Selznick

by Bob Thomas

David Selznick (1902-1965) belonged to a select group of Hollywood producers as well-known as the actors they employed. Neurotic, a perfectionist, and an acknowledged genius, Selznick was in many ways his own creation. He collaborated on some of Alfred Hitchcock's most successful pictures, and produced, at age 37, the most beloved film of all time, Gone with the Wind.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Robert Joseph "Bob" Thomas was an American Hollywood film industry biographer and reporter who worked for the Associated Press from 1944.

Born in San Diego, he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. He attended UCLA. He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They have three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014 at his home.

Thomas made his mark by engaging celebrities in activities that brought out their personalities, whether by measuring their waistline after childbirth (as he did with Betty Grable) or testing just how tall a leading lady needed to be by kissing her himself (as he did with June Haver). Acclaimed as the dean of Hollywood reporters, Bob Thomas wrote about the movie business for the Associated Press since the days when Hollywood was run by the men who founded it: Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer.

During his long history of reporting for the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books. Many in the film industry credit his 1969 biography of producer Irving G. Thalberg as sparking their interest in pursuing a career behind the scenes. Other Thomas biographies include Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, David O. Selznick, Walter Winchell, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, Abbott & Costello, Walt Disney, and a children's book, Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Anthony Giancola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Thomas’s other biographies, this is entertaining, but the subject matter is pretty thin. He focuses a lot on Gone with the Wind, and I can’t blame him because the rest of David Selznick’s life is pretty pedestrian outside of his weird relationship to his brother.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining book about the Selznick family, with lots of anecdotes, but not much useful information about my area of interest: Louis Selznick’s silents.