| Featured Player: An Oral Autobiography of Mae Clarke Contributor(s): Curtis, James (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0810830442 ISBN-13: 9780810830448 Publisher: Scarecrow Press OUR PRICE: $115.83 Product Type: Hardcover Published: October 1996 Annotation: When Mae Clarke arrived in Los Angeles in 1929, she was a headliner in vaudeville who preferred the New York stage to acting in movies. She went to work for Fox and planned to stay just long enough to fulfill her contract. Her stay lasted 63 years. After distinguishing herself as Molly Malloy in Howard Hughes' production of The Front Page, Mae Clarke took a two-day job at Warner Bros. that changed her life. In an unbilled bit, she allowed James Cagney to grind a grapefruit in her face and, at the age of 20, achieved a kind of fame that would haunt her for the rest of her life. This isn't the story of a star, but rather a featured player - a talented actress who supported herself in movies and television for almost 40 years. Though hampered by failed marriages, bad luck, and bouts of mental illness, Mae Clarke managed to appear in 90 feature films, including such classics as Waterloo Bridge, Frankenstein, Lady Killer, Singin' in the Rain, Pat and Mike, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Entertainment & Performing Arts - Performing Arts | Acting & Auditioning - Performing Arts | Television - General |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 95-45660 |
| Series: Scarecrow Filmmakers |
| Physical Information: 0.92" H x 6.42" W x 9.32" (1.17 lbs) 334 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: To the American public, she will always be remembered as the woman who had a grapefruit ground into her face by James Cagney in the 1931 film classic Public Enemy. In fact, in an acting career that spanned nearly four decades, Mae Clarke appeared in nearly 100 feature films and logged in nearly as many television appearances. During the two years before she died at the age of 82, Mae Clarke spent many hours reliving those years. In a series of candid and often poignant interviews, she talks about her years in Hollywood, her failed marriage, and her health problems. |