Hollywood Heyday

David Fantle has been interviewing, writing and speaking about Hollywood’s Golden Age stars for 40 years. His work has appeared in media outlets worldwide. He is an adjunct professor of film and pop culture at Marquette University and lives in Milwaukee. Tom Johnson was a senior editor at Netflix and has written movie reviews and features for E! Online, Moviefone and People magazine, among other publications. He lives in Los Angeles.

• Table of ContentsForeword by Robert Wagner deletePreface: Origin Story deleteVaudeville Was Not a Place! Will Ahern and Eddie ParksIt Ain’t Easy Being Green Eddie AlbertAlphabet Soup Steve AllenRead All About Him Ed AsnerThat Nimble Tread Fred AstaireHaving (Less Than) a Ball with Lucy Lucille BallWhat’s the Buzz? Rona BarrettThe Biggest in the Business Milton BerleDog Day Afternoon Jacqueline BissetBlanc’s Slate Mel BlancThe Importance of Being Ernest Ernest BorgnineComedy in Three Acts George BurnsMeasuring Up James CagneyWhat Makes Sammy Run? Sammy CahnThe-Great-Minneapolis-Kidnap-Caper Frank CapraStardust and Residuals Hoagy CarmichaelThe Gamine Leslie CaronJacked! Jack Carter“Beautiful Dynamite” Cyd Charisse“Mannix”: The Last Interview Mike ConnorsFestering Jackie CooganFred and Ed (and Johnny) Fred de Cordova and Ed McMahonAngie Angie DickinsonTesty(monial) Sparring with Stanley DonenYou Must Remember This Julius EpsteinCommon and Preferred Peter FalkWith a Song in Her Heart Kathryn GraysonMan Tan George HamiltonThis One’s for the Birds Tippi HedrenHoly Moses!—Heston on High Charlton HestonAll the Best Lines Al HirschfeldOn the Road with “Old Ski Nose” Bob Hope“To the Greats Without a Microphone” George Jessel“How Do You Like Them Apples?” Shirley Jones and Rod SteigerThe Real McCoy DeForest KelleyPassing Time with Gene KellyThe Last of the Great Anchormen Ted KnightClock Watching with Martin LandauThe Art of Perfect Timing Burton LaneJanet and Tony and the Art of Crowd Control Janet Leigh and deleteTony CurtisMum’s the Word Mervyn LeRoyJerry-Rigged Jerry Lewis“Great Songs, Drudge Assignments, It Never Mattered” deleteJay Livingston and Ray EvansNice and Easy Does It Every Time Karl Malden The “Toy King” Louis MarxFrankly Speaking Billy MayBaked Alaska Virginia MayoTops in Taps Ann MillerMGM’s Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Vincente MinnelliTV’s Funniest Shrink Bob NewhartThe Great American Flyers The Nicholas BrothersFred Astaire’s Silent Partner Hermes PanOf Mockingbirds and Maniacs Gregory PeckMaledictions in a Minor Chord André PrevinUnsinkable Debbie ReynoldsThe Merchant of Venom, Defanged Don RicklesBehind the Tinsel Mickey RooneyThe ­Also-Ran Benny RubinA Delicate Balance Eva Marie SaintThe Pen Is Mightier Than the Clarinet Artie ShawBy George! George SidneyThe Untouchable Robert StackA Long Meander with RJ Robert WagnerBenchwarmer Eli WallachA Friend of Dorothy Charles WaltersLullabies and Nightmares Harry WarrenA Short Take on The Three Stooges: Jules WhiteIn the Swim with Neptune’s Daughter Esther WilliamsHis Favorite Things Robert WiseAfterword: A View from the Terrace deleteIndex delete

“Fans of the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood are in for a delicious treat with the release of the new book/memoir Hollywood Heyday...The story behind the making of this dishy delight is almost as fascinating as the intimate conversations with the legendary stars themselves.”—PROVOKR; “this book is an entertaining collection of vignettes, a mixture of stories from the stars and the authors’ own observations”—The News & Observer (Raleigh, North California); “If you love old Hollywood, chances are your favorite person is in here.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; “will change the way you look at some of Hollywood’s classic movies and television shows”—ABC7; “The book was forty years in the making: worth every minute to bring it to fruition.... Start at the beginning and work through, pick and choose at random; either way, you’ll become immersed in this Milky Way of Hollywood luminaries.”—Lavender; “how [Fantle and Johnson] landed these interviews is just as fascinating as what their subjects had to say about their careers as movie stars...deeply fascinating...the list of celebrities who are featured in the book is quite impressive...a riveting collection”—Montreal Times; “This is a fine example of the kind of book I love to have on the bedside table, for bedtime. Also, for morning and for insomnia. These profiles are so well done that it’s hard not to go on to just one more and be late for work. Be a good friend. Get two copies.”—Dick Cavett; “Guys, your book will be with me: in the car, in the bathroom, in the tote to the dentist, to the doctor, to the rehab, to the movies...anywhere that I might want a wonderful ‘lift’ to my day. It’s full of fascinating reminiscences. Thank you!”—Angie Dickinson; “Hollywood Heyday took me back to many a year. Dave and Tom are very good writers.”—Eva Marie Saint; “These are in-depth interviews and not the usual. They’re things that people will really want to know about, not gossip.”—Jane Powell; “In a book that includes Bob Hope, George Burns, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, among others, Don (Rickles) is where he belongs.”—Bob Newhart.