Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Richard Rhodes.
What other book brings together 1920s Paris, player pianos, Nazi weaponry, and digital wireless into one satisfying whole? In its juxtaposition of Hollywood glamour with the reality of a brutal war,
One of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood was also being a talented inventor. Richard Rhodes describes Hedy Lamarr’s partnering with George Antheil to invent a fundamental new wireless technology.
As one of Maybelline's most stunning models in the early 1940's, and the most popular post on my blog, I am thrilled Richard Rhodes has released Hedy Lamarr's story, one year after The Maybelline Story was puplished. You can never get enough inside information on Old Hollywood as far as I'm concerned. Both Hedy's folly and The Maybelline Story are available at Amazon. Also if you love Old Hollywood be sure to check out,Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara: The Private Lives of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier.
NEW YORK - The 2011 Beach Book Festival has named “Damn You, Scarlett O’Hara: The Private Lives of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier” as the grand prize winner of its annual competition honoring the summer’s hottest reads. RUNNER-UP: The Maybelline Story – Sharrie Williams with Bettie Youngs, under BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY
A glimpse of Old Hollywood, Art Deco and The Great Gatsby, through the eyes of Maybelline heir, Bill Williams in the 1990s.
My father, Bill Williams, in his late 60s - still handsome, athletic and actively remodeling a stunning, Art Deco, second home in Newport Beach in the late 1980s.
Nothing spelled, Old Hollywood glamour, and turned heads, like Bill and Gloria, cursing down Coast highway, in Newport Beach, with the top down, in Bill's, 1977 Clenet, series 1, # 13.
When visiting Bill and Gloria, "Aspiration," greeted you at the entry, all lit up, in a running fountain. The Art Deco, black and white marble tiles, and Frank Sinatra singing, "Unforgettable" from the surround sound stereo, piped into every room, immediately swept you away to another era.
A glass block bar, with lavender lighting, black marble counter and wall to wall mirror, made the white marble floors look like an ice skating rink at night.
But nothing screamed outrageous, 1930, Hollywood glamour, like the master bath, with it's hand carved, dark green and black, pillar sinks, it's beveled dressing table with Hollywood lights, a tub encased in mirrors, and it's white and black marble floor.
Bill and Gloria in their 70s, at the Condo, hosting a Christmas, Boat Parade party.
All this splendor looked out at sweeping views of the harbor, from every room, and a veranda where you could sit and have a glass of wine while watching the yachts go by. The condo included a movie screen that came out of the ceiling, controls that opened blinds, brought down the movie screen, turned on the TV, surround sound and the recessed lighting that were set on dimmers. It was a virtual wonderland, that took your breath away, transported you out of your hum drum life and made you feel young, at any age. Feel the full flavor of this glamorous lifestyle, as it comes to life in my book, The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.
"Can't repeat the past?... Why of course you can!" F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.
Noel A. Williams, sitting in his brother Dicks, Excalibur. This picture was taken at Dick and Ann's estate in Boca Raton, Florida in the late 1970s.
Noel A.Williams, during the shooting of, Goodbye Norma Jean, in 1975. Picture was taken at his cousin Bill Williams estate, Casa de Guillermo, in Palm Springs California.
Noel A. and Jean Williams, in their 1975 Rolls, with Mickey Mouse in the back seat.
Noel A. with his Rolls Royce, a gift to himself for his 50th Birthday. For the Williams boys, a longing to relive the golden years of the 1920s, 30s and 40s, played out, by creating individual identities, that included luxury automobiles, beautiful estates and the freedom to do what ever they dammed well pleased, during the 1970s.
Dick Williams, his brother, Noel A. Williams and cousin Bob (Williams) Haines, loved beautiful automobiles, reminiscent of their uncle Tom Lyle Williams, custom made gorgeous Packard's.
Bob (Williams) Haines and Dick Williams, with their Gatsbyesque Excalibur's, in Boca Raton, Florida.
Noel A. Williams, bought this beautiful, 1975 Rolls Royce, for his 50th Birthday. It looked spectacular parked in front of the Bernard Maybeck estate, in Monticito California in the 1970s.
Built in 1915 for the Ambassador of England, Noel A. and Jean Williams bought the Maybeck estate in 1968, and gave the Wedding of the year for their daughter Nancy in 1976. Here is a picture of Nancy's brother, Chuck Williams, aka, BB1, with Sloop John B, in 1971.
Chuck, Williams, Sloop John B, and Nancy Williams, 1971, in one of the many gardens surrounding the Bernard Maybeck estate.
The most romantic, garden Wedding of 1976.
Chuck, ushers his mother, Jean Williams down the isle.
The Bride, Nancy Williams now Mrs. Paul Clark.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Clark on the dance floor.
Nancy's uncle, Bill Williams with Nancy Williams Clark,
Bill Williams, future wife, Gloria Rosan,
John Williams-Huber and Bill Williams.
Maybeck made generous use of exposed beams, unpainted finish, huge fireplaces and clerestory windows. Above all else he loved redwood;
he had also a strong feeling for concrete. Using his materials with great craftsmanship, at the same time he took full advantage of technology.
Maybeck believed, as did his internationally famous contemporary, Frank Lloyd Wright, that the home should blend in with the natural landscape that surrounds it.
Throughout Maybeck's life his great wish was to be understood by the man in the street and to give him a sense of delight.
Bernard Maybeck, like so many entrepreneur's, of the early 20th century, were simple men with enormous creativity and larger than life vision. A few come to mind, including: Tom Lyle Williams - Maybelline, Erte - design and fashion, Flo Ziegfeld - Follies F.Scott Fitzgerald novels, especially,The Great Gatsby. Read more about the family that brought you Maybelline, in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind it.
Both stories are a slice of the American Dream during the 20th Century.
what IS so great about The Great Gatsby? After its republishing in 1945 and 1953, it quickly found a wide readership and is today widely regarded as a literary classic. The Modern Library named it the second best novel of the 20th Century.
One might assume this is a story of love, but it isn't. The Great Gatsby is a tragedy. It is also a critique of the great "American Dream."
Gatsby is a combination of innocence and faith. He's committed to his dreams - and never gives up on them. He's a characer people can follow. A hero with flaws, someone like them.
It has been said that F. Scott Fitzgerald's book is a depressing story. Life is hard enough - why read a book that makes you feel worse?
The Great Gatsby takes place following the First World War. American society enjoyed prosperity during the "roaring" 1920s as the economy soared.
Zelda Fitzgerald, (Daisy.)
This Maybelline Ad has reflections of Zelda Fitzgerald, F Scott Fitzgerald's wife and his inspiration for Daisy, one of the main characters, in The Great Gatsby.
Tom Lyle Williams at the Villa Valentino.
The Maybelline Story has the same qualities as The Great Gatsby, except it isn't fiction. It is a true story about a man who made the American Dream a reality for himself and his family, yet, not without a price.
Read the The Maybelline Story and The Great Gatsby.
