(University of California Press, 2005)
Hollywood celebrities feared her. William Randolph Hearst adored her. Between 1915 and 1960, Louella Parsons was America’s premier movie gossip columnist and in her heyday commanded a following of more than forty million readers. This first full-length biography of Parsons tells the story of her reign over Hollywood during the studio era, her lifelong alliance with her employer, William Randolph Hearst, and her complex and turbulent relationships with such noted stars, directors, and studio executives as Orson Welles, Joan Crawford, Louis B. Mayer, Ronald Reagan, and Frank Sinatra—as well as her rival columnists Hedda Hopper and Walter Winchell. Loved by fans for her “just folks,” small-town image, Parsons became notorious within the film industry for her involvement in the suppression of the 1941 film Citizen Kane and her use of blackmail in the service of Hearst’s political and personal agendas. As she traces Parsons’s life and career, Samantha Barbas situates Parsons’s experiences in the broader trajectory of Hollywood history, charting the rise of the star system and the complex interactions of publicity, journalism, and movie-making. The First Lady of Hollywood is both an engrossing chronicle of one of the most powerful women in American journalism and film and a penetrating analysis of celebrity culture and Hollywood power politics.
Reviews
“Everybody knows about Brad Pitt leaving Jennifer Aniston, but nobody associates a particular byline with the story. That was hardly the case when the gossip columnist Louella Parsons revealed that Mary Pickford would divorce Douglas Fairbanks, or that Ingrid Bergman would have Roberto Rossellini’s baby. Parsons was herself a celebrity, despite her notable lack of charisma, good looks or writing talent. What she had was ambition, aggressive reporting chops and the backing of William Randolph Hearst….as a co-founder of the culture of celebrity, she merits a thoughtful biography, which Barbas delivers.” Mark Lewis, New York Times Book Review
“Set within the framework of evolving American popular culture, this insightful first biography of legendary Hollywood columnist Louella Parsons is also a fascinating look at the world of movies, newspapers, politics, publicity, and ever-changing social roles. Barbas portrays her subject as a talented and determined woman who rose above stereotypical boundaries and created her own opportunities…. Solid details of Parsons’s life aid in presenting a three-dimensional portrait of both the woman and the public figure. This well-researched and finely written work will appeal to a wide readership.” Library Journal
“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…. Of its kind, this is a terrific book about an unusual life, and the author has done future Hollywood historians a great service by documenting it so carefully, incidentally exposing all the falsehoods Parsons related in her own 1945 autobiography.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Why would a scholar write a book on Louella Parsons? Because although People magazine and its ilk have replaced newspaper gossip columns, in the 1930s and beyond Parsons’s pen wielded enormous power over the personal lives of movie stars, who were forced to seek her good graces (e.g., in 1941 Parsons ruined the release of Citizen Kane because of its purported attack on her boss, William Randolph Hearst). As she did in Movie Crazy, Barbas continues to posit the mind of the fan and the influence of pop culture as organs of communication. Since Parsons (1885-1973) left no papers, Barbas’s challenge was accurate biography. She culled her information from many sources and the result is a book that is fascinating, meticulously documented, fair to its subject, and obviously scholarly. … This is a model of biographical writing, and thus as valuable to students of biography as to those interested in Hollywood and celebrity culture.” A. Hirsh, Choice
“Barbas’ thoughtful, well-written life of Parsons does much to explain her rise to fame–and her steeper, much-deserved fall.” Gregory McNamee, Hollywood Reporter
“It’s a richly instructive explanation of how an ambitious go-getter like Parsons could parlay her talent for scoops and scandals into a long, hugely successful career.” Carl Rollyson, Wall Street Journal (one of his “five best Hollywood biographies.”)
“Barbas has combined biography, Hollywood lore, and American cultural history into a seamless narrative that is both eminently readable and awesomely scholarly.” Bernard Dick, Journal of American History.
“Barbas’ book is rich in detail of all aspects of Louella’s time including the cultural and the political. ….It belongs in every university library, on the shelves of cultural anthropologists, film fanatics and just folk who enjoy a juicy dish.” Beatrice Williams-Rude, Daily Variety
“More than just an addictively engrossing study of the infamous gossip columnist, Barbas’ The First Lady of Hollywood: A Biography of Louella Parsons, is a deftly written historical, political and cultural chronicle of the United States during the first half of the 20th century.”—Susan King, Los Angeles Times
“Who speaks for Louella Parsons? Now nearly forgotten, she was once the most powerful woman in Hollywood, the vehicle through which the stars spoke to the world. Samantha Barbas’ enviably thorough and readable biography restores Parsons’ voice and her position in the movie firmament. It’s about time.” – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
“An absorbing book about celebrity culture and Hollywood power politics…a pleasing amalgam of rigorous scholarship and popular history. It will appeal to a wide range of readers.” Sheldon Kirshner, Canadian Jewish News
“Samantha Barbas has succeeded in restoring Parsons’ place in film history with this rich and engrossing study.” John Sbardellati, Pacific Historical Review
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