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Adventures of a Hollywood Secretary: Her Private Letters from Inside the Studios of the 1920s
"Adventures of a Hollywood Secretary "is an insider's view of the film studios of the 1920s--and the first from a secretary's perspective. Rich in gossip, it is also an eyewitness report of Hollywood in transition. In the summer of 1924, Valeria Belletti and her friend Irma visited California, but instead of returning home to New York, the twenty-six-year-old Val...more
Paperback, 231 pages
Published
May 15th 2006
by University of California Press
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I really enjoyed this. It's very slight--basically a diary through letters of a secretary's work in Holyywod ca. 1926-1928, but there's plenty of name-dropping and neat observations about some of the leading movie folk of the era.
I highly recommend this book for a candid, fascinating glimpse into the real world of the Hollywood studios in the 1920's.
Valerie Belletti,a young Italian New Yorker, moved to sunny Los Angeles and began work as a secretary for studio moguls. During the course of her life in California, she wrote letters to a friend back home in New York, and years later her friend compiled the correspondence and had them published. And the result is a magnificent patchwork of true stories of daily life be...more
Valerie Belletti,a young Italian New Yorker, moved to sunny Los Angeles and began work as a secretary for studio moguls. During the course of her life in California, she wrote letters to a friend back home in New York, and years later her friend compiled the correspondence and had them published. And the result is a magnificent patchwork of true stories of daily life be...more
I loved this book. It's a collection of letters sent between the years 1924-1929 from a woman who would become the secretary to Samuel Goldwyn and is associated with discovering a famous movie star from the era. I found her letters to be timeless and I loved the insight she gives to Hollywood during this period. The way she writes about prohibition, working with famous people, finding love and living in Los Angeles I truly was wrapped up in her letters!
The letters that Miss Belletti wrote were only meant to be seen by her friend, but they were so insightful, newsy and interesting that it's a lucky happenstance that they were kept. They are brilliant, fly-on-the-wall observations of Hollywood life and I couldn't bear to see the story end. It was a delight to meet Cari Beauchamp the day I finished reading this book and getting her to sign it for me. What an honor!
Very entertaining diary of a woman who was Sam Goldwyn’s secretary. Lots of stuff on Ronald Colman and some on Vilma Banky. Mentions that Lionel Barrymore was terrible on stage in The Copperhead performance she saw because “he’s in terrible condition due to dope.” You never know what you'll find in people's diaries.
This collection of annotated letters really brings you back into the time. It was a joy to read especially for this film degree graduate. A must read for people who are interested in early Hollywood culture.
A collection of letters written by Sam Goldwyn's secretary, Valerie Belletti, to a friend back home. This is a fascinating look at behind-the-scenes look at the movie-making industry. Edited by Cari Beauchamp.
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