Forgotten Hollywood

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 OC 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://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 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 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 played one of O’Hara’s daughters in the motion picture. Along with Olivia De Havilland, she’s 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 Ann Rutherford made her way back into the spotlight.  She definitely deserves this moment in the sun…

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   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 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”

Manny P. here…

THIS IS A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT! 

 ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS & SCIENCES

    Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History has been accepted at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences!  This prestigious organization purchased the book, and it now can be read at The Margaret Herrick Library, which is located in Beverly Hills.

   Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History was reviewed by their librarians for acceptance. Since submissions don’t automatically get included, this is huge.

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   According to their charter: The Academy is dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures.

   In late 1926, the head of MGM Studios, Louis B. Mayer created this professional honorary organization as a means to improve the industry’s image. Douglas Fairbanks Sr. was elected as its first president. Fairbanks’ decided in one of his initial acts to have an annual award ceremony for the movie industry to acknowledge merit for distinctive achievement. In 1927, the Academy Awards were born. Wings was the recipient of the first Best Picture award. The awards would later be nicknamed Oscar in the mid-thirties by none other than Margaret Herrick.

   I am extremely proud of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History’s addition to The Margaret Herrick Library within The Academy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Bruce Leonard of Malibu, California sent me a note about a special e-newsletter review of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. Let me share it with you:

Good Reads
 

   Experiencing history through movies has always been a favorite pastime for folks of a “certain age,” and now through a carefully researched and crafted book, “Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History“, avid moviegoers can enjoy, remember and relive many of their memorable events and performances. Author Manny Pacheco offers a colorful review of the stars of yesterday, those performers whose faces are familiar but whose names often escape us. Through these character actors and their roles in special Hollywood films, Pacheco presents a patchwork of the performers’ lives, the eras in which they lived,  the movies in which they acted, and how they all intertwined.

   Each of the 13 chapters highlights one character actor such as Claude Rains, Arthur Kennedy, Ward Bond and Walter Brennan. Chapter 10 features Van Heflin, who made numerous films in the 1940s, and also served as a commissioned naval officer — during which time he narrated several military documentaries. Other actors featured in the black-and-white, 126-page softcover book include Thomas Mitchell, John Carradine, Donald Crisp and Basil Rathbone.

   The author is a graduate of UCLA and has had a long career in both radio and television. “Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History“, published by Book Publishers Network of Bothell, Washington, is available in most bookstores for $18.95.   One dollar from the sale of each book will be donated to Chicago’s Mooseheart Child City & School, a residential childcare facility dedicated to children in need.  

For more information, go to www.bookpublishersnetwork.com.

 Until next time>                                  “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Halloween is a great holiday to enjoy some of the actors I feature in Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. Gary Lycan of The Orange County Register reminded me in a chat we had the other day that my book signing at Mr. B’s is close to the holiday date (Tuesday, October 27th), and it got me thinking about some of the movies made by the stars in my book. So, I decided to provide a guide of films to watch on October 31st!

Walter Brennan – Bride of Frankenstein (yes, he has a bit part in this movie)

John Carradine – Bride of Frankenstein, The Black Cat, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, The Mummy’s Ghost, The Invisible Man’s Revenge, The Howling (among others).

Eddie “Rochester” Anderson – Topper Returns

Donald Crisp – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

Basil Rathbone – Son of Frankenstein, The Black Cat, Tower of London, The Mad Doctor, Tales of Terror, Comedy of Terror

   I think the best three films to watch on a Halloween evening is Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, Mighty Joe Young (with Terry Moore and Ben Johnson), and Them! (with James Whitmore, James Arness and Edmund Gwenn

   Back in the early seventies, a teen neighbor of ours took my sister and me to a “Fright Fest” at Universal Studios for an evening of scary movies. The lineup was Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, and Dr. Cyclops. Everyone at the outdoor venue had a ball.

   A good horror film is really a “black comedy“, and the performances in many of these (mostly Universal) motion pictures are hilarious and over the top. With today’s emphasis on blood and gore in cinema, I recommend these pictures as an attractive alternative for the whole family to watch and enjoy.  Here is another reason to love black and white movies.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

November 22nd, 1963 – Dallas, Texas

   JFK:  3 Shots That Changed America is a minute by minute capsule of what happened from Novemeber 22nd -24th, 1963 in Dallas. The History Channel’s documentary is spellbinding in its use of footage. For those of us old enough will actually remember the accounts.

   One still photo in the program confirms the arrest location of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. I address his capture in Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. This well-traveled moment in time is mentioned in my paperback because of Van Heflin’s cinematic connection with Oswald’s discovery.

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   I’m sad to say… the footage never gets old…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   I’m happy to say that you can purchase Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History in a variety of ways online. All links are friendly from this site. Most of these links can be found at the Book Purchase Locations section from the Navigation Bar (to your left).

  As always, you can buy a copy of the paperback from the top of the navigation bar through a paypal location I have set up on this web site.

