"You'll like Louis Mayer," Mary Pickford told Charles Foster in 1943. "He is from Canada, too." As Foster was soon to discover, Mayer was not alone: a great many of those who helped shape Hollywood into the movie capital of the world were Canadian.
Stardust and Shadows brings together the stories of 18 Canadians who were celebrities during Hollywood's formative years. Most of those profiled were known to Foster, and stories they told him about Hollywood's early days, enhanced by many years of research and interviews with other living performers and directors from the silent movie era, reveal a never-before-seen look at what the movie industry was really like in those early days.
This is Canadian history that has never been told, and many of the startling stories and secrets of Hollywood's past are revealed here for the first time.
Celebrities profiled:
May Irwin, Al and Charles Christie, Joe and Sam De Grasse, Marie Dressler, Allan Dwan, Florence La Badie, Florence Lawrence, Del Lord, Louis B. Mayer, Sidney Olcott, Jack Pickford, Mary Pickford, Marie Prevost, Mack Sennett, Douglas Shearer, Norma Shearer.
About the Author: During the Second World War, Charles Foster visited Hollywood on leave and established lifelong friendships with many of the Canadians he now writes about. Later, he wrote comedy material for many TV shows and for comedians like Bob Hope and Jack Benny. His first book, "Stardust and Shadows," drew critical acclaim.
