Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker

by Michael B. Druxman

Once Upon a Time in From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker is a revisionist history of Hollywood's Golden Era and the tabloid press that covered it. Harry Pennypacker was a prolific and revered newspaper columnist; a colleague of Louella Parsons, Walter Winchell, and the other great columnists of the day. Unfortunately, nobody has ever heard of him because the papers never ran his articles. They were too hot. Too dangerous. Too likely to tarnish the delicate image of silver screen icons. The newspaper syndicate couldn't fire him because he had an ironclad contract, so Pennypacker wrote his stories ... and the editors buried them. Until now. The secret files of Harry Pennypacker are secret no longer.

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Michael B. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD: From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker, is a veteran Hollywood screenwriter whose credits include CHEYENNE WARRIOR with Kelly Preston, DILLINGER AND CAPONE starring Martin Sheen and F. Murray Abraham, and THE DOORWAY with Roy Scheider, which he also directed.

He is also a prolific playwright. Among his many works is the one-person play, JOLSON, which has had numerous productions around the country.

Additionally, he is the author of over a dozen other published books, including several nonfiction works about Hollywood, its movies, and the people who make them (e.g., BASIL RATHBONE: His Life and His Films, and MAKE IT AGAIN, SAM: A Survey of Movie Remakes), plus two novels, NOBODY DROWNS IN MINERAL LAKE and SHADOW WATCHER and a book of short stories, DRACULA MEETS JACK THE RIPPER & Other Revisionist Histories.

His memoir, MY FORTY-FIVE YEARS IN HOLLYWOOD...AND HOW I ESCAPED ALIVE, was published in 2010.

Mr. Druxman resides in Austin, TX.

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 5 stars and the review following were both bestowed by my husband Bill who can't join Goodreads because he refuses to learn how to use a computer, so he dictated this to me. I also think it is a good, quick read, a satire on the entire public relations system in the U.S.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Goodreads author Michael Druxman delivers a funny romp through the author’s imagination, laughing at and dissing major screen legends as well as the actual industry itself. It delivers its promise that a story starting with “Once upon a time” is a modern fairy tale, both fantastic and absurd. It is, moreover, an original fairy tale as could only be told by a person who has spent years in the industry. He takes you for a romp though his vivid imagination and makes you laugh. What else can you expect from a man who has devoted most of his life to Hollywood. In this book, he has written about persons all deceased. While that eliminates responses, it now leaves us hope that if Mr. Druxman is around in twenty years, he might write a sequel about the stars of today.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really want to tell a lot about this book, because to do so would spoil the read.

If you enjoy stories about Hollywood and it's great stars, then this very clever book is one that you will definitely enjoy. It's a revisionist history that will have you laughing out loud at "shocking" stories of John Wayne, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Clark Gable and even THE WIZARD OF OZ.

It also makes fun of the tabloid press and its yellow journalism that flourished during that time and is still around today.

You are going to have fun with this one.