Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

   I have received a wonderful message from Basil Nelson, who lives in the British Isles, about Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. On a previous blog (dated 9/22) I showcased his visual work.  He read my book and his comments were sent to me through YouTube (as opposed to The Tube, their subway system).  Here is what he writes:

Hi Manny!

   I completed reading your book whilst on vacation in Cyprus, not your hometown, the island in the Mediterrranean.

   I found the book a thoughtful and in-depth look at the lesser known faces of Hollywood today. Many of the names were well-known to me (as an avid movie-goer in the Fifties) although one or two names did slip below my ‘radar’.

   You did also mention the Barrymores and I would add that Lionel, John and Ethel are all target projects for my ‘Movie Legends’ series. Your book has encouraged me to pictorally research some of the other characters who all deserve some recognition for their contribution to Hollywood history. Subject to availablity of images, I will endeavor to pay tribute to as many of the names, highlighted in your book, as possible.

   Your book, although written for American readership, will translate well to UK readers as Hollywood’s influence in British cinemas was dominant. The history of Hollywood and the British cinema was closely interwined with a crossover of Stars and Directors on both sides of the Atlantic, all of which is well documented.

   Finally, I must congratulate you on a fine piece of work. I trust it won’t be your last foray into forgotten Hollywood and I must thank you for your generosity. Your book will take pride of place in my bookcase of Hollywood reference material.

Kindest Regards
Basil

Until next time>                         “never forget“

Manny P. here…

   I am proud to announce that Barnes and Noble.com has added Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History!  For those who have an account at this valued website now can purchase my book. 

   Barnes and Noble joins Borders and Amazon as established book store sites that will carry my book. The momentum continues, and I’m feeling great over this new addition to our selling family. The direct link can be found below, or at my Book Purchase page found on the Navigation Bar.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Forgotten-Hollywood-Forgotten-History/Manny-Pacheco/e/9781935359166/?itm=7&USRI=forgotten+hollywood

Until next time>                         “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   The New York Yankees are back in the World Series. They defeated my team (the Angels) to get to the “Fall Classic.”

   This reminded me that in 2008 I wrote a review for Karaoke Scene Magazine about that great showstopping musical Damn Yankees. The reason I did so was to promote a new karaoke disc that featured the unforgettable score and lyrics from the show.

   I visited the karaoke disc company site, Pocket Songs (based in New York), and found that they printed my review on their website. I decided to reprint what I wrote to share with my bloggers.

   The connection to Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History might not be so obvious. Let me explain… This might be the embryo that led to the eventual motivation for me to compile a book about our collective past. I truly enjoyed writing the review. Here is an excerpt from the Pocket Songs web page…

   “The 1950’s were an exciting time for Broadway Musicals. Many of its best shows were produced, beginning with Oklahoma. Among them: South Pacific, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, Guys & Dolls and West Side Story. Another memorable show seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle… Damn Yankees.

   Damn Yankees was a terrific musical that started the career of choreographer Bob Fosse (Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Chicago) and showcased the talented Gwen Verdon in the lead. A movie was also made that featured Ray Walston and Tab Hunter. Among the tunes that entered the lexicon of “show standards” include (You Gotta Have) Heart and Whatever Lola Wants. Of course, Damn Yankees has a memorable array of popular songs.

   The play tells the tale of a married middle-aged man making a pact with the devil to help beat the team that was so successful in Major League Baseball for decades. It’s a light-hearted raucous romp that pokes fun at marriage, religion, the battle of the sexes and of course, ‘America’s past time!’ All in all, Damn Yankees is the forgotten classic of the 1950’s.”

   Our good friend Gary Lycan from the Orange County Register adds:

   “Damn Yankees (an excellent movie), was released in 1958, and directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen, with most of the original Broadway cast.  For movie trivia fans: The actors had to sing along with a metronome, for the musicians that would normally have accompanied them were on strike at the time.

   It was released on DVD in 2004 and is available at Amazon.Com.  Pick it up when you buy a copy of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History.”

Until next time>                      “never forget“

Manny P here…

   The Miracle Worker is returning to Broadway in March. Abigail Breslin, the wonderful child star of Little Miss Sunshine is set to play the young Helen Keller. Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History makes the Hollywood connection between this amazing story and the next chapter in its journey to reach a new generation of folks.

Keller and Sullivan

   The play was written by William Gibson, and like many works of the 1950’s, was originally on television on a Playhouse 90 segment in 1957. Teresa Wright appeared as Anne Sullivan and Patty McCormick was Keller. It opened on Broadway in 1959 with the stars of the film in their familier award-winning roles, Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. The initial stage show ran for almost two years.

   Teresa Wright was an Academy Award-winning actress for Mrs. Miniver, and co-starred in The Pride of the Yankees, The Best Years of our Lives, and Shadow of a Doubt. Patty McCormack was an Oscar-nominated child star for The Bad Seed.

   Breslin was also nominated for an Oscar for Sunshine.  This smells like a Tony Award winning production…

Until next time                              <never forget>

Manny P. here…

   It happened at the Chester Washington Golf Course book signing. I sold my 200th copy of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History!  Thank you to Karaoke Host Collins Johnson “CJ” for the purchase. Also, thanks to my sister and her husband, Virginia and Roland, for being on hand to witness this special moment.

   Now it’s on to Mr. B’s in Los Alamitos for my next book signing tonight beginning at 7pm. Expected friends to visit will be the O.C. Register’s Gary Lycan; the former mayor of Cypress Tim Keenan; the publisher of Karaoke Scene Magazine Peter Parker; the governor of the Buena Park Moose Lodge Matthew Bryden; Mr. B’s owners, Perry and Rosie Apostle; karaoke host Candice Worl; and of course, my wife Laurie…

   On sale – vintage movie dvd’s (which feature many of the actors in my book), framed movie posters, and of course, autographed copies of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History…  Stop on by!

Until next time>                          “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   What a rush to see MSNBC, USA TODAY,  and SIRIUS XM RADIO pick up Gary Lycan’s Thursday article on Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History!! So here are the bonus links if you would like to read the story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33451759/ns/local_news-orange_county_ca/#storyContinued

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/article/Organizations/Companies/Technology/Services/Amazon.com/03oCaVKfAlcpL/1

http://finance.aol.com/headlines/sirius-xm-radio-inc/siri/nas?tab=4

   Thanks Gary for the great press!!

Until next time?                              “never forget”

Manny P. here -

   Moonlight and Magnolias is a new play in Laguna Beach, California that looks at what went into the creation of the screenplay that was used in Gone With The Wind. Turning the Margaret Mitchell novel into a movie took a mammoth effort that provided enough drama in real life that carried over into the actual production. For example, Clark Gable was so dissatisfied over the way he was being handled that he had the director, George Cukor, fired.

   The David O. Selznick classic film is on display in Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History (Chapter Six), as I showcase the golden year of 1939. The subject of the chapter, Thomas Mitchell, co-starred in the film playing the O’Hara patriarch.

   Thanks to Gary Lycan (once again) for letting me know that a special guest was in the audience at Thursday afternoon’s show in South County:  Ann Rutherford, who plays one of O’Hara’s daughters in the motion picture. Along with Olivia De Havilland, she is a surviving member of the 1939 cast. the Orange County  Register  reports that she took questions after the show, displaying a fair amount of energy for her 89 years. 

   By the way, the photo I used is from her film Love Finds Andy Hardy. Rutherford could easily have been mentioned in Chapter 12 of my book (Ladies In Waiting), since she had a wonderful career at MGM. She was a staple in the Andy Hardy series, and appeared in the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol, Pride and Prejudice, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

    Glad to here that Ann Rutherford made her way back into the spotlight.  She definitely deserves this moment in the sun…

~ ~ ~

   A quick reminder. If you are in the Seattle area this weekend, make sure you stop by the city’s Book Fair at The Columbia City Event Center. The Book Publishers Network will have a booth with some great titles on display. Of course, this also might be a perfect opportunity to pick up your copy of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History…

Until next time>                             ”never forget“

Manny P. here…

   The Orange County Register’s Gary Lycan has written an impressive column that mentions the book signing at Mr. B’s in Los Alamitos coming up on Tuesday at 7pm. See what Gary says as he promotes “Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History” by following the link I provide:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/radio-pacheco-book-2619608-write-one

Until next time>                             “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Thanks to Don Barrett at LARadio.com for his recent mention.  Here is the excerpt:

    Top 40 jock Manny Pacheco got some good news about his popular book, Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. His book has been accepted at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. “I was informed that my book has been deemed culturally significant in the preservation of Hollywood history,” says Manny. “This is a huge honor and I am thrilled over this inclusion, which by the way is the first library in the country to carry my book!”

Until next time>                          “never forget“

Manny P. here…

   The results are in. I can now call  Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten Hollywood an award winning book!

   My work was entered in The USA Book News National “Best Books 2009″ contest. Below is an excerpt of the news release…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
October 20, 2009

Independent Titles Score Top Honors in the
6th Annual National “Best Books” Awards

   LOS ANGELES – USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2009 AWARDS (NBBA) on October 20, 2009. Over 500 winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print and audio books. Awards were presented for titles published in 2009 and late 2008.

   Jeff Keen, President and CEO of USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to over 500 winners and finalists.

   Keen says of the awards, now in their seventh year, “The 2009 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of NBBA, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”

History: Media/Entertainment 

Winner:
Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History by Manny Pacheco 
Book Publishers Network 

Finalist: 
Heroes, Villains, Dames & Disasters: 150 Years of Front-Page Stories from the Rocky Mountain News by Michael Madigan 
MadIdeas, LLC 

Finalist: 
Knoxville’s WIVK by Ed Hooper 
Arcadia Publishers 

Finalist:
Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival: The Backstory to “Woodstock” by Weston Blelock and Julia Blelock 
WoodstockArts 

   Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Penguin, W.W. Norton, Revell, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Thomas Nelson, American Cancer Society, Greenleaf Book Group, Sourcebooks & hundreds of independent houses contributed to this year’s outstanding NBBA competition. Keen adds, “NBBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

   USABookNews.com is an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world online community. USABN Magazine Online is the monthly electronic magazine e-mailed free to a large cross-section of the book buying public. JPX Media, in Los Angeles, California, is the parent company of USABookNews.com.

   A complete list of the winners and finalists of the USABookNews.com National “Best Books” 2009 Awards are available online at http://www.USABookNews.com.

Until next time>                       “never forget“