Product Description
Jeanette MacDonald, the movie musical's first superstar, was an American original whose onscreen radiance mirrored a beguiling real-life personality. Based in large part on the author's exclusive access to MacDonald's private papers, including her unpublished memoir, this vivid, often touching biography transports us to a time when lavish musical films were major cultural events and a worldwide public eagerly awaited each new chance to fall under the singer's spell. Edward Baron Turk shows how MacDonald brilliantly earned her Hollywood nickname of "Iron Butterfly," and why she deserves a privileged position in the history of music and motion pictures.

What made MacDonald a woman for our times, readers will discover, was her uncommon courage: Onscreen, the actress portrayed strong charcters in pursuit of deep emotional fulfillment, often in defiance of social orthodoxy, while offscreen she personified energy, discipline, and practical intellect. Drawing on interviews with individuals who knew her and on MacDonald's own words, Turk brings to life the intricate relations between the star and her legendary costars Maurice Chevalier, Clark Gable, and, above all, baritone Nelson Eddy. He reveals the deep crushes she inspired in movie giants Ernst Lubitsch and Louis B. Mayer and the extraordinary love story she shared with her husband of twenty-seven years, actor Gene Raymond.

More than simply another star biography, however, this is a chronicle of American music from 1920s Broadway to 1960s television, in which Turk details MacDonald's fearless efforts to break down distinctions between High Art and mass-consumed entertainment. Hollywood Diva will attract fans of opera and concert music as much as enthusiasts of the great Hollywood musicals. It is first-rate cultural and film history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Well researched truth
This is a wonderful book, well researched and documented, about the greatest star ever to grace the Silver Screen.It portrays her as human, determined, disciplined and loving.If you want the real story of Jeanette MacDonald, read this and not the trashy fiction put out by another author who has created a real 'cash cow' with her lies about Jeanette.And to all of that author's fans, who want so desperately to believe in a doomed love affair, 'Wake up and smell the coffee!'This woman does not admire Jeanette or Nelson nor does she respect them.They are simply her meal ticket and she is eating quite well!

Written as a love story to JM
the book is surely accurate and historically correct and extremely detailed as to star's career and early life, etc. sometimes too detailed...but it is truly a book as a love letter to Jeanette MacDonald. It downplays or excuses any controversy she may have created by her tempers, etc...everything is fine as long as she does it. So as long as you are a diehard fan you will enjoy this well-written book.

Valuable,really,if you read it with two other books!
I gave this book three stars, but that's only if you read it along with Sharon Rich's "Sweethearts" and Elizabeth Clare Prophet's "Soul Mates and Twin Flames". Edward Baron Turk has written a detailed, readable bio of Jeanette, but you must read Sharon Rich's book to get the scoop on Jeanette's relationship with Nelson Eddy, as well as, it certainly seems to me, a much more accurate depiction of her relationship with the man she married, Gene Raymond.Elizabeth Clare Prophet's book tells what Jeanette and Nelson realized -- that they, Jeanette and Nelson, are twin flames (although they didn't quite use that phrase, so it seems), destined to be in love forever.Reading those two books (along with "Hollywood Diva") will give you a wonderful, sweet yet poignant, description of the dramas that twin flames in embodiment on earth mightgo through.The real, fulfilled love is in the ascended realms; Elizabeth Clare Prophet is, I do believe, the planetary expert thereon.The main thrust of her extensive teachings is how to get there!

Hollywood's Golden Diva
I so much enjoyed reading about Jeannette McDonald.The author did an outstanding job with the research.She presented this talented actress and singer in such a perfect light-she talked about her hard working fund raising for the troops and her concert tours.What a great performer.I would have loved to have been able to see her live in concert!