   You can NOW purchase the book on amazon.com and borders.com if you have an online account with these stores. I have provided a direct link for each store at the Book Purchases Locations section of this site. If you go to the sites directly, type in Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History, and voila! 

   And, if you live in Southern California, you can also go to this specific link:

http://losangeles.kijiji.com:80/c-ViewAd?AdId=160180536&Guid=12428c63-2af0-a20b-26a2-4142ffffe3af

   You will not be able to buy the book online with this specific link, but you will be able to contact me on how to purchase Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History directly through my email address.

   I urge you to purchase the book online if you aren’t in the Southern California area, and you are unable to attend my book signings scheduled over the next month. The book signing locations are also listed on a page from the navigation bar if you would like to meet and have me autograph your personal copy of the book.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History‘s second chapter is devoted to the enduring struggle to change how America perceives individuals with disabilities. Actor Lionel Barrymore was a pioneer, sitting in a wheelchair during many of his performances.

Helen Keller in 1920

   Washington D.C. is finally showing their appreciation to those who rose to the occasion despite physical limitations. The U.S. Capitol unveiled a statue of Helen Keller today as part of their National Statuary Hall collection. Keller overcame the fact that she was deaf and blind to become a successful author and educator. A bronze depiction of this gifted advocate will be placed in The Capitol Visitor Center. 35 members of her family were in attendance. Alabama is footing the bill for the honor, since Keller was a native of the state.

   Patty Duke portrayed the amazing Keller in her Oscar winning role in The Miracle Worker in 1962. Helen Keller died in 1968 after a lifetime of accomplishments.

   I display several photos of Keller in my book.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   I’m proud to announce an added appearance for the debut of my book: an autograph party at Chester Washington Golf Course in Los Angeles. The event is scheduled on Monday, October 26th beginning at 6:30pm. I invite all my friends in LA for this first autograph party to kick off Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History.

   There will be a short presentation, followed by a book signing for those that have their paperback in hand.  The entertainment for the evening will be Karaoke hosted by “C.J.” – Karaoke “KJ” of the Year 2009 in Los Angeles (south). Books will be available for purchase at the event.

   Remember, the Orange County debut of my book will take place the very next day on Tuesday, October 2th (7pm) at Mr. B’s Sports Lounge in Los Alamitos. The evening will replicate much of the previous event, down to the Karaoke entertainment, this time hosted by Candice Worl.

   Orange County Register radio columnist Gary Lycan (who wrote the eloquent Forward to my book) is scheduled to join me, along with other O.C. dignitaries. We will also have classic movie DVD’s and film poster framed prints available to anyone that wants to purchase Hollywood memorabilia along with their copy of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History.

   Chester Washington Golf Course is at 1930 W. 120th St. in Los Angeles, CA.  Mr. B’s Sports Lounge is at 11272 Los Alamitos Blvd. in Los Alamitos, CA.

   Books will be also on sale on Saturday and Sunday, October 24th & 25th at the Seattle Book Festival in the Columbia City Event Center, 3526 S. Edmunds, Seattle WA.

   Mark your calendars and do your holiday shopping early by visiting these wonderful events. Refer to the navigation bar on your left for additional reminders (in the Forgotten Hollywood {book} section).

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   I’m still marveling at the wonderful job Ken Burns has accomplished in National Parks, America’s Best Idea. He is the best when it comes to original documentaries.  In his 5th day of the program, I was impressed at how he tied together the Depression and World War II with the subject of the series.

Marian Anderson

   At the end of the segment, Burns tells a story that is referenced in Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. He chronicles the moment when Marian Anderson was able to sing before the thousands at an outdoor ceremony before the Lincoln Memorial (part of the Washington DC – National Park) in 1939. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes supported the idea of the concert to thumb his nose at the targeted racism that had kept Anderson from performing at a previous ceremony hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution. He sided with Eleanor Roosevelt in her fight against the DAR.

   To watch Anderson sing Ave Maria, while the marble Abraham Lincoln looks on, gave me goosebumps. What a great way to end this particular installment of the program. I invite you to buy my book and read Chapter 11. I have some wonderful photos that help me put in my two cents about this compelling story.

Untl next time>                                “never forget” 

Manny P. here…

   Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History offers many historical references to compliment the subjects of each chapter. I believe the book says a lot about our collective past from around the world.

   For example…

ANNE FRANK MEMORIAL – Bergen-Belsen, Germany. Photo by Arne List, October 2003

   One thing that should never be forgotten is The Holocaust during Hitler’s campaign of terror. There are some folks that would like to tell the world that the extermination of a people never existed during World War II. This horrible fact of the human race should always be remembered if only not to ever be repeated in the future.

   My wife and I visited the Anne Frank House on a trip to Europe about 6 years ago. I am proud of the information they provide that was generated from a simple diary from a young Jewish girl. I reference this fact in my new book in Chapter Seven.

   Anne Frank died of typhus at the tender age of 15 in the Bergen-Belsen camp in March, 1945. She was one of six million who fell victim to a vicious agenda.

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Until next time>                               “never forget”