FirstCity
Welcome to First City University College Library iPortal | library@firstcity.edu.my | +603-7735 2088 (Ext. 519)
Amazon cover image
Image from Amazon.com

Hollywood diva : a biography of Jeanette MacDonald / Edward Baron Turk.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Berkeley, Calif. : University of California Press, �1998.Description: 1 online resource (xix, 467 pages) : 24 pages of platesContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • computer
Carrier type:
  • online resource
ISBN:
  • 9780520924574
  • 0520924576
  • 0585299781
  • 9780585299785
  • 0520212029
  • 9780520212022
  • 9780520222533
  • 0520222539
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: Hollywood diva.DDC classification:
  • 791.43/028/092 21
LOC classification:
  • M420.M135 T87 1998eb
Online resources:
Contents:
Born to sing -- "Now everybody's got to clap!" -- Scandals -- Twinkling stars and four-leaf clovers -- A fair princess on Broadway -- Lingerie queen of the talkies -- Lubitsch and Chevalier -- Only a nose -- Vive la France! -- Mr. Mayer and the widow -- Hollywood diva -- An all-American team -- The iron butterfly -- Hollywood diva -- Middlebrow muse -- The soprano militant -- Echoes of sweet song -- Battles operatic -- A graceful exit -- Distress signals -- "Carve your name in human hearts" -- "Just the echo of a sigh."
Summary: Based in large part on the author's exclusive access to MacDonald's private papers, including her unpublished memoir, this biography transports us to a time when lavish musical films were major cultural events and a worldwide public eagerly awaited each new chance to fall under the singer's spell. Edward Baron Turk shows how MacDonald brilliantly earned her Hollywood nickname of "Iron Butterfly" and why she deserves a privileged position in the history of music and motion pictures. MacDonald's uncommon courage, Turk suggests, makes her a woman for our times. Onscreen the actress portrayed strong characters in pursuit of deep emotional fulfillment, often in defiance of social orthodoxy, while offscreen she personified energy, discipline, and practical intellect. Drawing on interviews with individuals who knew her and on MacDonald's own words, Turk brings to life the intricate relations between the star and her legendary costars Maurice Chevalier, Clark Gable, and, above all, baritone Nelson Eddy. He reveals the deep crushes she inspired in movie giants Ernst Lubitsch and Louis B. Mayer and the extraordinary love story she shared with her husband of twenty-seven years, actor Gene Raymond. More than simply another star biography, Turk's detailed account of MacDonald's fearless efforts to break down distinctions between mass-consumed entertainment and high art offers fresh perspectives on the complexity of cultural taste in twentieth-century America.
Star ratings
    Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
No physical items for this record

Includes bibliographical references (pages 421-430) and index.

Based in large part on the author's exclusive access to MacDonald's private papers, including her unpublished memoir, this biography transports us to a time when lavish musical films were major cultural events and a worldwide public eagerly awaited each new chance to fall under the singer's spell. Edward Baron Turk shows how MacDonald brilliantly earned her Hollywood nickname of "Iron Butterfly" and why she deserves a privileged position in the history of music and motion pictures. MacDonald's uncommon courage, Turk suggests, makes her a woman for our times. Onscreen the actress portrayed strong characters in pursuit of deep emotional fulfillment, often in defiance of social orthodoxy, while offscreen she personified energy, discipline, and practical intellect. Drawing on interviews with individuals who knew her and on MacDonald's own words, Turk brings to life the intricate relations between the star and her legendary costars Maurice Chevalier, Clark Gable, and, above all, baritone Nelson Eddy. He reveals the deep crushes she inspired in movie giants Ernst Lubitsch and Louis B. Mayer and the extraordinary love story she shared with her husband of twenty-seven years, actor Gene Raymond. More than simply another star biography, Turk's detailed account of MacDonald's fearless efforts to break down distinctions between mass-consumed entertainment and high art offers fresh perspectives on the complexity of cultural taste in twentieth-century America.

Born to sing -- "Now everybody's got to clap!" -- Scandals -- Twinkling stars and four-leaf clovers -- A fair princess on Broadway -- Lingerie queen of the talkies -- Lubitsch and Chevalier -- Only a nose -- Vive la France! -- Mr. Mayer and the widow -- Hollywood diva -- An all-American team -- The iron butterfly -- Hollywood diva -- Middlebrow muse -- The soprano militant -- Echoes of sweet song -- Battles operatic -- A graceful exit -- Distress signals -- "Carve your name in human hearts" -- "Just the echo of a sigh."

Print version record.

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide