Front and Center: 1942-1955

Memoirs #2

by John Houseman

John Houseman is one of the most most extraordinary talents of the American theater, a distinguished television and motion picture producer and a brilliant writer. Run-Through, the first volume of his memoirs, was widely acclaimed as one of the most entertaining and informative books written on the contemporary American theater.

Now, in Front and Center, Houseman continues the story of his fascinating life, beginning with his wartime work on the innovative and controversial "Voice of America," a remarkable experiment in persuasion marked by bitter quarrels and ideological battles, and his friendships with such diverse personalities as Robert Sherwood, James Warburg and Joseph Barnes. He goes on to chronicle his career in Hollywood in the forties, when he produced, among others, The Blue Dahlia. and Letter from an Unknown Woman; his return to Broadway and production of Lute Song and the world premiere of Bertolt Brecht's Galileo. which starred Charles Laughton. He recalls his associations with Ray Chandler, Nicholas Ray and Joan Fontaine; his experiences during the Red Scare and blacklists of the fifties; his daring film of Julius Caesar starring Marlon Brando, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern and James Mason; and Lust for Life, in which Kirk Douglas played Van Gogh...

Here is a unique and fascinating look at life in Hollywood and the theater, related by a gifted man who writes about himself with wit, astonishing candor, a piercing eye for the ridiculous in himself and others, and a total recall that makes his memoirs remarkably true-to-life.

Genres: Film, Biography

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

John Houseman was an English-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane. But he is perhaps best known for his role as Professor Charles Kingsfield in the TV series The Paper Chase and for his commercials for the brokerage firm Smith Barney.

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This memoir covers the middle of Houseman's life and I hope someday to come across the other volumes because he lived a lot of lives. There's a timeline at the start that covers his first book: refuge, grain speculator, the Mercury years, and his first stint as a film producer. In this book, he covers working for the Voice of America during WWII, producing with middling success at Paramount and RKO, doing some plays, and becoming an very successful producer at MGM. Houseman has a nice
easy to read writing style. He seems like and average guy trying to do well but not overly ambitious. He's not at all the stuffy type he played in his later acting years.