While the University Press of Kentucky is located in the heart of blue-grass country and traditionally features a thoroughbred on its catalogue cover, turning the pages for this season's offering reveals a genuine blue-chip runner in the fall book sweepstakes: The Barrymores: Hollywood's First Family by Carol Stein Hoffman, due in October. Although a tinseltown bio might seem at first out of character for the Press, it is part of a film series now in its 10th year. But with a large trim, 300 duotone photographs and a foreword by Leonard Maltin, it is far and away the series' most ambitious project yet.
If all goes according to plan, the collective biography of this glamorous clan could become UPK's bestselling title to date. Sales manager Wyn Morris told PW that the press was poised to boost its scheduled 5,000 first printing up to 7,500—big numbers in UP circles—if actress Drew Barrymore comes through with the afterword she expressed an interest in writing. Hoffman, who was a friend of Drew's father, told PW that the latest of the Barrymore stars is "very supportive" of the book. In fact, her Flower Films Company is currently in production on an A&E documentary titled Barrymore on the Barrymores. But with the actress honeymooning with Tom Green, of MTV fame, into September, that might be cutting it a little close for the publisher to make the call.
Even if the afterword does not come through, The Barrymores should be a big performer for the press's fall list. "These books," UPK's director Ken Cherry noted, have boosted the press's "national visibility." Like many university presses, Kentucky increased its trade presence significantly in recent years. UPK's film series comprises 10% of its overall list and an even greater percentage of its sales. Yet, Cherry insists that such titles are not without their archival merit. "Books like these will have to be referred to as long as people write about the movies, the history of film and the direction of American popular culture," he told PW.
And the history of the Barrymores encompasses the history of theatrical arts in America. Or, so the author discovered soon after her companion Anthony Lumi introduced her to Drew's father, John Drew, son of the famed actor John Barrymore. Through the course of the friendship Hoffman became fascinated with the sheer volume of "Barrymorebilia" John Drew had in his home: a disordered trove of vintage family photographs, letters and other mementos inherited from his famous family. Basically, Hoffman and Lumi adopted Barrymore's archive and started doing extensive research into the family. What really drew Hoffman into what she calls "the adventure" 20 years ago was the legendary romance of movie idol John Barrymore with John Drew's mother, the stage and silent screen star Dolores Costello.
"When John married Dolores Costello," the 60ish first-time author explained, "he joined the mighty Barrymore bloodline to that of yet another performing family of stage and screen. The history of these lines encompasses the history of theater and film and is valuable for that reason, but the appeal of the individuals—the Flying Barrymores, the Royal Family of Hollywood, the Great Profile, the Man with the Dimples, the Goddess of the Silver Screen—makes the history fascinating."
Despite the famous subjects and incredible access to material, Hoffman had no luck when she shopped her book proposal around the New York houses. Then the rejection process repeated all over again when her agent, Rosalie Siegel, gave it another try. Finally, Siegel found a match with Cherry, who was just then instituting UPK's film series.
Maltin, Entertainment Tonight's film correspondent and author of Signet's popular Leonard Maltin Movie and Video Guides, says hooray for UPK's work in this area. "I am both thrilled with and grateful for Kentucky's film series," he told PW. "Serious film books such as The Barrymores used to be in the purview of most major publishers, but now fewer and fewer of them are interested in movie books other than scandal-ridden star biographies." Wait until he sees the first-ever biography of Joan Crawford UPK has underway for release next year.
