Tinseltown

Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood

By: William J. Mann

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

The Day of the Locust meets The Devil in the White City and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in this juicy, untold Hollywood story: an addictive true account of ambition, scandal, intrigue, murder, and the creation of the modern film industry.

By 1920, the movies had suddenly become America's new favorite pastime and one of the nation's largest industries. Never before had a medium possessed such power to influence; yet Hollywood's glittering ascendancy was threatened by a string of headline-grabbing tragedies - including the murder of William Desmond Taylor, the popular president of the Motion Picture Directors Association, a legendary crime that has remained unsolved until now.

In a fiendishly involving narrative, best-selling Hollywood chronicler William J. Mann draws on a rich host of sources, including recently released FBI files, to uncover the story of the enigmatic Taylor and the diverse group of people who surrounded him - including three beautiful, ambitious actresses; a grasping stage mother; a devoted valet; and a gang of two-bit thugs, any of whom might have fired the fatal bullet. And overseeing this entire landscape of intrigue was Adolph Zukor, the brilliant and ruthless founder of Paramount Pictures, locked in a struggle for control of the industry and desperate to conceal the truth about the crime. Along the way, Mann brings to life Los Angeles in the Roaring Twenties: a sparkling yet schizophrenic town filled with party girls, drug dealers, religious zealots, newly minted legends, and starlets already past their prime - a dangerous place where the powerful could still run afoul of the desperate.

A true story recreated with the suspense of a novel, Tinseltown is the work of a storyteller at the peak of his powers - and the solution to a crime that has stumped detectives and historians for nearly a century.

©2014 William J. Mann (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

Proof of truly bad behavior at the very beginning

What made the experience of listening to Tinseltown the most enjoyable?

The information in this book was fascinating and very sad. That such a place who creates such dreams can also be the origin of such nightmares makes me torn. Torn because I love movies, but the people who are involved with the, both then and now seem to pay an awful price.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would change nothing, truth is what it is and it needed to be said.

Which character – as performed by Christopher Lane – was your favorite?

I enjoyed his performance of all of them.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the actress whose mother was so desperate to keep her virginal subjected her to an abortion. It disgusted me that a mother could be so very greeded as to do that to her own daughter.

Like Hollywood, TINSELTOWN has everything!

It includes the history of an era and the people whose lives exemplified the American Dream that created it, Adolf Zuchor, Marcus Loew and Will Hays to name just three. It includes legends of the Silver Screen, with their triumphs and tragedies, mayhem and unsolved mystery murder. A great book for listening!

Very interesting read!

Very in-depth analysis of a mysterious crime! The real-life figures take life both as fascinating characters in a story but you also get a sense of who they might have been in their real lives

Fattie Arbuckle downfall told

I never knew any of this real history about so many silent film actresses and actors. Very intriguing real story. Amazing

A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's a good book if someone is a history buff and especially a Hollywood history buff. I wouldn't recommend it to the average person who wants to be entertained.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Fatty Arbuckle. He was the only sympathetic character in the whole story. His life and career were totally ruined self-righteous groups. The studio hung him out to dry to mollify the "church ladies."

Have you listened to any of Christopher Lane’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't believe so. He does an excellent job.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Early Hollywood seemed to be made up of liars, thieves and bunco artists. Everybody had secrets and a past.