Stars over Sunset Boulevard: a friendship forged during an iconic movie

Stars over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner is the story of two women who become roommates and friends, each with their own reasons for coming to Hollywood. Violet Mayfield is 22 years old from Alabama. She has come to work in the secretarial pool at the Selznick International Studios. She meets Audrey Duvall, 30 years old another secretary, who dreams of bright lights and her name on the marquee. They are working for the studio during the filming of one of the greatest films of our time, Gone With the Wind. Although at the time, the film is doomed to be a failure, Violet is recruited to be an assistant on the set as Audrey chases her dream of becoming an actress. Enter Bert Redmond, a costume assistant on the film and not so secretly in love with Audrey. Their friendships will stand a test when Violet and Bert fall in love. One night, after a night of heavy drinking, one of the green carpet hat that Scarlett wears in the film goes missing. How are the women and their friendship tied to the hat? Will their friendship stand the test of time? Will the hat be discovered?

Stars over Sunset Boulevard is a great story with one of my favorite films as its backdrop. I loved the friendship between Audrey and Violet who at different times emulated the friendship of Scarlett and Melanie from the film. It is a friendship that things were done and said due to fear, love and uncertainty. I also enjoyed how Ms. Meissner weaves the past and the present as the mystery of the green carpet hat is revealed. I highly recommend Stars over Sunset Boulevard!

Sunset over Sunset Boulevard

is available at all major booksellers

Hattie McDaniel: more than just Mammy

I love the movie, Gone with the Wind and one of my favorite characters is Mammy, who was portrayed by the wonderful and talented, Hattie McDaniel. Hattie McDaniel was born June 10, 1892 in Wichita, Kansas. The 13^th child of former slaves, Henry, a Baptist minister, and Susan, a gospel singer, Hattie began perform from a very early age. She had a natural flair for singing and she began her professional career while still in high school. While Hattie McDaniel is best known for her role as Mammy, she was accomplished in many other ways. She has appeared in over 300 films. She is also known as friends with many of Hollywood’s most popular stars such as Will Rogers, Shirley Temple, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and Bette Davis. She was also known for her community service efforts.

In 1925, she became the first African American woman on the radio as she perform on the Professor George Morrison’s Melody Hounds in Denver. In 1931, she would join her acting siblings, Sam and Etta McDaniel in Los Angeles where she perform on her brother’s radio show as “Hi-Hat Hattie,” the bossy maid who often forgot her place. She would get her on-screen break in the film Judge Priest (1934) with Will Rogers which displayed her singing talent. She also appeared in The Little Colonel (1934) with Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. While she appeared in films, she also continued to work in radio. She is well known for playing the sassy and opinionated maid.

It was her friendship with Clark Gable which helped win her the role of Mammy, Scarlett O’Hara’s scolding maid. She ultimately won the part when she came to her audition in full costume. Due to the segregation laws at the time in Georgia, Ms. McDaniel was not allowed to attend the Atlanta premiere of the film. Clark Gable threatened to boycott the premiere because she was not invited. She wouldn’t allow him to do so and convinced him to go anyway. She would win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1940. She would be the first African American to be nominated for an Oscar as well as the first African American to win an Oscar. Her award would be bittersweet because she was not allowed to sit with her Gone with the Wind co-stars at the ceremony. Her win would be a reminder to her about how much the film industry and the country still had to go in regards with racism.

Hattie McDaniel was often criticized for the roles she portrayed. The progressive black community of the time saw her roles as “offensively old-fashioned.” Ms. McDaniel often felt that this criticizes cost her some film roles and feared roles would disappear if the criticism was “too loud.” As film roles diminished, Ms. McDaniel turned once again to radio. She took a starring role in CBS’ The Beluah Show, where she played a maid who broke racial stereotypes. She also took a role in community service and gained a reputation for generosity. During World War II, she was chairman of the Hollywood Victory Committee which provided entertainment at military bases as she entertained the American troops with the United Services Organizations (USO) and helped sell war bonds. She also helped raise funds for the Red Cross relief programs which helped Americans who had been displaced by floods.

Hattie McDaniel passed away on October 26, 1952 at the age of 60 from breast cancer. She was buried at the Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery because her first choice of the Hollywood Cemetery would not allow her to be buried there due to the racism of the day. However, in 1999, a pink and gray granite monument was erected in her memory after her family didn’t want her moved from her resting place. To me, Hattie McDaniel was more than just Mammy in one of my favorite films. She was an immensely talented actress who did it all and helped her fellow man in times of need as well as paved the way for future African-American actresses who would follow. 

