Search results for ""Author Stephen C. Jordan""

Artist John Decker was born in Germany in 1895, but found his fame in Hollywood during the 1930s and '40s. At the age of 13, he was abandoned by his parents in London, where he found work painting scenery for the theatre circuit. Taken under the wing of a talented forger, Decker developed a remarkable ability to recreate works by the old Masters—a skill that helped land him in jail, but also brought him thousands of dollars throughout his life. After stowing away to America in 1921, Decker became a caricaturist for a New York paper. In 1928 he left for Hollywood and became friends with many of its biggest names, including John Barrymore, Errol Flynn, and W. C. Fields. Though Decker struggled to find film work as an artist and set designer, his drawings appeared in numerous publications from coast to coast. He was commissioned to do paintings of, among others, the Marx Brothers, Greta Garbo, Mickey Rooney, and Charlie Chaplin (who bought twelve of his portraits). Eventually, Decker's paintings were exhibited in Rome, New York, and Los Angeles, and his creations graced museum walls alongside many of the great artists, including Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Daumier. Stories on Decker, his art, and his exhibitions, appeared in all the major newspapers, as well as such magazines as Esquire, Time, and Newsweek. With all of his amazing talent—and scandalous exploits—it's surprising that the name of John Decker isn't more familiar today. In Bohemian Rogue: The Life of Hollywood Artist John Decker, author Stephen C. Jordan seeks to resurrect this forgotten figure of 20th century art. Jordan delves into the mystery of a man who overcame a difficult childhood and notorious apprenticeship to become a respected artist (and outrageous party-giver) in Hollywood. Bohemian Rogue chronicles the relatively brief—but eccentric—life of this neglected painter, caricaturist, and sculptor.

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In the 1930s and '40s an untamed group of Hollywood notables, men most well-known for their talents on the silver screen, frequently met and behaved in a manner that no doubt made them infamous within their community. For a brief period, their insatiable appetites for women and strong drink made them the lives of the party. The group included the likes of actors John Barrymore, Errol Flynn, W. C. Fields, and Anthony Quinn; writers Gene Fowler, Will Fowler, and Ben Hecht; art critic Sadakichi Hartmann; and the man who stood at the center of this gang of mischief-makers, eccentric artist John Decker. Additional characters who were regulars on the scene included Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert Hillyer, artist and goldsmith Philip Paval, and actors Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, John Carradine, Burgess Meredith, Roland Young, and Lionel Barrymore. In time the group would be known as the Bundy Drive Boys-named for the location of their favorite hangout, Decker's home and art studio-and their adventures would become legendary, if not downright scandalous. In Hollywood's Original Rat Pack: The Bards of Bundy Drive, Stephen C. Jordan revisits the lives and times of this free-spirited gang and rekindles the spirit of their excesses. In this lighthearted history, Jordan introduces the members of the Bundy Drive Boys and then focuses on the unique personality traits each offered. Stardom or wealth had nothing to do with membership. Rather, entry into their informal circle of actors, artists, writers, and poets required uniqueness of character. The group was often cynical, but always poetically so, and never sentimental. They enjoyed each other's company as friends, philosophers, poets, humorists, critics, and especially heavy drinking companions. Hollywood's Original Rat Pack brings their lusty stories of carousing and debauchery to life in a manner that pays tribute to their carefree, if admittedly reckless, antics. A tribute to an all but forgotten era of Hollywood, this book will no doubt fascina

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