"Children of Hollywood"
Accounts Of Growing Up As The Sons And Daughters Of Stars
by MICHELLE VOGEL
Fascinating tales of growing up with a celebrity parent, straight from the mouth of the children themselves. Their stories will make you laugh, make you cry and make you realise that being in the shadow of a celebrity parent is sometimes much harder than it ought to be...
"Children of Hollywood" covers the personal stories of what it was like to grow up with a celebrity as a parent. Families covered include those of W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, Eddie Cantor, Mario Lanza, Ruth Hussey, Jerry Lewis, Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, Stan Laurel, Bing Crosby, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, the Three Stooges and Boris Karloff, just to name a few. Research is drawn from interviews with celebrity offspring, who also provided never-before-published snapshots of Hollywood legends at home.
Living in the shadow of a famous
parent can have powerful effects, from opening professional doors to pressure
so great it leads to suicide. Some children of stars are exceedingly proud
of their roots while others live in secrecy. This is a rare look into the
private lives of the children (and, in a few cases, grandchildren) of the
classic Hollywood icons, telling the stresses and inspirations of living
with great actors who may or may not have been great parents. Some movie
stars protected their offspring, but others used them as publicity props
or even made them into rivals. Despite their unusual youths, some succeeded
in the movies or elsewhere, but most never lived up to the standard expected
of them by the public. Many lost their parents, whether to the extremes
of the celebrity lifestyle, to divorce, or to their careers. From the beautiful
bedtime stories Harpo Marx and his wife told their four adopted children
to explain where they’d come from, to the studded belt Bing Crosby used
to punish his sons for mentioning their famous father to school chums,
this work tells the best and worst of growing up in a celebrity home.
April 2005
Dear Michelle:
Your wonderful book arrived Tuesday and I can't thank you enough. I am so enjoying it and I know others will too. It is such a good read. What a great job you have done with it. I know the subject will be of interest to the fans of all of the people you selected. I am very flattered to have had my father among them Thank you again for keeping me "in the loop" during the process. Good luck with what I am sure will be a great success for you.
Sara Karloff
Children Of Hollywood
Accounts Of Growing Up As The Sons And Daughters Of Stars
by MICHELLE. VOGEL
Paperback - May 31, 2005 List Price: $29.95
