Here, for the first time, the stories of Hollywood's gay stars are seen in context with their times and with one another, revealing a pattern of intimidation by the studios and, ultimately, the establishment of the Hollywood closet. Alone among his contemporaries - Ramon Novarro, Cary Grant, Tyrone Power - Haines refused to play the game, and so was booted out.

An explosive and awakening novel of characters galore, both real and imaginative. Troupers who weave in and out of this hard fiction as if each one is playing musical chairs. In these players's minds, the winning seat has been pre-arranged wtih his or her name, and the song halted suddenly only to announce this. Characters Colors 'N' Cash is like a clown spinning out of control on life's merry-g-round, faster than sound- like sour grapes on life's clocked interim. This human-clown is Hawk, Earthman, and Casey, who are really the same person, depending on which one of his friends (over many years) may be addressing him at the moment. But the conscious, which is Littleman in the boat, is alive in all three people, and my force the reader to wonder how far the director might go, if this conscious did not exist. When friends who greet this man with different nicknames, past and present, come together to face a common enemy, they all must test their own consciousness, as well as their grit, with a razors edge line, which separates only their reason for living, from their attempt to avoid sudden death.

The first Latin American actor to become a superstar, Ramon Novarro was for years one of Hollywood's top actors. Born Ramon Samaniego to a prominent Mexican family, he arrived in America in 1916, a refugee from civil wars. By the mid-1920s, he had become one of MGM's biggest box office attractions, starring in now-classic films, including The Student Prince, Mata Hari, and the original version of Ben-Hur. He shared the screen with the era's top leading ladies, such as Greta Garbo, Myrna Loy, Joan Crawford, and Norma Shearer, and he became Rudolph Valentino's main rival in the “Latin Lover” category. Yet, despite his considerable professional accomplishments, Novarro's enduring hold on fame stems from his tragic death—his bloodied corpse was found in his house on Halloween 1968 in what has become one of Hollywood's most infamous scandals. A lifelong bachelor, Novarro carefully cultivated his image as a man deeply devoted to his family and to Catholicism. His murder shattered that persona. News reports revealed that the dashing screen hero had not only been gay, but he was dead at the hands of two young, male hustlers. Since then, details of his murder have achieved near mythic proportions, obscuring Novarro's professional legacy. Beyond Paradise presents a full picture of the man who made motion picture history. Including original interviews with Novarro's surviving friends, family, coworkers, and the two men convicted of his murder, this biography provides unique insights into an early Hollywood star—a man whose heart was forever in conflict with his image and whose myth continues to fascinate today.

Uncovers the queer nature of heterosexuality on film.

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! A Bram Stoker Award Nominee and World Fantasy Award Finalist! An August Derleth Award Nominee! An Indie Next and October LibraryReads Pick! 2022 RUSA Reading List: Horror Winner! A Most Anticipated Read on Goodreads, Tor.com, Crime Reads, BookRiot, The Nerd Daily, and more. Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a gorgeously creepy haunted house tale, steeped in Japanese folklore and full of devastating twists. A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned, its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company. It’s the perfect venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends, brought back together to celebrate a wedding. A night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare as secrets get dragged out and relationships are tested. But the house has secrets too. Lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart. And she gets lonely down there in the dirt. Effortlessly turning the classic haunted house story on its head, Nothing but Blackened Teeth is a sharp and devastating exploration of grief, the parasitic nature of relationships, and the consequences of our actions. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Born in Fayetteville, Tennessee in 1810, John Neely Bryan received an education and became a lawyer, dealt in real estate, became a north Texas pioneer, and the founder of Dallas, Texas. During his life he traveled across the southern part of the United States, from Florida to California. He lived for many years in Van Buren, Arkansas where he made a living as a lawyer and bought land. In the late 1830's he went to work at Holland Coffee's Trading Post on the Red River, and from there he moved to the uninhabited land that would become Dallas. He was the first non-Native American to permanently live in Dallas County, and for many months he was the only white person living there. In his travels and business dealings, he met and befriended many Native Americans and learned their languages. He married and had children. He lived to be an old man but his last years were difficult because he lost his sanity. He died in 1877 in the Texas Lunatic Asylum in Austin, Texas .His homestead would later be called Dealey Plaza and was close to where John F. Kennedy would later be killed.

