Bringing Up Oscar

by Debra Ann Pawlak

The founders of the now infamous Academy were a motley crew as individuals, but when they first converged in Hollywood, then just a small town with dirt roads, sparks flew and fueled a common dream: to bring artistic validity to their beloved new medium.

Today, movies are so ingrained in our culture it is hard to imagine a time when former cowpunchers, prospectors, vaudevillians, even junk dealers made up the rules as they went along. Prohibition and the Great Depression were keeping everyone on edge, and the business was rife with murders and drug scandals. Something had to happen. And so on January 11th, 1927, thirty-six members of Hollywood's elite and not-so-elite came together at the behest of MGM chief Louis B. Mayer. From Cecil B. DeMille to Mary Pickford, Harry M. Warner, who owned a bike shop before launching the revolutionary “talkie” The Jazz Singer, even Joseph M. Schenck, freed from jail just in time to discover Marilyn Monroe—each guest was more colorful than the last. Although they didn’t know it yet, these thirty-six achievers and dreamers gave birth to a golden child.

Who were these movers and shakers who would change movies forever? And what about Oscar, their famous son? He is fast approaching his 100th birthday, and is still the undisputed king of Hollywood. Yet with such dynamic parents, what else could we expect?

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, History

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2011

About the author

Debra Ann Pawlak has been a movie lover ever since she can remember and likes the fact that she shares a birthday with film great, Carole Lombard. She writes from southeastern Michigan where she lives with her husband, Michael. She has authored a book about her hometown, Farmington, for Arcadia Publishing's Making of America Series, as well as a children's book detailing the life of the legendary Bruce Lee. In addition, she completed an in-depth profile of March King John Philip Sousa, which was recorded and released on a children's CD by Allegro Music. Her work has also appeared in several publications such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Writer, Aviation History and Michigan History Magazine. She has two grown children, Rachel, who lives in Denver with her husband, Jon, and daughter Olivia, and Jonathon, who lives in Michigan with his wife, Stacey, and daughter, Madeline.

Pawlak's latest book, 'Bringing Up Oscar, The Men and Women Who Founded the Academy' was recently declared the Winner of the 'History: Media/Entertainment' category in the USA Best Books 2011 Awards. 'Oscar' was also named Runner Up in the non-fiction category of the Hollywood Book Festival 2011 competition.

Her latest book, 'Soldier, Spy, Heroine', which she co-wrote with Cheryl Bartlam du Bois, is now available for pre-ordering on Amazon. It is based on a true story of the Civil War.

Follow her on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hollywo...

Follow her on Twitter at:

@dapwriter

Reviews

[Gary Henson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed history of Hollywood from the perspective of the men and women who made it happen.
Great bios as well as when and where's.
Repeated stories detracted a bit from the flow, but still enjoy the in depth history.
Great read for anyone into Hollywood!

[Chuck Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am interested in the history of Hollywood, so this book about the men and women who founded the academy was one I wanted to read. I discovered a lot of information I was not aware of. The 36 producers, directors, actors, screenwriters, lawyers, and technical experts that started the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences included the very famous (Harold Lloyd, Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Raoul Walsh, Jack Warner, Henry King, Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg) and those few have heard of. The author gives detailed accounts of their lives and careers, sometimes too much. Each character is introduced with details on their parents, siblings and when they marry (which they do often) the spouse's family background. The reader, at least me, can get lost with all the names and dates. Also, the author covers each person up to a certain point in their history, then goes on to the others and repeats this twice more. For me, a more effective way to present the information would be to cover each person in their own chapter. I also wish the author discussed the first awards ceremony a little. While she does mention some of the early actions of the academy the award ceremony isn't really discussed. Still in all I enjoyed the book, discovered a lot more about people who were just names to me, and some more about the famous figures involved in the founding of the Academy. Highly recommend if you are interested in film history.

[Russell Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since I’m a movie freak and have read many, many accounts of Hollywood and its beginnings, when I saw Debra Ann Pawlak’s Bringing Up Oscar: The Story of the Men and Women Who Founded the Academy, I thought, “Wow! I’ve never read an in-depth look at the Motion Picture Academy, formally known as The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I expected to find out just what this institution does in addition to giving out those shiny little men. But since I can read the title, I knew the book would focus more on the people who had the idea for the academy. And oh—it does. The first half of the book details each of the producers, writers, actors, actresses, techies, and one theater owner who thought up this institution. I can save you time: almost each and every one of them were dirt poor, hard-scrabble immigrants who decided working in the fledgling industry would be a good thing, started in the east, and eventually migrated west because it was warmer, sunnier, and free of the restrictions placed upon the new industry by its inventor Thomas Edison. And not only is this story repeated in slight variations, but you will find out the birth dates and birth places of each, including any siblings they may have had. Then suddenly, towards the middle, they meet and have this idea. The academy comes to fruition. Then the book becomes less tedious, as each one of them is dealt with again, this time describing their deaths (mostly heart attacks.) What career facts are told in this section are, for the most part, repeats of myriad facts told in the first section. Get the idea? This is a very repetitious book. Great for high schoolers doing research on the film industry; not so great for those of us who just want to enjoy reading about early Hollywood. The repetition, from the endless dates given to the re-telling of life facts, gets to be mighty tedious. And that explanation of what the academy does? Almost non-existent. In the final chapter, a few sentences intrigued me and I thought, “Finally, the truth is revealed.” I turned the page, eagerly anticipating more explanation, and—the book was finished! Just a few anecdotes about the awards, the acceptance speeches, the outreach programs of the academy—anything really—could have spiced this up a bit. Instead, it is an endless drone of “Joe Schmo was born in Latvia in 1888, came to America with his parents, grew up with his four brothers and two sisters (born 1899, 1900, etc.) He started out selling potatoes but then gravitated toward the new flicker industry. He changed his name to Alexander Star and began the legendary film company Star Studios.” You get the idea? How many times do we need to be told that Samuel Goldfish changed his name to Samuel Goldwyn? Pawlak, apparently, think five or more times are needed for us to remember. It could have been a great book; instead, it’s one for the research shelves.

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh... This book seemed to have been written just for me, but in the end was boring and I didn't even finish it before I had to return it.