The Culture Broker: Franklin D. Murphy and the Transformation of Los Angeles [Hardcover]

Margaret Leslie Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2007

Franklin Murphy? It's not a name that is widely known; even during his lifetime the public knew little of him. But for nearly thirty years, Murphy was the dominant figure in the cultural development of Los Angeles. Behind the scenes, Murphy used his role as confidant, family friend, and advisor to the founders and scions of some of America's greatest fortunes--Ahmanson, Rockefeller, Ford, Mellon, and Annenberg--to direct the largesse of the wealthy into cultural institutions of his choosing. In this first full biography of Franklin D. Murphy (1916-994), Margaret Leslie Davis delivers the compelling story of how Murphy, as chancellor of UCLA and later as chief executive of the Times Mirror media empire, was able to influence academia, the media, and cultural foundations to reshape a fundamentally provincial city. The Culture Broker brings to light the influence of L.A.'s powerful families and chronicles the mixed motives behind large public endeavors. Channeling more than one billion dollars into the city's arts and educational infrastructure, Franklin Murphy elevated Los Angeles to a vibrant world-class city positioned for its role in the new era of global trade and cross-cultural arts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Franklin D. Murphy (1916–1994) may not be a household name, but, as Davis (Dark Side of Fortune: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles) shows in this informative biography, he was singularly influential in the academic, journalistic and artistic development of Los Angeles. Once dubbed the doge of that city, he left an indelible imprint on UCLA, of which he was chancellor during the '60s and expanded its academic programs to make it a world-class university (he resigned in 1968, beleaguered to the point of depression by student protesters on one hand and conservative alumni and politicians on the other); on the media, as CEO of Times Mirror, the parent company of the Los Angeles Times; on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, as a philanthropist and trustee. Because Davis tells not just Murphy's story but the story of Los Angeles coming into its own, many important Californians—Ronald Reagan, fund-raiser Dorothy Chandler, Eldridge Cleaver—make cameo appearances. Although Davis occasionally gets bogged down in the minutiae of institutional history, this is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the history of California or of American higher education. 33 b&w photos. (July)
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From the Inside Flap

"Los Angeles as a cultural capital did not exist in 1960 when Franklin D. Murphy, M.D., rode into town. Over the ensuing thirty years, more than any other single individual, it was he who put it on the cultural map. In a brilliant work that includes a set of now-it-can-be-told institutional histories, Margaret Leslie Davis writes the history of an exceptional city at an exceptional time through the life story of a little-known but utterly exceptional man."--Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize winner and Distinguished Professor of English, University of California, Irvine

"Rarely has a city and a man been better suited to one another. In this fascinating biography, Margaret Leslie Davis tells us how one man--as chancellor, corporate leader, and cultural entrepreneur--supercharged the transformation of a regional city into a world-class metropolis."--Kevin Starr, Professor, University of Southern California, and former California State Librarian

"Once again, Margaret Leslie Davis has chosen a fascinating subject and produced a compelling--and revelatory--biography. Franklin D. Murphy may not have been the most visible architect of the 'new' Los Angeles but he may well have been the single most influential figure of his time, leaving his fingerprints on everything from the expanded UCLA to the Getty Center. Anyone who lives in 21st century L.A. should learn about the man who shaped the city's culture as we know it."--Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian

"Franklin D. Murphy left an enormous imprint on Los Angeles because he touched so many different spheres. Thankfully, Murphy has a biographer whose protean knowledge rivals her subject's. Margaret Leslie Davis's fluency across topics--medicine and education; art and architecture; industry and media; philanthropy, politics and civic affairs--is absolutely stunning."--Rick Wartzman, Los Angeles Times columnist and author of The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire

"At the height of his cultural and educational authority, Franklin Murphy was everywhere in Los Angeles. In this fine biography, Margaret Leslie Davis has traced his extraordinary influence and legacy. The Culture Broker is a careful tracing of the life and work of arguably the most important cultural figure in all of 20th century Los Angeles."--William Deverell, Director, Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 495 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (August 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520224957
• ISBN-13: 978-0520224957
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,028,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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