Fleeing the Fates of the Little Rascals [Hardcover]

Laura June Kenny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2004

View, through the eyes of a child and teenager, the scene of growing up in the glamorous Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s! During childhood, the author visited or auditioned at almost every major movie studio in Tinseltown. What was it like to work on the set of Hal Roach's Little Rascals? To be given a screen test with one of Hollywood's greatest directors? To be told "never again to call" the office of Columbia Pictures studio boss, Harry Cohn? To receive from one of the Marx Brothers, the gift of a camera? Author Laura June Kenny experienced all this and more. Her memoir provides a unique look at a Hollywood and a Southern California that is no more, and cannot be replaced. Born disadvantaged in the worst year of the Great Depression, her fate was to be discovered and to be loved by a disparate group of people who inspired her to reach for the "real stars," and thereby find her stardom. Filled with rare photos from the author's own collection, this is the story of a Hollywood moppet turned teacher, writer, public speaker, emcee, wife, mother, grandmother, and what she learned along the way!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born impoverished in the Great Depression's worst year, toddler Laura June Williams found care beyond her family. Foster parents showered her with love, but one show business couple embraced her in the lap of luxury in Hollywood's Golden Era. During childhood, she appeared in several episodes of the Little Rascals and other films. After attending Berkeley and U.C.L.A., Laura June chose to teach young children in both California and Canada.In recent years the author wrote extensively for the Kingston (Ontario) Whig-Standard, and was a weekly columnist for the Pahrump (Nevada) Gazette. She is currently editing the memoirs of two octogenarians, transcribing her own pioneer great-grandmother's 1874-1896 journal, and writing and speaking on end-of-life issues. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse; First Edition edition (August 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1418438618
• ISBN-13: 978-1418438616
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,936,503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply told, persuasive story of a child who survived, December 9, 2004

By 

Jo Ann Cristal, MA - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fleeing the Fates of the Little Rascals (Paperback)

Kenny gives us a dispassionate glimpse into a bright child's mind and heart and the character-shaping events of depression era Hollywood. Her family lived in poverty, their children helping provide support by acting. In contrast, Kenny felt loved by wealthy childless people and was shuttled between two worlds. Her poignant account of pain, resolve, love and rejection, provides a unique glimpse into the destructive possibilities that she was able to overcome.