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Forgotten Hollywood

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In this episode I spoke with author Maggie Hennefeld about her latest book "Death by Laughter: Female Hysteria and Early Cinema". Can you really die from laughing too hard? Between 1870 and 1920, hundreds of women suffered such a fate―or so a slew of sensationalist obituaries would have us believe. How could laughter be fatal, and what do these reports of women’s risible deaths tell us about the politics of female joy?
In this episode, I discuss with author Kristen Lopez about her latest book " Popcorn Disabilities: The Highs and Lows of Disabled Representation in the Movies that will be released on November 13, 2025. You can learn a lot from the movies-about sex and relationships, about business, about history. Sure, there's a fair amount of fantasy, wish fulfillment, and glorious hair to exaggerate everything, but for better or for worse, films remain one of the most important ways that viewers around the world learn about other people and cultures. And almost since the dawn of the medium, movies have shaped the public's understanding of and assumptions about disability.Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook and Forgotten Hollywood Books are on Amazon.
Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook.Forgotten Hollywood Reference book series on Amazon.Doug Hes is the Creator/Producer/Host of the show.Thank you guest Author Bernard D Dick
In this episode, I spoke with Tracey Goessel about her book "The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks". Douglas Fairbanks was the greatest leading man of his generation—the first and the best of the swashbucklers. He made some of the greatest films of the silent era, including The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro. With Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, and his wife, film star Mary Pickford, he founded United Artists.Forgotten Hollywood is on FacebookForgotten Hollywood Books are on AmazonDoug Hess is the Producer/Host!
In this episode, I spoke with author David M. Stewart about his book "There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme". Jonathan Demme, one of the most influential and dynamic directors of the twentieth century, was a fearless and radical filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer―a compassionate artist, advocate, and humanist who was compelled to tell the stories of marginalized communities. His intense passion and appreciation of music, culture, and art were interwoven throughout his life and extraordinary body of work.Forgotten Hollywood is on FacebookForgotten Hollywood Books are on AmazonDoug Hess is the Producer/Host!
Guest host James Lott Jr talks about a Store, Counterpoint Records and Books, in East Hollywood that has grea rare finds. He showcases two of the things he found.Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook.Executive Producer -Doug Hess
Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook.Forgotten Hollywood Books are on Amazon.In this episode I spoke with author Sheri Chinen Biesen about her book "Through a Noir Lens: Adapting Film Noir Visual Style". Shadows. Smoke. Dark alleys. Rain-slicked city streets. These are iconic elements of film noir visual style. Long after its 1940s heyday, noir hallmarks continue to appear in a variety of new media forms and styles. What has made the noir aesthetic at once enduring and adaptable?
In this episode, I spoke with author Samuel Garza Bernstein about his book "Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild". Dynamic and debonair, Cesar Romero was best known for creating the role of the Joker in the 1960s Batman television series. As the first actor to play Batman and Robin's villainous nemesis, Romero established the character's giddy, manic tone and the distinctive laugh that subsequent actors like Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Joaquin Phoenix would use as the starting points in their own Oscar-nominated (Nicholson) and Oscar-winning (Ledger and Phoenix) performances. As a closeted gay man of Latin American descent, Romero gracefully faced many personal challenges while maintaining his suave public image and starring opposite legends ranging from Shirley Temple to Marlene Dietrich, Carmen Miranda to Frank Sinatra, and Kurt Russell to Jane Wyman.Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook.Forgotten Hollywood book series is on Amazon
The Apple. Last Starfighter. Weekend At Bernie's.Night of the Comet. Knight Rider. Hotel. Sins. The Outer Limits. Law and Order and Days of Our Lives. Catherine Mary Stewart goes down memory lane with Guest Host James Lott Jr. Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook!
In this episode, I spoke with author Mitchell Hadley regarding his book "Darkness In Primetime". Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society’s Descent into Hell reveals how television shows of the 1950s and 1960s, with shocking accuracy, envisioned a world of 24/7 surveillance, thought control, disinformation, persecution, and the loss of freedom—a world disturbingly similar to our own.
In this episode, I spoke with Ed Robertson about his book "Men of Action: Behind-the-Scenes of Four Classic TV Series". An in-depth look at The Untouchables, Run for Your Life, The Magician and Harry O four classic series that helped define the landscape of American television as we know it today. Each entry features a detailed episode guide and behind-the-scenes interviews with the actors, writers, producers, and directors who made these shows enduring, action-adventure classics.
In this episode, I spoke with Roberta Smoodin regarding her book "Horses of Hollywood". In Horses of Hollywood, Roberta Smoodin gives equine film stars the credit and recognition they have long deserved. Smoodin goes behind the scenes to feature the trainers, actors, and directors who brought some of our favorite horses into the spotlight. Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook.
Guest Host and JLJ Media CEO James Lott Jr talks about Hollywood that is forgotten and why this show exists. Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook.
In this episode we discuss with author Jennifer Selway her book "The Godfather of Horror Films: Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee". Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee: three middle-class Englishmen whose names are synonymous with the history of the horror movie. Karloff was born in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and Lee, the youngest, died in 2015, when Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning British monarch.
Its Episode 350! Guest Host James Lott Jr! Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook! Go follow! JLJ is talking about the late 80s with the Pet Shop Boys reinvented the music careers of Liza Minelli and Dusty Springfield!
Sidney Arnold Franklin (March 21, 1893 – May 18, 1972) was an American film director and producer. Franklin, like William C. deMille, specialized in adapting literary works or Broadway stage plays.His brother Chester Franklin (1889–1954) also became a director during the silent film era, best known for directing the early Technicolor film The Toll of the Sea.Franklin's work on radio included directing The Screen Guild Show in 1939.Hosted by Doug Hess.Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook!
Juliet Prowse: Born to Dance: The Extraordinary Life Story of My AuntIn this episode, I discussed with Juliet Prowse regarding her book about her Aunt Juliet Prowse. Juliet Prowse was a young South African dancer and entertainer who burst into the international spotlight in her first Hollywood movie, Can-Can. Considered talented and exotic, she caught the media’s attention and her engagement to Frank Sinatra fuelled their fascination further. But was it love and what did Sinatra make of Juliet’s relationship with Elvis during G.I. Blues? Unhappy with 20th Century Fox, Juliet broke out of her contract, created her own company and became one of the highest paid dancers of her era on a $1 million Las Vegas contract in the mid-1970s.
In this episode, I spoke with author Chris Nashawaty about his recent book "The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982". In the summer of 1982, eight science fiction films were released within six weeks of one another. E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior changed the careers of some of Hollywood's now biggest names―altering the art of movie-making to this day.July 29th is the release of the paperback.
In this episode, I spoke with Mary Owen who is the daughter of Donna Reed.
In this episode, I spoke with Scott Brogan about his book "Judy Garland: The Voice of MGM". A Definitive Celebration of Hollywood's Iconic Musical Star and Her Legendary CareerMore than 100 years after her birth, Judy Garland remains the gold standard by which all movie musical leading ladies are judged.Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook.Doug Hess is the Creator/producer/host.