Long before hard-hitting, news-making political talk shows cluttered television, and long before Occupy Wall Street challenged the corporate money grab, there was Lou Gordon. I remember watching his show as a teenager, and being inspired by his fighting the good fight.

For those who might not know o… Read full post »

In the early 1920s, Baby Peggy was the toast of New York. After having co-starred in numerous short comedies - including many with a canine star named Brownie the Wonder Dog, the diminutive actress was set to star in her first feature film, The Darling of New York… Read full post »

The story of Baby Peggy is a Hollywood fairy tale gone wrong.

Her's is a story of worldwide fame, a fortune stolen, a trust broken, and a childhood lost. It is the epic story of a pint-sized movie star who conquered the world, only to lose it all. It is… Read full post »

This weekend, movie goers in the San Francisco Bay Area will have the rare opportunity to see a historic film few if any have ever seen on the big screen.

On August 27th, the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, California will screen Leap Year, starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.… Read full post »

These days, Diana Serra Cary lives a quite life in Gustine, California. It's a small town in the Valley south of Modesto and east of San Jose - and not far from Merced where her Father, a one-time cowboy and ranch-hand, worked in the early years of the… Read full post »

Before Greg Mortenson and Three Cups of Tea, before Margaret B. Jones and Love and Consequences, before James Frey and A Million Little Pieces, and even before Clifford Irving and his Autobiography of Howard Hughes, there was Margarete Böhme and The Diary of a Lost Girl.

If you haven't heard… Read full post »

John Updike once told me that Louise Brooks was the finest writer to have ever come out of Hollywood. That was his long-held opinion when I met him in 2006. Updike had reviewed the silent film star’s book of autobiographical essays, Lulu in Hollywood, for the New Yorker in 1982.… Read full post »

Every year since 1982, the American reading public observes Banned Books Week. This year, as in the past, hundreds of libraries and bookstores draw attention to the problem of censorship by hosting events and by creating displays of challenged works. It’s all about creating awareness.

Recentl… Read full post »

In June, the 59 year old writer F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre took his own life. He set his book and paper-filled New York City apartment on fire and died in the resulting blaze. It was an ugly ending to what was certainly a sad, even tormented life.… Read full post »