An illustrated look at the lives and careers of the sexiest women of the 1950s. From major star to starlet, author Richard Koper shows that gentlemen still perfer blondes!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
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Richard Koper, who has written very pleasing books about actresses Joi Lansing and Barbara Nichols, assembles an enormous cast of fabulous ladies for Fifties Blondes, "an illustrated look at the lives and careers of the sexiest women of the 1950s." Joi and Barbara are included, of course, as are all of the usual suspects: Marilyn, Jayne, Mamie, Kim, Diana Dors, Anita Ekberg, Cleo Moore, Beverly Michaels, and others who modeled themselves on MM. In addition, Koper includes those he describes as "sexy blondes who made a career in B-movies, from Westerns to the teenage genre," and "actresses who turned blonde during their movie careers and got sexier roles because of this hair color change."
The main part of this thoroughly illustrated book is comprised of essays describing the screen work and personal lives of 54 actresses, and a lengthy illustrated appendix that gives capsule information about another 46. Koper's thoroughness is a marvel. Even the most dedicated fans of Fifties films may not already be familiar with such knockouts as June Cunningham, Dani Crayne, Kathy Marlowe, Jill Adams, Sheree Winton, Roxanne Arlen, Gloria Pall, or the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Helene Stanton. These were not prolific actresses, but they had sex appeal and indisputable screen impact. Though obscure, they earned their places in film history.
B-movie buffs will get their fix with the inclusion of June Kenney, Mari Blanchard, the achingly pretty Kathleen Hughes, Leigh Snowden, Peggie Castle, the lovely Marian Carr, Jeanne Carmen, talented and gorgeous Merry Anders, and many, many others.
Koper neatly tells the story of every one of his subjects, combining biographical information with career narratives. Particularly significant films and roles are given special attention.... Read more ›
The main part of this thoroughly illustrated book is comprised of essays describing the screen work and personal lives of 54 actresses, and a lengthy illustrated appendix that gives capsule information about another 46. Koper's thoroughness is a marvel. Even the most dedicated fans of Fifties films may not already be familiar with such knockouts as June Cunningham, Dani Crayne, Kathy Marlowe, Jill Adams, Sheree Winton, Roxanne Arlen, Gloria Pall, or the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Helene Stanton. These were not prolific actresses, but they had sex appeal and indisputable screen impact. Though obscure, they earned their places in film history.
B-movie buffs will get their fix with the inclusion of June Kenney, Mari Blanchard, the achingly pretty Kathleen Hughes, Leigh Snowden, Peggie Castle, the lovely Marian Carr, Jeanne Carmen, talented and gorgeous Merry Anders, and many, many others.
Koper neatly tells the story of every one of his subjects, combining biographical information with career narratives. Particularly significant films and roles are given special attention.... Read more ›
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
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This is a great book. If you want to learn about all the actresses in the fifties that were trying to take the limelight off Marilyn Monroe this is it. This is a well researched and written book. The only fault is when you try to cover too many subjects you must cut short on some of the information. I am biased because this is my favorite period of movies and I enjoy reading about each and every one of these ladies. I have written two books on actress Jayne Mansfield, and feel like i could write 20 more. I would love to see a whole book written about the underated Sheree North, I am so glad that she is featured in this book. Richard is writing a book about Jayne and I cant wait to read it.On the whole, dont think about it, just buy it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun and Delectable Romp with Some Platinum and Honey-Haired Goddesses!
May 17, 2010
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"Classic Hollywood" archivist par excellence, Holland's Richard Koper, has delivered an extremely appealing and visually striking look at the sexiest blonde bombshells and flaxen-haired starlets that won the hearts of movie fans everywhere in the glittering and garish 1950s.
This reviewer was delighted to see not only so many of his personal favorites contained here (including Merry Anders, Mari Blanchard, Marian Carr [a GORGEOUS woman], Peggie Castle [ditto], Myrna Dell, June Kenney, Barbara Lawrence, the tragic Belinda Lee and Lila Leeds, the outrageous, and somehow, largely forgotten Peggy June Maley, Dolores Michaels, the unforgettable Barbara Payton, Fay Spain, Karen Steele, the ABSOLUTELY LUSCIOUS Sally Todd, and Kerry Vaughn), but also a few women whose work and lovely countenance had totally escaped his attention until know (including Lucy Knoch, Diana Mumby, and Sandra Wirth).
Richard Koper has plumbed the depths of several big-time and obscure photo archives worldwide to compile this knockout collection of glamourous portraits, scene stills and pin-up art, while adding his own sparkling and knowledgable commentary throughout. The end result is a winning project, lovingly compiled and rendered, and one which I hope will be just the first of many similar-themed books from this extremely talented man. Highly Recommended!!!
This reviewer was delighted to see not only so many of his personal favorites contained here (including Merry Anders, Mari Blanchard, Marian Carr [a GORGEOUS woman], Peggie Castle [ditto], Myrna Dell, June Kenney, Barbara Lawrence, the tragic Belinda Lee and Lila Leeds, the outrageous, and somehow, largely forgotten Peggy June Maley, Dolores Michaels, the unforgettable Barbara Payton, Fay Spain, Karen Steele, the ABSOLUTELY LUSCIOUS Sally Todd, and Kerry Vaughn), but also a few women whose work and lovely countenance had totally escaped his attention until know (including Lucy Knoch, Diana Mumby, and Sandra Wirth).
Richard Koper has plumbed the depths of several big-time and obscure photo archives worldwide to compile this knockout collection of glamourous portraits, scene stills and pin-up art, while adding his own sparkling and knowledgable commentary throughout. The end result is a winning project, lovingly compiled and rendered, and one which I hope will be just the first of many similar-themed books from this extremely talented man. Highly Recommended!!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By James Scott
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Richard Koper has written a great and much needed book on several of the most overlooked actresses of the 50's. Joi Lansing, Diana Dors, Judy Bamber and dozens of others are profiled here with breif bios and plenty of photos. A must have book! James.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Fifties Blondes covers a wide mix of ladies of the silver screen of the Fifties. Every entry in the book is illustrated by vintage photos altogether presenting hundreds of scarce and vintage posed-for-glamour shots from one the biggest private collections ever. The whole oeuvre brings back lots of memories of a style and time gone by. And there are lots of surprises, even for fans who think they already know every glamour gal of the 1950s. Giving a wonderful stroll down memory lane, that book is an highly recommended must for every Baby Boomer and fan of this stylish period! A true gem for every connoisseur of that period!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful compendium of the golden-haired ladies of the 1950's!
February 15, 2012
BearManor Media is rapidly becoming a publisher to watch when it comes to good, inexpensive books on off-the-beaten-path movie and pop culture topics (I will be looking soon at "Foxy Lady: The Authorized Biography of Lynn Bari" and "The Films of Mamie Van Doren" from the same imprint). This book is a terrific compilation of basic bios/filmographies and LOTS of first-rate photos of the blonde beauties of 1950's films, both famous and obscure, all the way from Marilyn Monroe to Cleo Moore. Richard Koper has obviously done his homework on a subject he loves, two things which are always big plus'es for me whenever I review a book. I'd give it a full five stars except that the physical presentation is rather more mundane than the topic deserves; this really should be an oversized paperback or, better yet, an oversized hardback, with higher-quality paper and a good selection of color photos. Maybe as BearManor develops and gets more resources, Koper will be able to put out a really high-quality updated edition. Actually, I'd love it if he'd find a way to move his previous books on Joi Lansing and Barbara Nichols from their current publisher (which charges sky-high prices) to BearManor, whose books are uniformly affordable. All the same, I'm delighted to add this volume to my classic-actress library!
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