Tinseltown
Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood
[Ashland, Oregon] : Blackstone Audio, Inc., [2014]
Format: Audiobook on CD
Edition: Unabridged.
Description: 14 audio discs (16 hr.) : digital, CD audio ; 4 3/4 in.
By 1920, the movies had suddenly become America's new favorite pastime and one of the nation's largest industries. Never before had a medium possessed such power to influence; yet Hollywood's glittering ascendancy was threatened by a string of headline-grabbing tragedies--including the murder of William Desmond Taylor, the popular president of the Motion Picture Directors Association, a legendary crime that has remained unsolved until now. In a fiendishly involving narrative, bestselling Hollywood chronicler William J. Mann draws on a rich host of sources, including recently released FBI files, to uncover the story of the enigmatic Taylor and the diverse group of people who surrounded him--including three beautiful, ambitious actresses; a grasping stage mother; a devoted valet; and a gang of two-bit thugs, any of whom might have fired the fatal bullet. And overseeing this entire landscape of intrigue was Adolph Zukor, the brilliant and ruthless founder of Paramount Pictures, locked in a struggle for control of the industry and desperate to conceal the truth about the crime. Along the way, Mann brings to life Los Angeles in the Roaring Twenties: a sparkling yet schizophrenic town filled with party girls, drug dealers, religious zealots, newly minted legends, and starlets already past their prime--a dangerous place where the powerful could still run afoul of the desperate.
Subjects:
Taylor, William Desmond, 1877-1922 -- Friends and associates.
Cold cases (Criminal investigation) -- California -- Los Angeles -- Case studies.
Motion picture producers and directors -- Crimes against -- United States.
Murder -- Investigation -- California -- Los Angeles -- Case studies.
Taylor, William Desmond, 1877-1922 -- Friends and associates.
Cold cases (Criminal investigation) -- California -- Los Angeles -- Case studies.
Motion picture producers and directors -- Crimes against -- United States.
Murder -- Investigation -- California -- Los Angeles -- Case studies.
ISBN:
9781483024196
UPC: 9781483024196
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
CD SOCIAL SCI Man | Main (Downtown) | First Level, Book on CD Nonfiction | In |
Title from container.
Compact discs.
"Tracks every 3 minutes for easy bookmarking"--Container.
Sound recording.
Read by Christopher Lane.
Compact discs.
"Tracks every 3 minutes for easy bookmarking"--Container.
Sound recording.
Read by Christopher Lane.