Diamonds

Michael Feeney Callan

Literature & Fiction

New Eng. Lib.

Pregnant at 15, married at 16, at 18 the spectacularly endowed Vera Palmer left Dallas for Hollywood, determined to become famous. She became Jayne Mansfield, a curious blend of homespun innocence and outstanding sexuality. With her 40-inch bust, perfect teeth and a lust for publicity, she was made for the camera. And she had a personality to match - she was as brazen and sexy as the image she created for herself.Crazy as it sounds, Jayne's achievement in Hollywood was a feminist victory. No man created Jayne Mansfield - she did it herself. She understood instinctively the power of her sexuality and she exploited it shamelessly to get what she wanted. One writer described her as 'all bust, bum and broken promise'. More significantly her first agent said, 'She thought she knew it all... She wanted to do it all herself'. Jayne's shining moment was brief. She died, not a movie star, but a second-rate nightclub entertainer, decapitated in a car crash. There were stories of occult curses and wild drinking sprees and even in death she was at the centre of a blaze of publicity. Michael Feeney Callan's lavishly illustrated portrait of the Pink Goddess provides a fitting memento of a brief but sensational career. 

Pink Goddess: Jayne Mansfield Story

W.H. Allen / Virgin Books

Sweet Sixteen

BBC Books

Sean Connery

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Virgin Publishing

Sean Connery: A Highly Unauthorized Biography About the Only Man Who Dared to Turn His Back on Agent 007

Humor & Entertainment

Stein & Day Paperback

Among European actors Sean Connery is unparalleled in his achievements. Having extended his career from theatrical successes through every genre of film, as James Bond he became the backbone of the most lucrative movie franchise in history. Born in an Edinburgh tenement, Sean Connery later served time as a milkman, cabinet polisher and art model. He turned to acting on a whim, and early onstage success in South Pacific translated into a TV and movie career. Taking his talents such as The Name of the Rose, The Hunt for Red October and The Rock. His role as Jimmy Malone in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables won him an Academy Award, which many saw as recongnition of a body of superlative screen creations over twenty years.

Sean Connery: His Life and Films

Comet

A national symbol of romance since the 1970s, Redford's stardom has often eclipsed the life and trials of the man himself. In this biography -- written with Redford's personal papers, journals, script notes, correspondence, and hundreds of hours of taped interviews -- Michael Feeney Callan strips away the Hollywood facade, exposing the complicated, surprising man beneath. The life of Robert Redford is a series of contradictions: descended from impoverished East Coast barbers on his father's side and once-wealthy Texans on his mother's side,the young Redford suffered from aimlessness and semi-poverty, dropping out of college and briefly spending time in jail before launching a career in theatre. Redford has contributed more -- and more widely -- to entertainment than most stars of his calibre. As an actor, he's appeared on Broadway and film, with an Oscar-nominated performance in 1973's The Sting. As a director, he's earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director and has received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Director.He won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1980 for Ordinary People.And as a producer of independent films -- including the patronage of his Sundance Institute -- he's worked on films including All the President's Men and 2004's The Motorcycle Diaries. This is a fascinating exploration of one of our most celebrated and least understood public figures, and an essential read for anyone interested in the rocky road to Hollywood.

Robert Redford: The Biography

SIMON AND SCHUSTER

Sean Connery.

Publisher

LANDSCAPE

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Michael Feeney Callan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Michael Feeney Callan