Friday, December 23, 2011

New Movie Book: Raised by the Stars

Now available on that Kindle thingy.

If you're a fan of old movies, you may enjoy my book, “Raised by the Stars."

It's a collection of recent interviews I did with children of actors from cinema’s Golden Age, and published by McFarland's. They talk about the joys and difficulties of growing up in the shadow of the early Hollywood spotlight.

Among those interviewed are the children of leading actors such as Errol Flynn, Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, Rosalind Russell, Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, and Rex Harrison, as well as many supporting and character actors including Jack Elam, Forrest Tucker, Jesse White, Jack Gilford, Gene Lockhart and Billy Barty.

Who, you ask? Well, you may not know their names unless you a film buff (what exactly is a buff, let alone a film buff, anyway?) but you probably recognize their faces if you watch films from the 40s, 50s, and beyond:

Can you identity these supporting actors? Their children are all interviewed in "Raised by the Stars"
I must say, it was a lot of fun hearing firsthand from these children – some in their 70s and 80s now, so not exactly "kids" – about the hectic lifestyle of living in the celebrity bubble. I think fans of classic movies will enjoy this collection.

“Raised by the Stars” is published by McFarland and contains 50 photos. More information: website.

Also, article in the Ventura County Star.

36 comments:

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

Congratulations on your book! It sounds like an interesting read.

fishducky said...

I would love to read it. Will you have a version on Kindle?

eileeninmd said...

Congrats on your book. I remember a lot of the actors you have listed. I use to love watching the old movies with my MOM when I was young. I still love the classic movies. Thanks for visiting my blog

Karen said...

Yay, Nick, congrats! That's great! Yes, I do recongize many of those names. Your book sounds so interesting!

Maggie May said...

Congratulations on this book.
I have tried many times to comment but couldn't.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Linda Medrano said...

This is great! I'm so glad this is out there. I wondered about if it was also on Kindle, but actually, this is the kind of book you want in hard copy. I'm ordering one. It sounds really interesting and fun too. I hope your sales do really good, and if you go on a book tour, let us know. If you're close, we can come and see you!

Unknown said...

There you are.....I thought I lost you. That stupid malware warning kept popping up and my computer wouldn't let me on your site.

Then the warning started popping up on my site and some of my followers couldn't get on mine. It took me a week to get it taking care of it. The first thing I had to do is unfollow you. I almost cried.

But, today.....YEAH.....there you were and I am refollowing you (if there is such a word)....

And I never thought of his name as having the word MATH in it. He pronounced it MaaaThyMuss. It is kind of wierd. kt

Unknown said...

Was so excited about finding that I hadn't lost you that I almost forgot to comment about your book. Good job kiddo...I may have to wait until I can talk my library to get a copy, but I will hound them until they do.

kt

(I just love these verification words. This one was
colturd. I wonder what kind of an animal a col is? or did they leave the "d" out?)

Unknown said...

Oh this is too much! This next w/v is rearshi.
I have no comment!

Along These Lines ... said...

kt: I know the w/v drives me nuts sometimes. I got google to do a check on the page and they removed the malware thingy, or whatever it was, pretty quickly. If it happens to you, go to google tools and they should fix it. Sorry. I think it was some malware from a Russian site which a lot of people have been getting on their blogs. And I thought the cold war was over!

Sweet Lily said...

Excellent! Congrats!!

Kathleen said...

Oh, this sounds like great fun. Congrats! I will seek it out.

Judie said...

I'm on it, Nick! It will be sort of like eavesdropping! And as for your shamelessness, I have this sign posted by my paintings at art shows:

"For myself, money means nothing; but as custodian of my genius, I must demand these prices."

How's that for self-promotion???

Unknown said...

Congrats! I bet they had wonderful tales to tell.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

cool book review.
it looks like an X-citing one indeed.

Debra Gray-Elliott said...

First, let me say great post. Can't wait to read the book. Congrat's. Second, thanks for stopping by. And yes I know all the names...

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

I love old movies! Definitely putting this one on the "to read" list....

Susan Anderson said...

Sounds like an interesting topic!

=)

21 Wits said...

Interesting way to look into raising children...X-cellent read I can bet!

Unknown said...

I'm not an old film buff but I recognize the names & think the book idea is a cool one. Congrats!

Esther Joy said...

Nick,
Maybe persistence will pay off - I tried to leave a comment several times yesterday and google didn't want to cooperate...
Congratulations on your book! As an author I know a small bit about all the work it takes to produce a book. I hope it does real well for you.
...And thanks for your recent visit to my Rock4Today blog!

Mark said...

Just ordered your book. I do Red Skelton research. Would be interested in you time with Val that did not make it in the book.

Jeff Beesler said...

Definitely sounds like a fun book. Not surprising that the children themselves have reached their golden years now, huh?

Shrinky said...

Wow, this sounds fascinating, and many congratulations for having it in print - I certainly would love to read this, where can I get my copy?

Along These Lines ... said...

Available thru publisher at the moment, Amazon soon, See: http://raisedbythestars.com

Unknown said...

I AM POSTING THIS ON EVERYONE'S SITE

Ok, guys, here’s the deal:

Dad has been in the hospital most of the month of September. I just brought him home this afternoon. He has been placed in a hospice program and I will be caring for him at home until the Lord takes him to His home. I have no idea how much time
I will have to respond to any of you. I do still have several posts sitting in the SCHEDULED file waiting to go out. Please stick with me as I WILL BE BACK.

Karen

Christina said...

Congrats! Look forward to reading it.

Jenny said...

Wow! Congratulations!

I'm going to order a copy now!

Geez, Louise! I'm rubbing blogs with the rich and famous.

Right?

You are rich and famous now, right?

Thanks for sharing this xciting news with us for the letter X!

This is all kinds of cool.

A+

Along These Lines ... said...

Neither rich nor famous, Jenny. But it was fun putting it all together.

Elizabeth-FlourishinProgress said...

A big congrats to you, Nick! Looking forward to checking it out.

Anonymous said...

It sounds like my kind of book. Thanks for the info and your web link.

God bless and have a Great Weekend! :-)

BTW, thanks for your recent comment on my "Don't Mess With Old People!" post. ~Ron

Unknown said...

Hey, Nick...
As a kid I lived in Culver City during the 50 and met a lot of stars only I didn't think of them as stars. MGM, Hal Roach, Desi Lou and Four Star Playhouse was located there.

I also was a police dispatcher In Palm Springs for a while and bumped elbows with Bob Hope, Alan Ladd, Cary Grant and others whose names I can't remember.

Elvis also visited often and made his first movie there. And, I knew about Rock Hudson's arranged marriage before most people as the entire town was made up of studio employs of all kinds (including our neighbors). Too bad he didn't live during a more current era where he wouldn't have to hide. kt

Arlee Bird said...

This sounds like a very interesting book. I love to hear stories like these. And yes I recognize all of those star names.

Now I'm curious: Was Billy Barty married to a little person or a regular sized woman? Was there child normal sized or small? Just curious.


Lee
Tossing It Out

Along These Lines ... said...

Billy's wife was the same height. Their son, who I interviewed, is six feet!

Joyce Pitrone Hawkins--Wrinkles Don't Hurt said...

Remember Martha Raye? My mother wrote a book about her. http://www.amazon.com/Take-Big-Mouth-Life-Martha/dp/product-description/0813121108

Enjoy your blog.

Along These Lines ... said...

Of course Joyce, who could forget Martha Raye. What a life she had.