The First Lady of Hollywood: A Biography of Louella Parsons
Samantha Barbas, . . Univ. of California, $29.95 (417pp) ISBN 978-0-520-24213-5
Historian Barbas's thoroughly researched and footnoted biography of the powerful gossip columnist who virtually invented celebrity journalism asks to be taken seriously as a chronicle of American history at a pivotal time—but it is also a fast and fascinating read. A smalltown girl from Dixon, Ill., Parsons married and separated early; at 29, she set off for Chicago as a single mother where she found a job as "scenario editor" to a small movie company in 1911, sorting through the hundreds of fan-written "screenplays" that arrived daily; the lucky few were turned into 15- or 20— minute silents at $25 a pop to the writer. She began to write about the movies for the
Reviewed on: 08/08/2005
Genre: Nonfiction
Open Ebook - 426 pages - 978-0-520-94024-6
Paperback - 426 pages - 978-0-520-24985-1