A few of my favorite books

“He was fond of books, for they are cool and sure friends”

Les Miserables

Books have been my escape since I was 12 years old. Books about times long past and place I’ve longed to visit. I’ve read books in all genres except horror. I took an online quiz recently which asked the all-time questions: my favorite book. It’s hard to pick just one even with the criteria of a book I’ve read multiple times. It’s just so many books! I have books that I’ve read so much that the binding is falling apart and I’ve afraid to reread because I can’t replace them because they are out of print. So, I’ve decided to write about my top 3 favorite books (these are in no particular order):

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

I first fell in love with the story of the Phantom of the Opera one summer when I was 12 years old. I was visiting my Aunt Nancy’s and she had the original London cast recording of the musical. She let me listen to it and I did. Over and over and over again. So much that she would take me to see it for my 13^th birthday. Ever since then I can’t get enough of this story. I found the book in which the musical in based on and I enjoyed the mystery and the tragic love story of the Phantom of the Opera. It is a story of a love triangle between Christine Daae, a young ballet dancer who dreams of the Angel of Music, Erik, a disfigured man who lives in the shadows of the Opera House and becomes obsessed with Christine and Raoul, Christine’s childhood playmate and love interest who returns to her life and offers her a life away from the horror of her Angel of Music. It was also inspired by real events at the Paris Opera House. This is the book that inspired me to learn French and visit the famous opera house. Even though I never mastered French, I still dream of going to Paris and seeing the opera house. I still love this story. I’ve read the book so many times. I’ve listened to the musical soundtrack so much that I have the lyrics memorized. I love the 2004 movie adaptation of the musical. It’s a great story!

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

I’ve watched the movie Gone with the Wind all my life. When I was 12 years old, I decided that I wanted to read the book. I first read it in the 7^th grade and enjoyed it so much that I read it again. My reading teacher was so impressed that I was reading books beyond the recommended reading that she gave me a Reading Award for the Fall Semester. I love the history of the book. The picture of pre-Civil War Georgia to the devastation of Reconstruction. My favorite character is Rhett Butler, the dashing gentleman who walks the line between the genteel society and the taboos they so desperately avoid. He is the wild spirit to Scarlett’s fire. He represents the realization of what one had when it’s gone. Rhett realizes that he longed for the south of his childhood and not the world he came to be in. “Gone with the Wind” is a love story of two people who aren’t destined to live happily ever after. It’s also a story of death and survival. The death of a world with so much pride that they felt invincible and the survival of the ones who saw that they weren’t. It’s a story of remembering a world long past and learning to live in the world it had become. It’s a story of how hardships can make or break a person. Some people become stronger after struggles while others wither and break apart.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

I read “Les Miserables” for the first time in the 7^th grade after I had finished “Gone with the Wind.” I was drawn to the story of Jean Valjean, a man who struggled to live a life in poverty, strived to live a holy life and escape his criminal past. The story of Fantine who fell in love, became pregnant, abandoned and left to find a life for herself and her child. The story of Cosette, a child who was left in the care of a family who abused her, raised by a mysterious man and learns the missing parts to her story. There are themes of love and forgiveness, social injustices of the French society of the 19^th century and society’s inability to eliminate the rigid class system. The haves still had a lot and the have nots still struggled for their place in the world. The story of a group of students who saw these injustices and fought and died for the resolution. I was given the original Broadway cast recording by my Aunt Fran one Christmas after reading this book. I enjoyed it so much that I also have it memorized and recently enjoyed the movie adaptation. I have not seen the musical on the stage yet but it’s on my bucket list. “Les Miserables” is a story of struggles and injustices but, most importantly, it is also the story of hope, faith and love.

“The Phantom of the Opera,” “Gone with the Wind” and “Les Miserables” are just three of the books that I love and enjoy after many years of reading. Books have been my constant companion. I love books. I introduced books to my daughter at birth. When she’s a little bit older and can understand how to take care of books, we will take trips to the library and she can pick out her favorites. Then she can start her own list of books that speak to her and stay with her as she grows up. I love when I have a stack of books waiting for me to pick it up. I love going to the library and checking out the maximum number of books. When I got the opportunity to review newly published books I jumped on it. I love reading new books and reviewing them for future readers. I love books!