Showing posts with label perry mason. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perry mason. Show all posts

Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr Review

Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr
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Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr ReviewRaymond Burr was one of the most distinguished actors in television history. Although his early career was dominated by film work, he became identified with the small screen after playing the title character in Perry Mason. His work did much to bring credibility to a medium which was often seen as inferior to the silver screen.
Raymond Burr's homosexuality was an open secret in Hollywood when he died in 1993, and common knowledge shortly thereafter. There was no "scandal" when this information was revealed, mainly because Burr had led an honorable life which was marked by his generosity to those in need. That he was closeted while in a 35 year relationship with actor Robert Benevides is more a reflection on the era and the Hollywood mentality than on Burr himself. The author, Michael Seth Starr, does not seem interested in reflecting on those subjects, rather than the lengths to which Burr went to conceal his private life.
Starr seems obsessed with Burr's weight, arguably more than Burr or his fans ever were. Hardly a page goes by without mention of Burr's "corpulent girth" or "morbid" obesity. Not all gay men, closeted or otherwise, are body fascists, yet Starr's personal attitudes on the subject seem to pervade the book.
At times, the book is bogged down in irrelevant detail. Starr gives a blow-by-blow account of the plot of Rear Window and several other films. While it expands a slim book, it's not necessary. Really, what film fan, not to mention Burr fan, does not know the plot of Rear Window?
Since his death, Burr's many fans have wanted a definitive telling of his story. Hiding in Plain Sight isn't it.Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr OverviewNow in paperback, the complete story of the actor's career, including his secret gay life. Raymond Burr (1917-1993) was an enigma. A film noir regular known for his villainous roles in movies like Rear Window, he eventually became one of the most popular stars in television history as the lead actor on two top-rated dramas, Perry Mason and Ironside, which between them ran virtually uninterrupted for 20 years. But Raymond Burr was leading a secret gay life at a time in Hollywood when exposure would have been career suicide. To protect his secret, Burr fabricated a tragic past for himself as a grieving husband and father. He claimed to have been twice widowed - he said his first wife had died in a plane crash, and his second marriage had ended with his wife's early death from cancer. And there was also a dead son - 10-year-old Michael, who lost his battle with leukemia. Neither of the wives nor Michael ever existed. But that didn't stop these lies from being perpetuated again and again, even in Burr's New York Times obituary. Hiding in Plain Sight examines the totality of Raymond Burr's career and his personal life, including his 35 years with partner Robert Benevides. The author interviewed over 30 people who knew or worked with Burr, including Angela Lansbury, Barbara Hale, Robert Wagner, Gale Storm, and more.

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Warren William: Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood Review

Warren William: Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood
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Warren William: Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood ReviewThis is an actor I've done quite a bit of research about myself--I've had to, I started a website in his honor in 2007. As I've said in my review of this title over there, Stangeland has taken a story that I'd figured out the outline for and he colored in that outline better than I believed ever possible. While he talks about all of the films to some degree this title is biography and through surviving nieces of the actor the author has discovered information about William's early days that I never thought would be found: his childhood in Minnesota, his days in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, his World War I service, etc. William's stage career is covered as is, of course, his film career. Stangeland also arrives at the likely solution of why William left Warner Brothers and why his career didn't recover to pre-code heights once he did. I am certainly biased due to my appreciation of the subject material, but I read a lot of film biographies covering stars from this period and I haven't enjoyed one like this in awhile. As much as I might be easy to please on this subject I think I probably would also be one of the most difficult to please, but I absolutely loved this book!Warren William: Magnificent Scoundrel of Pre-Code Hollywood OverviewOn the motion picture screen, Hollywood star Warren William (1894-1948) was a magnificent rogue, often deliciously immoral and utterly callous, yet remarkably likable in his wickedness. Off-screen, the actor was as humble and retiring as his film characters were mean and heartless. This biography examines William's life and career in detail, from his rural Minnesota roots through his service in World War I, his Broadway stage success, and his meteoric rise and gradual fall from Hollywood fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Also analyzed are his film persona and the curious mechanisms by which our culture "selects" certain film personalities to remember and others to forget. Featured is a wealth of biographical material never before available, including rare candid photos of William's early years. Interviews with his surviving nieces provide intimate family details and personal remembrances.

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