Hollywood Heyday ― 75 Movie Legends Discuss Their Golden Age Careers

“What audacity!” exclaimed Robert Wagner when he heard about the authors’ adolescent exploits in nabbing interviews with celebrities of Hollywood’s Golden Age. In 1978, David Fantle and Tom Johnson, St. Paul teenagers fresh out of high school, boarded a plane to meet with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. On a lark, they had written the two stars requesting interviews—to their amazement, both had agreed. Over the years, more than 250 other stars also agreed—Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, George Burns, Rod Steiger, Milton Berle, Frank Capra and Hoagy Carmichael, to name a few. Published for the first time and with exclusive photos, this selection of 75 interviews chronicles the authors’ 40-year quest for wisdom, insights and anecdotes from iconic artists who defined 20th century American popular culture.

David A. Fantle has been interviewing, writing and speaking about Hollywood's Golden Age stars for 40 years where his work has appeared in media outlets throughout the world. He is an adjunct professor in film and pop culture at Marquette University and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Tom Johnson was a senior editor at Netflix and has written movie reviews and features for E! Online, Moviefone and People magazine, among other publications. He lives in Los Angeles, California.