6 Quotes by Eve Golden

Anna Held's birthdate and hometown are a dark mystery, thanks to her own mythmaking.

I never took any writing classes or planned to write. But I was working as an advertising copywriter in the late '80s and thought, 'What a shame there has never been a decent book on Jean Harlow,' then thought, 'Why don't I write one myself?' being kind of an idiot and not having the slightest idea what I was getting myself into.

John Gilbert was perfectly willing to jump into talkies. He had as good a voice as Clark Gable. There was such a divide between the silent and talkies. There was no logic to who survived and who didn't.

Groucho Marx continued to alternately call Margaret Dumont “a great lady” and to denigrate her in interviews. But he seemed, at the end, to realize how important she’d been to his career. When accepting his 1974 Lifetime Achievement Oscar, the ailing Groucho told the audience, “I only wish Harpo and Chico could have been here – and Margaret Dumont.

I bumped into every kind of disappointment, and was frustrated at every turn. Roles promised me were given to other players, pictures that offered me a chance were shelved, no one was particularly interested in me, and I had not developed a strength of personality to make anyone believe I had special talents. I wanted so desperately to succeed that I drove myself relentlessly, taking no time off for pleasures, or for friendships.” – Jean Arthur.

Calling Billie Burke a “character actress” is like calling the Grand Canyon “quite a slice.” Though she’s best known for dithering supporting roles in such films as The Wizard of Oz, Topper and Dinner at Eight, Billie was a stage star, silent movie star, and a brilliant dramatic actress as well. Her comic talent was only the tip of the iceberg.