Barbara La Marr's (1896--1926) publicist once confessed: "There was no reason to lie about Barbara La Marr. Everything she said, everything she did was colored with news-value." When La Marr was sixteen, her older half-sister and a male companion reportedly kidnapped her, causing a sensation in the media. One year later, her behavior in Los Angeles nightclubs caused law enforcement to declare her "too beautiful" to be on her own in the city, and she was ordered to leave. When La Marr returned to Hollywood years later, her loveliness and raw talent caught the attention of producers and catapulted her to movie stardom. In the first full-length biography of the woman known as the "girl who was too beautiful," Sherri Snyder presents a complete portrait of one of the silent era's most infamous screen sirens. In five short years, La Marr appeared in twenty-six films, including The Prisoner of Zenda (1922), Trifling Women (1922), The Eternal City (1923), The Shooting of Dan McGrew (1924), and Thy Name Is Woman (1924). Yet by 1925 -- finding herself beset by numerous scandals, several failed marriages, a hidden pregnancy, and personal prejudice based on her onscreen persona -- she fell out of public favor. When she was diagnosed with a fatal lung condition, she continued to work, undeterred, until she collapsed on set. She died at the age of twenty-nine. Few stars have burned as brightly and as briefly as Barbara La Marr, and her extraordinary life story is one of tempestuous passions as well as perseverance in the face of adversity. Drawing on never-before-released diary entries, correspondence, and creative works, Snyder's biography offers a valuable perspective on her contributions to silent-era Hollywood and the cinematic arts.

Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling are virtually unknown outside of Hollywood and little-remembered even there, but as General Manager and Head of Publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, they lorded over all the stars in Hollywood's golden age from the 1920s through the 1940s--including legends like Garbo, Dietrich, Gable and Garland. When MGM stars found themselves in trouble, it was Eddie and Howard who took care of them--solved their problems, hid their crimes, and kept their secrets. They were "the Fixers." At a time when image meant everything and the stars were worth millions to the studios that owned them, Mannix and Strickling were the most important men at MGM. Through a complex web of contacts in every arena, from reporters and doctors to corrupt police and district attorneys, they covered up some of the most notorious crimes and scandals in Hollywood history, keeping stars out of jail and, more importantly, their names out of the papers. They handled problems as diverse as the murder of Paul Bern (husband of MGM's biggest star, Jean Harlow), the studio-directed drug addictions of Judy Garland, the murder of Ted Healy (creator of The Three Stooges) at the hands of Wallace Beery, and arranging for an unmarried Loretta Young to adopt her own child--a child fathered by a married Clark Gable. Through exhaustive research and interviews with contemporaries, this is the never-before-told story of Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling. The dual biography describes how a mob-related New Jersey laborer and the quiet son of a grocer became the most powerful men at the biggest studio in the world.

"I'm Just a Girl..." Amanda Buscemi claims. So what is this self-deprecating wisecracker doing with night vision goggles slung around her neck stalking her stalkers? Or madly galloping through the hills of Worcester County on a horse she fears is possessed? For that matter why is she spying on her surfer-dude co-worker? As she and her best friend, Milagros, try to unravel the mystery of a young man's untimely death Amanda discovers more than just the answers she thinks she is looking for. Their ad hoc investigation jumps from one hilarious, outlandish adventure to the next culminating in being kidnapped by the ruthless brains of the operation. Confronted by imminent death, Amanda and Milagros see no way out of their dire predicament. About the Author Author Susan Ravagni brings you the first in her series of Amanda Buscemi Mystery Adventures. She lives just outside of Boston, Massachusetts and works in the same field (laboratory science) as her character. Susan pens, "I hope you enjoy this fun, easy read. It's got it all: action, adventure, mystery, and just a little romance....exactly how life should be." Please visit www.susanravagni.com for information regarding upcoming releases.