Frankly Speaking Guest Darwin Porter
Today is Thursday, and old Hollywood friend, Darwin Porter, returns to Frankly Speaking to talk about, among other things, his new book, an update on the old, very revealing, "Hollywood Babylon."
He is always thought-provioking, fascinating, and fun.
One of Darwin many books The Secret Life of Humphrey Bogart: The Early Years (1899-1931) listed above;
From the Author: "It was an idyllic setting, a picture postcard of Victorian life that still thrived in America before its last vestiges were swept away by the..."
From Publishers Weekly Claiming to explore the "young, hot and horny Bogart," former Miami Herald bureau chief Porter has penned a salacious account of the actor's salad days. The book drips with gossipy tidbits from Bogart's years on Broadway and in early Hollywood. For example, Porter (Hollywood's Silent Closet; Midnight in Savannah; etc.) says Bogart worked undercover for Howard Hughes, procuring male escorts for the business tycoon.
He also charges that Bogart brought Jean Harlow to Mexico for a secret abortion (it was supposedly Hughes's baby); and gives lots of steamy details about Bogart's own sex life, including trysts with Tallulah Bankhead, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis. Heavy on obscenity-ridden dialogue and light on official sourcing (Porter bases much of the book on the papers of Bogart's friend Kenneth MacKenna), this book might appeal to Bogart junkies, but readers seeking an extensive, credible biography should look elsewhere. 64 photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Lothian
This biography is required reading for studies about Hollywood during the 1930s.
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