Wallace Reid: The Life and Death of a Hollywood Idol

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More About This Textbook

Overview

For a decade Wallace Reid was the most recognized face in Hollywood, the most universally beloved actor in silent film. Today all that is widely remembered of "Wally" Reid is that he died in a padded sanitarium cell, the victim of a fatal morphine addiction. Of all the actors who have enjoyed great fame only to vanish from the public eye, Reid perhaps fell the fastest and hardest.

This first full biography recounts Reid's complicated childhood, his disrupted family history and his rise to film stardom despite these restricting factors. It documents his myriad talents and accomplishments, most notably his gift for brilliant onscreen acting. The text explores in depth how the modern studio, however unconsciously, turned the popular star, a well-adjusted man with a loving family, into a drug-dependent mental patient within three years. His death rocked the foundations of Hollywood, and the huge new industry that he helped build nearly died with "Dashing Wally Reid."

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780786428151
  • Publisher: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
  • Publication date: 2/28/2007
  • Pages: 312
  • Product dimensions: 7.20 (w) x 10.10 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

E.J. Fleming is also the author of Carole Landis (2005), The Fixers (2004), The Movieland Directory (2004) and Hollywood Death and Scandal Sites (2000). He lives in Barrington, Illinois.
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Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     vii
Preface     1
Family and Youth     3
Finding "the Movies"     22
Dorothy and the Davenports     35
Santa Barbara and Marriage     47
The Birth of a Star     64
Lasky's "Diamond"     78
Stardom     90
War and Work     102
Where's Wally?     118
Accident, and Addiction     134
"Good-Time Wally" Faces the Abyss     152
Barely Hanging On     167
The Industry Teeters, and Wally Falls     192
The Curtain Falls on a Tragedy     210
Human Wreckage     226
Filmography     241
Actor     241
Director     257
Writer     258
As Himself     258
Archival Footage     259
Chapter Notes     261
Selected Bibliography     281
Index     289
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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted September 22, 2008

    A Wealth of Information on this Long Ago Star

    This man has become a favorite author. That he was able to get so much valuable information on Wallace Reid who has been dead for over 80 years is a real accomplishment. The only thing that I ever heard was that he was a drug addict. Mr Fleming brings Wallace Reid to life, the reader gets a real understanding of the man and the star. I will buy anything that this author writes. Looking forward to his new book on Paul Bern.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 7, 2007

    Another Winner From E.J. Fleming

    I became a big fan of E.J. Fleming after my daughter gave me his fabulous Carole Landis biography. I love that E.J. writes about stars how haven't already had a million books published about them I did not know much about Wallace Reid before reading this - I feel like I am an expert now! This is a fascinating look at the early days of Hollywood and the agony of drug addiction. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Wallace Reid, loves classic movies, or just wants to read an interesting biography.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 14, 2010

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