extras written for this riveting book, Schochet has given his readers a real page turner. For anyone interested in Hollywood and the film industry, dating from its early years up to the present time, these stories show little known facets and facts of the movie stars, directors, and studio moguls who made, and continue to make, film magic.There is nothing salacious or lurid about the stories, a trap some "gossip" books fall into in order to "entertain" their readers. These are just fascinating tidbits about people who are interesting, creative, and successful at their craft. Schochet is an excellent writer for this genre. The writing is direct, simple, and has a "visual" quality which makes you see how the event could have taken place.The book starts with Great Hollywood Comedians, from Chaplin to Bill Murray, moves on to Science Fiction and Horror (marvelous story with 3 Extras on director Ridley Scott filming Blade Runner and Gladiator), Oscar Tales (such an interesting piece on Forest Whitaker while filming The Last King of Scotland!), Great Movie Anecdotes (Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe!), Western Vignettes (from John Ford to Clint Eastwood), the genius of Walt Disney in a section of his own, Moguls and Directors (Wilder, Hitchcock, Orson Welles), Silents to "Talkies" (what a transition that was!), Television Tales (the Kirk Spock feud with lots of Extras!), Singers and Dancers (from Astaire to Madonna), Drinking Tales (with a Peter O'Toole in Ireland story!), a Miscellaneous section, and a Leading Men and Leading Women Lore section (a long piece on Ronald Reagan and so much more).
To some extent, the weaknesses of this book are somewhat inevitable. In 1992 Caine wrote What's It All About?: His Autobiography, an autobiography that was interesting and a great read from an extremely prolific movie actor who has rubbed shoulders with some of the greats. Caine is a natural raconteur and, one suspects, is terrific company. At the time, he thought that his place as a Hollywood leading man was over - and indeed in that sense it largely was. But in subsequent years he has taken on some terrific supporting actor roles and produced, in my view, some of his most interesting work. There is still then a story to tell, despite the fact that in my view no one should really be allowed to publish more than one autobiography. That could have been fine though if he had just concentrated on those 20 years, but instead, perhaps understandably, he has chosen to repeat the "full life" approach and that's the books weakness.Since What's It All About?, there are another 20 years and countless movies to add, and perhaps in recognition that many readers will have read the first book, this time the book is about half the length of the first book. It's harsh to note that some of the stories are the same - of course they are - but with the huge number of movies, there is little scope for any detail as he attempts to precis this period that he's already covered. The result is too much like a list with little interesting detail. There's also some repetition within the book of bits from the first period and the more interesting newer work.
Hollywood Stories: a Book about Celebrities, Movie Stars, Gossip, Directors, Famous People, History, and more! HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS: Hollywood Dirt, Hollywood Romance, Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Stories. The Top Celebrity News Of The Decade 2000-2010 HOLLYWOOD SECRETS: CELEBRITY SUPERSTAR GOSSIP: "The Famous Can be Strange" The Illuminati in Hollywood: Celebrities, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies in Pop Culture and the Entertainment Industry Hollywood Celebrities: Where Are They Now? Secrets to Contacting Celebrities: 101 Ways to Reach the Rich and Famous The Hollywood Book of Death: The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More than 125 American Movie and TV Idols The Cinema of Robert Altman: Hollywood Maverick (Directors' Cuts) Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia: Career Profiles of More Than 2000 Stars and Filmmakers, Past and Present 15 Celebrities Who Have Killed : From The Limelight To The Court Room (Serial Killers - Murderer - Criminals Crimes - True Evil - Horror Stories - True Crimes - Violent Crimes) John Lennon (Famous People, Famous Lives) ONE DIRECTION: DID YOU KNOW?: A Killer Book Containing Gossip, Facts, Trivia, Images & Memory Recall Quiz: Suitable for Adults & Children (Matthew Harper) Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems: From Anger, Boredom, and Temptation to Gluttony, Gossip, and Greed Queen Bees and Wannabes, 3rd Edition: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boys, and the New Realities of Girl World Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World Battle-Fields of the South: From Bull Run to Fredericksburgh; With Sketches of Confederate Commanders, and Gossip of the Camps (Collector's Library of the Civil War) Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets Hollywood Femmes Fatales. Volume 2 (Hollywood Femmes Fatales and Divas) Dealing With Difficult People: Get to Know the Different Types of Difficult People in the Workplace and Learn How to Deal With Them (How To Win People, How To Influence People) Hollywood's Earth Shattering Scandals: The infamous, villains, nymphomaniacs and shady character in motion pictures. 8th Edition. Book/Part 2. (Showbiz Entertainment And Cinema Stars obsession w)
