Review/Interview: Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays by Karie Bible and Mary Mallory

About the Book

Genre: Non-Fiction
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Release Date: October 2015



Synopsis from Goodreads:

Marvelously illustrated with more than 200 rare images from the silent era through the 1970s, this joyous treasure trove features film and television's most famous actors and actresses celebrating the holidays, big and small, in lavishly produced photographs. Join the stars for festive fun in celebrating a variety of holidays, from New Year's to Saint Patrick's Day to Christmas and everything in between. Legends such as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and Audrey Hepburn spread holiday cheer throughout the calendar year in iconic, ironic, and illustrious style. These images, taken by legendary stills photographers, hearken back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, when motion picture studios devised elaborate publicity campaigns to promote their stars and to keep their names and faces in front of the movie-going public all year round.

My Review

What a gorgeous book! It features many classic photos of some of the most beautiful and talented Hollywood celebrities. I’ve always been a bit star struck, so I can look at these pictures over and over again. Each photo and chapter are designed to represent a holiday.

I’m a fan of Hollywood who used to buy all the movie magazines. I couldn’t get enough of them. These are photos I’ve never seen before. Seeing these classic photos brings me right back to simpler times. Although most of these are from a time before I was born, I did see some of these stars in their later years – Ann Margaret, Jane Wyman, Sally Field and Lucille Ball (her photo was even before I Love Lucy). The photos featured are a mix of b&w and color.

I reviewed this through Edelweiss so I read it on my tablet. Although the pictures are lovely on it, this is one time when an actual book would be even better. It’s a book to be savored, displayed and read many times. The book is a conversation piece that would look beautiful in a living room.

I tried to come up with a way to describe the book, but words won’t do it justice. It’s a classy, elegant dedication to the people who brought joy to us through the large and small screens. I’m hoping we’ll get another volume soon! (hint, hint)



For Reading Challenges
2015 NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge

FTC Disclosure: Edelweiss provided me with a copy of this book to review for this blog tour. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Interview

Please welcome the authors of Hollywood Celebrates the Holidays to Socrates’ Book Reviews. Karie Bible and Mary Mallory have put together a beautiful book and they have graciously agreed to do an interview for us. We are thrilled to have them visiting our blog today.


1) First, congratulations on putting together such a lovely book. What made you decide to work on this project?

Mary: We got the idea through seeing holiday photos in vintage fan magazines and at memorabilia shows. We realized there wasn't a book and thought it would be fun to do.

Karie: Mary and I were originally collecting these photos for fun and then we started looking around for a book about them. There wasn't one, so we decided that we should do it.

2) Have you collaborated together on other books?

Mary: This is our first book collaboration; we have both done books separately. I wrote the Arcadia book, "Hollywoodland," about the history of the Hollywoodland Sign and the neighborhood that it advertised, and an ebook, "Hollywoodland: Tales Lost and Found." Karie co-wrote the Arcadia Publishing book, "Location Filming in Los Angeles."

Karie: This is our first collaboration together. Mary has written two other books. Back in 2010, I co-wrote "Location Filming in Los Angeles" with Marc Wanamaker and Harry Medved.

3) What is there about the Hollywood atmosphere that fascinates you?

Mary: Golden Age Hollywood is such a glamorous period, full of style and panache, something lacking today. There was an excitement about movies and larger than life stars then, whereas today is more about branding and the like.

Karie: Everything! I think it would have been very exciting to there in the very early days. The entire art form was being born and that must have been such a thrilling thing to be a part of. From the very start, Hollywood has always been full of such colorful and interesting people!

4) Have either of you met any celebrities? Any interesting stories you can share?

Mary: I've met a few celebrities. I met Nancy Reagan as a child at a political event, and she was impeccably dressed and ladylike. I talked to Seth Green in line at the grocery store here in Studio City a few years ago, and while at Disney, I walked Lindsay Lohan as a young teen down the red carpet at a film premiere.

Karie: Most of the time I don't like meeting celebrities as it can often prove a disappointing experience. I prefer to admire them from afar. That said, when I very first moved to Hollywood in 2000 I got to meet Bela Lugosi Jr. "Dracula" (1931) starring his famous father was the first movie I can ever remember seeing. It made a huge impression on me and began my life long passion for film. Lugosi Jr. was speaking at a sci-fi/horror convention in Hollywood. After hearing him speak, I approached the stage and a mob of fan boys rushed forward and literally shoved me out of the way. Lugosi Jr. witnessed the entire incident and put his arm out in the audience and said "Excuse me!" He reached for my hand and pulled me out of the crowd. We chatted for a few minutes and I finally got the chance to tell him how much his father's work meant to me. He was so gracious and kind. He also posed for a picture with me that I cherish to this day.

5) Have you ever collected memorabilia?

Mary: Do I collect memorabilia?! For over 25 years, I've collected postcards, sheet music, vintage movie photographs, motion picture glass slides, and menus.

Karie: I don't really collect memorabilia. Collecting requires a lot of money and space to store things, which I don't really have.

6) Do you have any favorite celebrities, movies, or TV shows?

Mary: My favorite movie genres are silents, film noirs, pre-codes, and romantic comedies of the 1930s-1940s. Some of my favorite movies include GONE WITH THE WIND, IN A LONELY PLACE, and DOUBLE INDEMNITY. My favorite celebrities include Cary Grant and Vivien Leigh. I also love nonfiction books that reveal new details about various people or places in history.

Karie: Most of the celebrities that I love are from the Golden Age of Hollywood. I love so many, it is almost impossible to single out just a few. The stars of today aren't nearly as interesting or as glamorous. We know way too much about them and there is no sense of mystery. Naming favorite movies is also super tough. I love tons of movies from different eras and countries. My most favorite things overall would be silent film, pre-code and film noir!

8) Karie, your bio says you are a tour guide for Hollywood Forever Cemetery. That sounds interesting. Can you tell us anything about it?

Karie: I have been the tour guide at Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the last 13 years. I LOVE what I do and it really is a joy to talk about these incredible people and their legacy.

Here are some links for more about the cemetery tour:

http://www.cemeterytour.com/#!media/cbyb

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/26/local/la-me-harnisch-cemetery-tour-20121127

9) Mary, you have written other Hollywood based books. Can you tell us about them and how you do your research for your books?

Mary: I've written the Arcadia Publishing book, "Hollywoodland," and the eBook, "Hollywoodland: Tales Lost and Found." The first book told the story of the history of the Hollywoodland Sign and neighborhood, detailing the history of the homes, architects, residents, and films that shot there. My ebook tells forgotten stories of people, places, and films, particularly in regards to Los Angeles and Hollywood, most long forgotten. I love conducting research and digging into primary sources if possible. I find materials in various archives, be it paper, photographs, maps, city records, or real estate records, along with rare books, vintage magazine and newspaper articles, interviewing people, and the like. I turned up much new information in my book about the Hollywoodland neighborhood and Sign, some of it from researching plat books in the Los Angeles Tax Assessor's Archive.

10) Do you have any other books or projects on the horizon?

Mary: I'm working on a couple of new book projects, trying to firm up pitches, dealing with historic Hollywood. One would be on the history of the Hollywood Heritage Museum.

Karie: I've got some things bouncing around in my brain right now. Stay tuned!

Thank you both for taking the time to visit our blog.