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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…
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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…
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Life is Good at Hollywood Forever: A Chat With Karie Bible, Tour Guide
If you know me at all, you know I like to hang out in cemeteries. I’ve haunted graveyards all over the world, but my absolute favorite is Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In the middle of crowded and congested Hollywood, it is a haven of rest, for sure, but also a lovely park and a place to spend some quiet…
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A Visit to Spahn Movie Ranch
By Michael G. Ankerich My morbid curiosity is a side of me that most friends and family don’t understand. I simply had no choice, friends! I grew up watching Dark Shadows, and the first scene from a movie I remember seeing was a decapitated head rolling down the stairs in Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. I remember…
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Interview: William J. Mann tackles murder, morphine, and madness in Tinseltown
Interview by Michael G. Ankerich William J. Mann serves up a delicious plate of M’s in his new book, Tinseltown. Mary, Mabel, and Margaret. Murder, Mystery, and Madness. Mary and Momma. I devoured every morsel of the buffet. The unsolved murder of director William Desmond Taylor in 1922 is one of the reasons I stepped…
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You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave
I’ve been back from Los Angeles for over a month now, but I feel that part of me is still there. Like that line from Hotel California, “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.” I first came to Los Angeles almost 30 years ago. In many ways, part of me…
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Remembering Valentino, making new friends
The highlight of my recent Hollywood adventure had to be the annual Valentino Memorial Service, an event that pays tribute to the life of Rudolph Valentino on the anniversary of his death, August 23, 1926. Not only was I there this year, I also had the honor of speaking about the friendship of Valentino and…
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From Hookers to Grannies: An Interview with Stella Stevens
Hold onto your life jackets! Hollywood just celebrated the 40th anniversary of the release of The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Stella Sevens, Carol Lynley, and other cast members gathered in Hollywood late last month to reminiscence about the classic disaster film. The recent reunion brought to mind the interview I did with Stella Stevens at her home in…
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Mae Murray’s 1960 Radio Interview
As I celebrate the publication of my new book, Mae Murray: The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips, I wanted to share with you an interview Mae Murray gave in 1960 as she celebrated the release of her first biography by Jane Ardmore, The Self-Enchanted. The interview can be found on YouTube in three parts. Follow…
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Closeups and Canvases 