Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire [Paperback]

Kathleen Sharp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2004

From Hollywood back lots to the Oval Office, here is the authoritative story of super-agent Lew Wasserman and his politically savvy wife Edie. Lew joined the Chicago band-booking agency, MCA, during the peak of cinema's Golden Age, and while he wooed top talent into MCA's stable, Edie socialized with such stars as Jimmy Stewart, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Jane Wyman. Lew became a master producer of television and film, shepherding such blockbusters as Jaws, Animal House, E.T., and Jurassic Park. Edie showed her own genius by cultivating political stars like Bobby and Ted Kennedy, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, the Carters, the Reagans and the Clintons. This first dual biography of the Wassermans is essential reading for everyone interested in movies and television and how power is wielded in America. 16 pages of black and white photographs are included in this enthralling book on the famous couple.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a top executive at MCA, Lew Wasserman was one of the biggest agents in the movie industry, then topped that by becoming one of the most powerful studio heads ever, orchestrating the gradual takeover of Universal Studios starting in 1958. His wife, Edie, was equally powerful in the realm of the "Hollywood Wives," throwing parties where other executive spouses mixed with starlets like Janet Leigh. Sharp, the Boston Globe's Hollywood correspondent, covers much of the same territory as Connie Bruck's recent Wasserman bio, When Hollywood Had a King, but the attention she gives to Edie adds celebrity gossip to the mix as well as a new facet on the matter of MCA's ties to organized crime. She also sheds light on new aspects of Lew's career, like his guiding hand in the development of early videodisc technology. The book clarifies the frosty relationship between Lew and Ronald Reagan while revealing how Reagan may have colluded with MCA while heading the Screen Actors Guild, depriving SAG members of potentially lucrative residual benefits. While Bruck remains a better source on MCA's early years, Sharp offers additional insights into how Wasserman transformed a talent agency into a studio that produced nearly half of all prime-time programming in the late 1970s, then found creative ways to keep all the profits for itself. Drawing upon more than 450 interviews, Sharp blends corporate maneuvering and personal scandals into a gripping portrait of the original power couple. 16-page photo insert not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"He was one of the smartest men I ever met."

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (October 18, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786714190
• ISBN-13: 978-0786714193
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,852,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Inside Scoop at Last - Brilliant!, January 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire (Hardcover)

This is an important book. I've been waiting a long time for someone to report the insider details about how the Wassermans impacted U.S. politics as early as John Kennedy's election, how their mafia ties helped them control and skyrocket their entertainment empire, how Lew himself wheeled and dealed alternately like a king and a common criminal. This man had more federal investigations into his business than Enron, but he came out smelling like a rose every single time. Wonder why? The answers are here. Today, all of us - people around the world - have been shaped by the Hollywood-based entertainment media. How did this happen, and what does it mean to you and the future? For answers large and small, this is the one book to read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood, behind the scenes, August 13, 2008

By 

Jane C. Groff "Grandma Jane" (Fresno, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire (Paperback)

This is a "can't put it down" read. It is very powerful and thoroughly researched book that pulls no punches. Anyone interested in the founding of Hollywood and Universal Studios, the "dirt" on many Hollywood stars, writers, the agents and the social life of the times will love this book. It has very interesting information about Ronald Reagan and his beginnings in politics including his willingness to appease his backers and friends, even at the expense of others. The Wasserman's controlled the film industry and the social life of all involved for many years. I gave my book to a fried and intend to buy another one for my granddaughter. It is a significant History book that will grab everyone's interest.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. & Mrs. Hollywood -please it can only be THE KING & QUEEN!, December 25, 2006

By 

Graham Hill "Movie & TV Historian" (HOLLYWOOD Calif.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood: Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire (Paperback)

Once upon a time... they used to call Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford Hollywood royalty. But from the 1940's through the 1990's, the crown was placed squarely on the heads of Lew and Edie Wasserman. And in Hollywood, there were no arguments over that! Kathleen Sharp has taken on the task of personally interviewing super-agent, super-mogul and super-powerful Lew Wasserman for this book. Sure he spoke to her, but let's face it he was never the type to REALLY disclose anything about himself or his dealings. So Kathleen has had to tread very carefully, threading together bits and pieces from close friends and associates. And they say behind every great man there's a woman, in this case the absolute power behind the throne was Edie. For those that were unfortunate enough to incurr the displeasure of Lew, Edie could be much worse. Yet their good cop, bad cop roles were always inter-changeable. From Cleveland to Hollywood to Washington, their kingdom was no fairy tale. Together they were a team that could build a career or bury it, whether for actors or politicians -that is if there is a difference. They could be both charitable and ruthless, even at the same time. Always defensive of her MCA-UNIVERSAL husband, Edie was the power at home and on the Hollywood social circuit.

It's a good book that concentrates as the title implies on the couple, over other books that have formerly detailed just Lew. Actually, it really compliments "The Last Mogul" dvd which is also available on Amazon. Alas, today's Hollywood is without their like. They're all too busy making money and running, to stand on any ceremony or tradition!