More than 150 cinephiles turned out for the premiere of Inside the Hollywood Fan Magazine: A History of Star Makers, Fabricators and Gossip Mongers, the latest exhibition in the David L. Wolper Center on the ground floor of Doheny Library. Film critic Leonard Maltin shared opening remarks, and Reelzchannel (video) TheWrap.com (slideshow and video), and Thompson on Hollywood were all on hand to cover the event.
Dan Knapp writes:
On display are hundreds of fan magazines, artifacts, and memorabilia dating back to the early years of Hollywood, when movie buffs read Movie Picture Classic, Photoplay, Screenland, and other publications for the latest celebrity news and gossip. Most of the items in the exhibition were selected from more than ten archives within the USC Cinematic Arts Library, including the Constance McCormick, Frank Sinatra, Irene Dunn, Norma Shearer, and Louella Parsons Collections.
Additional rare items within the exhibition came from the private collections of author Anthony Slide and film critic and historian Leonard Maltin.
The exhibition is named for Slide’s comprehensive book on the subject of Hollywood’s publicity machine.
In addition to Slide and Maltin, other attendees included actress Pauline Wagner (who performed Fay Wray’s stunts in the original King Kong), Marsha Hunt (Gentle Julia, Pride and Prejudice) and Samantha Eggar (Dr. Dolittle, Walk Don’t Run).
Eggar jokingly cringed at a cover of Screen Stories that implied she and Elizabeth Taylor feuded over the affections of Richard Burton. The 1965 Academy Award nominee for Best Actress for The Collector joked that she had a framed copy of the magazine hanging in her bathroom.
The exhibition is open daily, Monday through Friday, until July 30, 2010 at the USC David L. Wolper Center. Check out the virtual exhibition here.
Reelzchannel interviews screen legend Samantha Eggar at the exhibition opening.
Visitors check out the rare materials on display.
Constance McCormick with Leonard Maltin
Author Anthony Slide with actress Pauline Wagner
Actress Marsha Hunt with Eggar and Slide
The exhibition before guests arrived for the opening reception