The Hollywood Book of Extravagance: The Totally Infamous, Mostly Disastrous, and Always Compelling Excesses of America's Film and TV Idols

by James Robert Parish

Overview

Savor the inside scoop on over-the-top superstars

"I'm not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. . . . I'm a billionaire!"

"Acting is an empty and useless profession."

"Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere else."

"I'm interested in being provocative and pushing people's buttons."

Which screen icons gave us the quotes above? How do stars get away with self-indulgent, unrestrained behaviors-or do they? In The Hollywood Book of Extravagance, longtime industry insider and Hollywood historian James Robert Parish gives you a provocative look behind the scenes at the lavish indulgences and larger-than-life egos of Tinseltown's rich and famous. The featured celebrities range from heartthrobs to industry tycoons, and from yesterday's matinee idols to today's hottest celebs. The stars are grouped according to their excesses: ego, neurosis, partying, power, rich living, and romancing. You'll devour little-known details on the excesses and exploits of notables ranging from Mae West to Madonna, Greta Garbo to Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando, Bela Lugosi to John Belushi, Zsa Zsa Gabor to Paris Hilton, Errol Flynn to Jude Law, and many more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118039021
Publisher:	Trade Paper Press
Publication date:	01/06/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

James Robert Parish is a former entertainment reporter and publicist and the author of It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks, Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, and The Hollywood Book of Breakups (all from Wiley). Parish appears frequently as an expert on network and cable television documentaries like A&E's Biography and E! Television's True Hollywood Stories.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

1. So Much, So Young.

Drew Barrymore.

Danny Bonaduce.

Gary Coleman.

Jackie Coogan.

Macaulay Culkin.

Patty Duke.

Lindsay Lohan.

Tori Spelling.

2. So Much Ego.

Richard Burton.

Bette Davis.

Rex Harrison.

Al Jolson.

Jerry Lewis.

Madonna.

Jayne Mansfield.

Burt Reynolds.

Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Barbra Streisand.

Mae West.

3. So Much Neurosis.

Woody Allen.

Jean Arthur..

Kim Basinger.

Marlon Brando.

Joan Crawford.

Greta Garbo.

Betty Hutton.

Jennifer Jones.

Oscar Levant.

Marilyn Monroe.

Sean Penn.

Peter Sellers.

4. So Much Partying.

John Barrymore.

John Belushi.

Montgomery Clift.

Sandra Dee.

Robert Downey Jr.

Chris Farley.

W.C. Fields.

Judy Garland.

David Hasselhoff.

Dick Haymes.

Whitney Houston.

Buster Keaton.

Veronica Lake.

Bela Lugosi.

Liza Minnelli.

River Phoenix.

Elvis Presley.

Richard Pryor.

Zachary Scott.

Charlie Sheen.

Gale Storm.

5. So Much Power.

Johnny Carson.

Michael Eisner.

Mel Gibson.

Louis B. Mayer.

Louella Parsons.

Martha Stewart.

Lew Wasserman.

6. So Much Rich Living.

Marion Davies.

Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Sonja Henie.

Paris Hilton.

Howard Hughes.

Demi Moore.

Mary Pickford.

Gloria Swanson.

7. So Much Romancing.

Warren Beatty.

Clara Bow.

Louise Brooks.

Charlie Chaplin.

Joan Collins.

Tony Curtis.

Marlene Dietrich.

Errol Flynn.

Ava Gardner.

Lorenzo Lamas.

Jude Law.

Julia Roberts.

Mickey Rooney.

Frank Sinatra.

Elizabeth Taylor.

Lana Turner.

Shelley Winters.

Bibliography.

Index.