The Hollywood Book of Extravagance
The Totally Infamous, Mostly Disastrous, and Always Compelling Excesses of America's Film and TV Idols
(0 vote)Average rating:
| 0 | rating |  = We can do without |
| 0 | rating |  = Good book |
| 0 | rating |  = Excellent book |
| 0 | rating |  = Unique / a reference |
Your rating: -
Book Presentation:
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.
Book Presentation:
This book provides colorful examples of extravagant living in Hollywood over the past century. The volume is divided into seven parts—covering the "deadly sins" in Tinseltown: (1) So Much, So Young, (2) So Much Ego, (3) So Much Neuroses, (4) So Much Partying, (5) So Much Power, (6) So Much Rich Living, (7) So Much Romancing. The 84 mini chapters detail intriguing accounts of how a given Hollywood personality succumbed to one or more excesses, described within the context of the celebrity's career and private life. Among the many notables included are Danny Bonaduce, Marlon Brando, Joan Crawford, Tony Curtis, Bette Davis, Sandra Dee, Michael Eisner, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, Rex Harrison, David Hasselhoff, Whitney Houston, Betty Hutton, Al Jolson, Jennifer Jones, Oscar Levant, Lindsay Lohan, Jerry Lewis, Liza Minnelli, Demi Moore, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tori Spelling, Gale Storm, and Mae West.
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.
> From the same author:
The Hollywood Book of Scandals (2004)
The Shocking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of Over 100 American Movie and TV Idols
The Hollywood Book of Love (2003)
From True Romance and Blushing Brides to Tawdry Trysts and Femme Fatales
Hollywood Songsters (2003)
Singers Who Act and Actors Who Sing - Volume 1
Hollywood Divas (2002)
The Good, The Bad, and The Fabulous
Hollywood Bad Boys (2002)
Loud, Fast, and Out of Control
The Hollywood Book of Death (2001)
The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More than 125 American Movie and TV Idols
Today's Black Hollywood (1995)
15 of the World's Hottest Superstars
Pirates and Seafaring Swashbucklers on the Hollywood Screen (1995)
Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 137 Theatrical and Made-For-Television Releases
Subject: Genre > Historical films
Ghosts and Angels in Hollywood Films (1994)
Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 264 Theatrical and Made-For-Television Releases
Gays and Lesbians in Mainstream Cinema (1993)
Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 272 Theatrical and Made-For-Television Hollywood Releases
Subject: On Films > Film selections
Prostitution in Hollywood Films (1992)
Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 389 Theatrical and Made-For-Television Releases
Subject: On Films > Film selections
Prison Pictures from Hollywood (1991)
Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 293 Theatrical and Made-For-Television Releases
The Great Science Fiction Pictures II (1990)
by James Robert Parish and Michael R. Pitts
Subject: Genre > Science Fiction
Black Action Films (1989)
Plots, Critiques, Casts and Credits for 235 Theatrical and Made-For-Television Releases
The Great Gangster Pictures II (1987)
by Michael R. Pitts and James Robert Parish
Subject: Genre > Gangster films
The Hollywood Beauties (1980)
Subject: Actress > Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Kay Francis, Ava Gardner, Jean Harlow, Dolores del Rio, Lana Turner
Hollywood Players, the Thirties (1976)
by James Robert Parish and William T. Leonard
Subject: On Films > Per period
Great Child Stars (1976)
An Incisive, Illustrated Look at 24 Child Stars Who Charmed Their Way into Our Hears and Enchanted Us for All Time
Subject: Actor
The Great Gangster Pictures (1976)
by James Robert Parish and Michael R. Pitts
Subject: Genre > Gangster films
Vincent Price Unmasked (1974)
by James Robert Parish and Steven Whitney
Subject: Actor > Vincent Price
Film Directors (1974)
A Guide to Their American Films
by James Robert Parish and Michael R. Pitts
Subject: On Films > Guides and dictionaries
The Cinema of Edward G. Robinson (1972)
by James Robert Parish and Alvin H. Marill
Subject: Actor > Edward G. Robinson
The Fox Girls (1972)
Starring 15 Beautiful Vixens and One Adorable Cub
Subject: Studio > 20th Century Fox
The Paramount Pretties (1972)
16 leading ladies in Paramount Pictures
The American Movies Reference Book (1969)
The sound era
by Paul Michael and James Robert Parish
Subject: On Films > Guides and dictionaries
> On a related topic:
Hollywood Boozers, Brawlers and Hard-Luck Cases (2025)
Fifteen Ill-Fated Actors of the Golden Age
by Laura Wagner
Scandals, Secrets and Swansongs (2021)
How Hollywood Stars Lived, Worked, and Died
The Castle on Sunset (2020)
Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
by Shawn Levy
Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies (2020)
23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illnesses and Tragedies
by Laura Wagner
Back
