The Hollywood Book of Extravagance: The Totally Infamous, Mostly Disastrous, and Always Compelling Excesses of America's Film and TV Idols

by James Robert Parish

Savor the inside scoop on over-the-top superstars

"I'm not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. . . . I'm a billionaire!"
"Acting is an empty and useless profession."
"Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere else."
"I'm interested in being provocative and pushing people's buttons."

Which screen icons gave us the quotes above? How do stars get away with self-indulgent, unrestrained behaviors-or do they? In  The Hollywood Book of Extravagance,  longtime industry insider and Hollywood historian James Robert Parish gives you a provocative look behind the scenes at the lavish indulgences and larger-than-life egos of Tinseltown's rich and famous. The featured celebrities range from heartthrobs to industry tycoons, and from yesterday's matinee idols to today's hottest celebs. The stars are grouped according to their ego, neurosis, partying, power, rich living, and romancing. You'll devour little-known details on the excesses and exploits of notables ranging from Mae West to Madonna, Greta Garbo to Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando, Bela Lugosi to John Belushi, Zsa Zsa Gabor to Paris Hilton, Errol Flynn to Jude Law, and many more.

Genres: Celebrity

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

James Robert Parish, a former entertainment reporter, publicist, and book series editor, is the author of many published major biographies and reference books on the entertainment industry including Whitney Houston: We Will Always Love You; The Hollywood Book of Extravagance; It’s Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks; The Hollywood Book of Breakups; Fiascos: Hollywood’s Iconic Flops; The Hollywood Book of Love; Jet Li; The Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups in Hollywood; The Hollywood Book of Death; Gus Van Sant; Whoopi Goldberg; Rosie O’Donnell’s Story; The Unofficial “Murder, She Wrote” Casebook; Today’s Black Hollywood; Let’s Talk! America’s Favorite TV Talk Show Hosts; Prison Pictures from Hollywood; Prostitution in Hollywood Films; The Great Cop Pictures; Ghosts and Angels in Hollywood Films; Pirates and Seafaring Swashbucklers on the Hollywood Screen; Gays and Lesbians in Mainstream Cinema; Hollywood’s Great Love Teams; and The Fox Girls. Mr. Parish is a frequent oncamera interviewee on cable and network TV for documentaries on the performing arts. The author resides in Studio City, California.

Reviews

[EuroHackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a PhD thesis (or three) to be written about the inexplicable attraction between truly fucked up people and the toxic cottage industry serving the industrial entertainment complex. How do they meet - and, more importantly, how do these screwed up people find such seemingly effortless success?

This book doesn't really delve into the details - it offers potted biographies to whet the appetite, and really misses the mark with the 'comtemporary' stars it features - but it is what it is: a rather fun diversion/impulse library pick to battle insomnia.

[Catherine Wetzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Nothing new than written about before on the stars included in the book

[Pat Lampe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of info about people in the entertainment biz. Succinct. Made me recall my teenage days of reading Photoplay and those magazines, only from a different point of view.