{"product_id":"laird-cregar-9781476678993","title":"Laird Cregar","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e   In 1944, Laird Cregar played Jack the Ripper in \u003ci\u003eThe Lodger\u003c\/i\u003e, giving one of the most haunting performances in Hollywood history. It was the climax of a strange celebrity that saw the young American actor--who stood 6'' 3 and weighed more than 300 pounds--earn distinction as a portrayer of psychopaths and villains. Determined to break free of this typecasting, he desperately desired to become a beautiful man, embarking on an extreme diet that killed him at 31. This first biography of Cregar tells the heartbreaking story of the brilliant but doomed actor. Appendices cover his film, theatre, and radio work. Many never before published photographs are included.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003edecades of research...the author brings Cregar back to vivid life in this culmination of an ‘almost lifelong’ fascination with the actor...as with most good Hollywood biographies, this one interweaves its subject’s life story with the story of the movie business itself...Mank finds joy as well as tragedy in Cregar’s attempt to live his dream...gives rich life to an unknown Hollywood story\"\" - \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\"Mank offers one of the first in-depth studies of Samuel Laird Cregar…a compelling, cautionary tale of an actor who held his own\"\" - \u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\"Mank quotes many people who knew or researched Cregar. The stories are amazing as are the photos...an incredible entertaining opus. As good as anything you have ever read, or will ever read about an actor and name we knew...yet, we really didn’t know\"\" - \u003ci\u003eLittle Shoppe of Horrors\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\"With his hyper-dramatic style and flawless research, Mank has become one of the finest classic film writers\/historians working today, and he has been raising the bar of film scholarship for decades...excellent...Creggar’s life and career has never had the light of  scholarship and film criticism sine on it until now, and there is  so much here to discover and enjoy..the highest recommendation.\"\" - \u003ci\u003eMidnight Marquee\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\"incredibly detailed and meticulously researched\"\" - \u003ci\u003ePop Culture Classics\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAuthor’s Note\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction: The Ripper Incarnate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart I: If You Try to Find Me, I Will Kill Myself\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 Philadelphia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2 The “Secret Heart” Thing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3 A Grotesque\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4 Life in a Sedan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5 Oscar Wilde\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart II: The Lion of the Hour\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6 Success\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7 The Rabbit with the Glass Teeth\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e8 Gooseberry the Great\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e9 He-Goat Lucifer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e10The Saint Bernard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e11 I Wake Up Screaming with Laird Cregar\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart III: Betsey\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e12 Seven Years Old in Hollywood\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e13 The Man Who Shouldn’t Have Come to Dinner\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e14 Quaking Like Jelly\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e15 Riding the Cannon\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e16 Swashbuckler\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e17 The Hideaway and a Sad Farewell\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart IV: “We Want You Just As You Are, Mr. Cregar.”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e18 Who Was Who in the Zoo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e19 Three in 1943\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e20 Horror\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e21 “Don’t Let Him Catch Ya, Dearie!”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e22 “Gloomy Sunday”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e23 The Ripper in Person\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart V: “A Beautiful Man”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e24 Hangover Square’s First Draft, and the Debacle of Laura\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e25 A Failed Romance, a Revised Script, Abbott and Costello Meet Laird Cregar, a Female Stalker, and the Tragedy of Henry VIII\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e26 “The Bette Davis of the 20th Century–Fox Lot”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e27 Blowing Up\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e28 Fox Infernos\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e29 The Last Act\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart VI: Denouement\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e30 What I Wanted for Christmas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e31 Legacy\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e32 A Final Tribute\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFilmography\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheater Credits\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRadio Credits\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnrealized Film Projects\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter Notes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBibliography\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"McFarland \u0026 Co Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51040464634199,"sku":"9781476678993","price":27.54,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781476678993.jpg?v=1750946841","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/laird-cregar-9781476678993","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}