Marc Wanamaker

When Polish wigmaker and cosmetician Max Factor arrived in Los Angeles at the dawn of the motion picture industry, make-up had been associated only with stage performers and ladies of the oldest profession. Appalled by the garish paints worn by actors, Factor introduced the first flexible greasepaint for film in 1914. With a few careful brush strokes, a lot of innovation and the kind of luck that can happen only in Hollywood, Max Factor changed the meaning of glamour. His innovations can be experienced in every tube of lipstick, palette of eye shadow and bottle of nail lacquer used today. Join author Erika Thomas as she reveals the makeup guru s expert beauty tips and the story of how he created the most iconic golden-era looks that are as relevant today as they were nearly a century ago."

“Los Angeles is a city that runs from its own past” explains historian and Bison Archives owner Marc Wanamaker. Many of Hollywood’s legendary sets and props, mansions, theaters, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, and even the studios and the films they produced are now either gone or have been redeveloped, repurposed, or remade beyond recognition. Even more disarmingly, the physical ephemera associated with such items is often MIA as well. Photographs, files, maps, documents, menus, production paperwork, records, manuscripts, everything from matchbooks to movie magazines and entire movie backlots have now been lost in the backwash of dubious progress, short-sighted corporate mindsets, and civic indifference. Fortunately, for the last fifty years, in the very epicenter of Hollywood, thanks to Wanamaker, there has existed a haven where over 70,000 of these items, physically or photographically, have been collected and protected. These artifacts tell the story of Hollywood’s glorious past, as well as its uncertain future as the hub of filmmaking in America.

Since pioneer filmmakers arrived on its shoreline in the early 20th century, the Santa Monica beach has been a popular location for the making of movies and television productions. Its enchanting beauty led studio moguls, producers, and celebrities to build beach houses there, creating what became known as "Hollywood's Playground." The sand and shore of the Santa Monica beach became a favored site for the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Marion Davies, William Randolph Hearst, and Cary Grant. It was on this beach that the Academy Awards were conceived, the movie The Wizard of Oz sprang forth, and a young Pres. John F. Kennedy stunned beachgoers with a surprise ocean swim without the protection of Secret Service agents. In 1962, the beach became the center of the universe as the site of President Kennedy's "Western White House," where the visitors included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Marilyn Monroe, and--famously--"anyone who was anyone."

The fascinating tale of Hollywood powerhouse Paramount Pictures beginning with its birth in the 1910s through the turbulent decade of the 1930s was told in Early Paramount Studios by Marc Wanamaker, Michael Christaldi, and E. J. Stephens. Now the same authors are back to tell the next 60 years of the studio saga in Paramount Studios: 1940 2000, with a foreword by former Paramount head of production Robert Evans. This book picks up the story during the time of World War II a successful era for the studio which was followed by a decade of decline due to the upstart medium of television. By the 1960s, the studio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy before rebounding, thanks to several 1970s blockbusters, such as Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown. The tale continues through the final decades of the 20th century when Paramount showcased some of the greatest hits in its history."

The fascinating tale of Hollywood powerhouse Paramount Pictures--beginning with its birth in the 1910s through the turbulent decade of the 1930s--was told in Early Paramount Studios by Marc Wanamaker, Michael Christaldi, and E. J. Stephens. Now the same authors are back to tell the next 60 years of the studio saga in Paramount Studios: 1940-2000, with a foreword by former Paramount head of production Robert Evans. This book picks up the story during the time of World War II--a successful era for the studio--which was followed by a decade of decline due to the upstart medium of television. By the 1960s, the studio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy before rebounding, thanks to several 1970s blockbusters, such as Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown. The tale continues through the final decades of the 20th century when Paramount showcased some of the greatest hits in its history.

The history of Hollywood is often seen only through the lens of the major studios, forgetting that many of Tinseltown s early creations came from micro-studios stretched along Sunset Boulevard in an area disparagingly known as Poverty Row. Here, the first

For over 100 years, Paramount Pictures has been captivating movie and television audiences worldwide with its alluring imagery and compelling stories. Arising from the collective genius of Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille during the 1910s, Paramount Pictures is home to such enduring classics as Wings, Sunset Boulevard, The Ten Commandments, Love Story, The Godfather, the Indiana Jones series, Chinatown, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic, and Star Trek. Early Paramount Studios chronicles Paramount's origins, culminating in the creation and expansion of the lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue, the last major motion picture studio still in Hollywood.

Carved from the former Spanish land grant known as Rancho Los Feliz, Griffith Park, a rugged, 4,300-acre wilderness located in the heart of Los Angeles, has been the principal playground for Angelenos for over a century. Since 1896, when the land was donated to the city by controversial philanthropist Col. Griffith J. Griffith, generations of weekenders have picnicked, camped, golfed, ridden horses, hiked, bicycled, and played ball in the park. To this day, visitors still climb aboard its mini-train and merry-go-round and explore its zoo, museums, amphitheater, and world-famous observatory. The park, which lies in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, has been a frequent filming site for legendary movies like Back to the Future, Birth of a Nation, and Rebel Without a Cause.

Since 1928, Warner Bros. has produced thousands of beloved films and television shows at the studio's magical 110-acre film factory in Burbank. This collection of evocative images concentrates on the Warner Bros. legacy from the 1920s to the 1950s, when timeless classics such as Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, and East of Eden came to life. It also looks at WB's earlier homes along Hollywood's "Poverty Row," the birthplace of Looney Tunes, and the site of WB's pioneering marriage between film and sound in the 1920s. Early Warner Bros. Studios also tells the tale of four brothers--Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner--scions of a Polish Jewish immigrant family who rose from the humblest of origins to become Hollywood moguls of enormous and lasting influence.