Category: Books

  • At the Corner of Guilt and Delight

    At the Corner of Guilt and Delight

    I have long been intrigued by writer Jeffrey Carrier, who worked with silent film actress Patsy Ruth Miller on her memoir, My Hollywood: When Both of Us Were Young, in the 1980s. The book stands out among film historians as one of the best to come out of the last remaining silent film players in the […]

  • Hairpins and Dead Ends: A review by Diane MacIntyre

    Hairpins and Dead Ends: A review by Diane MacIntyre

    Hairpins and Dead Ends: The Perilous Journeys of 25 Actresses Through Early Hollywood By Michael G. Ankerich Reviewed by Diane MacIntyre. This is companion book to his Dangerous Curves ‘a top Hollywood Heels– The Lives and Careers and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen. It’s not hard to imagine Hollywood as a treacherous […]

  • The Hairpins and Dead Ends Address Book

    The Hairpins and Dead Ends Address Book

    Old Hollywood still exists, but you have to look for it. While researching Hairpins and Dead Ends, I spent a lot of time in the rat race that is Los Angeles 2017 trying to understand what it was like in, say, 1912 or 1926. As a biographer, it is important for me to visit the […]

  • Hairpins and Dead Ends is Waiting! Are You Ready for the Journey?

    Hairpins and Dead Ends is Waiting! Are You Ready for the Journey?

    You survived Dangerous Curves ‘atop Hollywood Heels, my 2011 book about ill-fated actresses of the silent screen . . . . . . but are you ready for the companion book, Hairpins and Dead Ends: The Perilous Journeys of 25 Actresses Through Early Hollywood? Get ready!  It’s here.   My new book takes you on […]

  • Author Joan Craig Shares Her Memories of Theda Bara in New Book

    Author Joan Craig Shares Her Memories of Theda Bara in New Book

    Theda Bara, My Mentor: Under the Wing of Hollywood’s First Femme Fatale by Joan Craig, with Beverly E. Stout, is the book that I have been waiting for. They don’t come along everyday, these intimate and personal recollections of someone who actually knew the silent film greats, but when they do, they have my attention. I […]

  • Bob Harned Remembers His Mother, Actress Sally Phipps

    If you ever wondered what became of silent film actress Sally Phipps, you’re in luck.  Bob Harned has written a thorough and revealing biography of one of the cutest flappers to ever grace the silent screen. Bob is not just any writer; he just happens to be her son! A little about Sally and then I will introduce you […]

  • That crazy book man?

      What has happened to my peaceful office where Maebelle and Tallulah napped while I typed away on a new book or spent hours researching the whereabouts of a lost silent film siren? That was then …..   This is now …. Maebelle and Tallulah are no where to be found this afternoon. Ms. Taylor, our other […]

  • Hair Pins and Dead Ends, Ankerich’s new book, on the horizon

    Relax, friends, I have not pulled a Howard Hughes or Doris Duke on you and slipped into seclusion on some exotic island in the Pacific. If I ever became a recluse, it would be in Manarola, Italy, but that’s another story. I am hunkered down and working on my next book, Hair Pins and Dead Ends: […]

  • Author Stephen Michael Shearer: The Interview

    I’ll  never forget the encouragement that author Stephen Michael Shearer gave me when I was writing my Mae Murray biography several years ago. His Hedy Lamarr biography had just been released in hardcover. Although he was busy doing publicity for the release, he made time to give me a call and talk through some important […]

  • Author Michelle Morgan talks Thelma, Carole, Marilyn, and a whole lot of Hollywood scandal

      Michelle Morgan’s schedule has cleared long enough to talk with me about her new book,  The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals. As a writer, I can’t see how she keeps it all together. She has two or three books going at the same time, in addition to being a wife and mother. As you will […]