A first rate biography
This was a biography that was hard to put down. Jeanette MacDonald lived an incredibly rich life. She came into her own during a period of time that I have always found fasinating. Beginning her career on the New York stage, she eventually found her way to Hollywood. You definetely got the impression that while Miss. MacDonald treasured her talant and her career, that her personal life was just as important to her. She had a supportive family and eventually a solid marriage to actor Gene Raymond that endured. I found that she had a wonderful sense of humor and a great talent. It made me go out and rent some of her earlier films, the ones she did with the great director, Ernest Lubitsch. Before all of those sugary musicals of the mid 1930's, our Jeanette was quite the coquette! Before the horrible Hay's code was inforced, Jeanette was able to portray some deliously decadent women on film. I loved this book. ... Read more

Product Description
The Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy magazine, Mac/Eddy Today, is now available in twelve book compilations containing the early, out-of-print issues. VOLUME 2: (Issues 6-9) coversthe second MAYTIME (1937) that we know today, co-starring John Barrymore; THE FIREFLY (Jeanette, Allan Jones, 1937), ROSALIE (Nelson, Eleanor Powell, 1937); Jeanette's wedding and pictures of unsmiling Nelson at the ceremony; their first-and troubled-film together after her marriage, THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST (1938). Photo-filled, with rare interviews, includes the original color covers and a new introduction by author Sharon Rich. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Mac/Eddy Today
This is the first magazine I have seen, I loved it. I now have all the Mac/Eddy films and almost all books in print. I have this past year become fixated on these poor people. But I never stop watching the movies over and over. Thanks to Sharon Rice. The entire process of purchasing and delivery was great and pain less.

Mac/Eddy Today: Volume 4, Issues 14-17
Mac/Eddy Today Magazines are the best information around on Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.Sharon Rich is a longtime researcher on the lives of these two great stars. You can be assured that what you read about them is true.The articles are great along with fabulous photos.What more do you need? Settle back with a cup of tea and be transported back to another era! Oh, and make sure you have on one of their great LP's to make the time perfect! ... Read more

Product Description
NELSON EDDY was a tall, fair-haired, classically-trained baritone from the opera and concert world. JEANETTE MacDONALD was a petite redhead who had danced her way out of the chorus to become a musical comedy star on Broadway. Separately and together, they made movie history, starring in some of the greatest musicals of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

You are invited to meet Jeanette and Nelson for the first time or to learn more about their incredible careers. You'll find:
* detailed film credits
* music lists
* historical overviews
* plots for their forty films
* biographical backgrounds
* 591 photos

You'll also find an invitation to fall in love all over again--in love with the music, laughter, romance, and the heightened awareness of life's joys that is generated and personified by these two unique artists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy by Eleanor Knowles
This book is a rich banquet of details about the films that Jeanette and Nelson made together. Beyond that are wonderful details about the stars themselves, the making of the films, tne circumstances and the other stars involved.It is the personal information which so enriches this book. Eleanor brings them to life in detail and with hundreds of wonderful pictures.. Eleanor is a fabulous writer who has brought these two to life for the reader to remember or learn about for the first time.
This is a must for every movie buff and for all those who remember the Golden Years when these twoStars ruled the musical screen.

wonderful
There are no words to describe this wonderful book and Jeanette Macdonald and Nelson Eddy I always enjoy to have any thing that reminds them.

A book for all true movie buffs!
Eleanor Knowles' book on the films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy is the sort you keep coming back to. Each time you walk past it on your coffee table, you open at a page, read and are transported back to the Golden Era of movies. For someone who loves to find out all the little "behind the scenes" bits and pieces, this book is ideal. There is so much of interest. All the backgound information on the two stars, the cast of their films, how the films evolved - makes for interesting reading. Too many people have the misconception that once MacDonald and Eddy's film careers finished that they "disappeared off into the sunset of retirement". Not so. Eleanor presents two people who worked in various fields as long as they were able.If possible, Eleanor has improved on her original book and presents an intelligent, well-researched and lovingly crafted tome that should be on any serious movie buff's book shelf!

A magnificent document of a Golden Era in film musicals
The original edition of this authoritative book provided me with many happy memories during my childhood and I was delighted to learn of its recent expanded and updated reissue. My glossy new copy has pride of place in my home!

Eleanor Knowles passion for these immortal personalities is obvious and shines on every page. She delivers a thoroughly detailed document leaving no stone unturned. The splendid THE FILMS OF JEANETTE MACDONALD AND NELSON EDDY is a landmark book in this genre and deserves to be in every public and private library. It is something one returns to to learn from the past. Profound thanks!

The Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, 2006
In the midst of all the wonderful detail every movie buff relishes, Eleanor Knowles never forgets a constant focus on Nelson and Jeanette, both as real people and Hollywood icons. Never bogging down in academic language, she writes with intensity, accuracy, and humor, in a direct style everyone can understand. If you are looking for definitive reference material or reflective insight on MacDonald and Eddy and those who surrounded them, it'sall here. This re-edited edition is chock full of new information, and Ms. Knowles is THE authority to put it all together. Wow! ... Read more

Product Description
A runaway best seller in 1910, forgotten by 1930, FLorence L. Barclay's novel THE ROSARY was re-discovered by movie star Nelson Eddy in 1948 as a possible film vehicle for himself and screen singing partner, Jeanette MacDonaldA new introduction by MacDonald-Eddy authority Sharon Rich explains their attempts to make a film version and the ironic similarities to the main characters of the book. "The story is so like the course of our own lives it was amazing." wrote Jeanette MacDonald to Nelson Eddy in a 1948 letter. "It is such a beautiful story." Includes comments from MacDonald and Eddy and rare photos of the beloved film stars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Wonderful View of the Past
"The Rosary" is from a very different world to the one we know now. It is a well written, gentle book that sucks the reader in until the very last page. It would have made an ideal vehicle for a Mac/Eddy film as Nelson Eddy originally planned. The forward by Sharon Rich with comments by Jeanette Macdonald and Nelson Eddy add poignancy to the story as it was so close to their own. Highly recommended.

Could have been a good one for them.
Too bad they did'nt make a movie of this one. It was so similer to their own lives. Beautiful & loving story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Parts of this book go in the category of silly!!
This was the first of your books I read for a total of 2 and I do not recommend it because of your tearing down of nelson eddy. I am of the belief these 2 were deeply in love and your rendition of a happy marriageto Mr. Raymond is laughable!Grace Moore did not want out of rose marieNelson wanted her out!Please get your facts straight Mr. Parrish or talkwith the right people! ... Read more

Product Description
Famed film couple—"America’s Singing Sweethearts" of the 1930s and ‘40s—represented by two dolls and 25 authentic and beautifully rendered costumes from eight films, including "Naughty Marietta," "Bittersweet," "Maytime," "The Girl of the Golden West," "Sweethearts," "Rose Marie," "New Moon" and "I Married an Angel."
... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Beautiful images
I have been an admirer of Jeanette and Nelson most of my life and having paper dolls to look at is wonderful.They are beautifully done.

very nice
Who love Jeanette Macdonald and Nelson Eddy will accept them in any shpe.

Nelson and MacDonald
These paper dolls are not up to Tom Tierney's usual standard.The dolls themselves are well drawn, but some of the costumes are too bright in color and look as if they've been drawn by someone else (eg the lace gown from "Maytime", the ballgown from "Naughty Marietta", to name just two). It would have been good to include more of the wonderful contemporary costumes designed by Adrian for Miss MacDonald, instead of focusing almost exclusively on the period/theatrical pieces.

This is a "must have" for the collector...
The Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy paper dolls are a collectors dream.So artistically beautiful and inbrilliant magnificent color.I reccomend purchasing several just in case you might want to actually cut one up for playful purposes. It's truly a fun collectable item to have.

This is a "must have" for the collector...
The Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy paper dolls are a collectors dream.So artistically beautiful and inbrilliant magnificent color.I reccomend purchasing several just in case you might want to actually cut one up for playful purposes. It's truly a fun collectable item to have.Michelle Gallina ... Read more

Product Description
Since 1977, Mac/Eddy Today has been the authoritative magazine for fans of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Volume 8 covers the 1950s.j ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

For MacDonald/Eddy fans
The magazine compilations are full of wonderful photos and articles.And, not only for diehard MacDonald/Eddy fans, but for all the world to appreciate these two wonderful singers who have brought such joy and pleasure to a world that needs their contribution.A great purchase! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great collection of pictures of Jeanette MacDonald
Sharon Rich has pulled together an outstanding collection of black-and-white photographs of the great musical star Jeanette MacDonald.This book contains hundreds of photos of Jeanette, her costars, family and associates, ranging from lovely formal portraits to funny "gag" shots (like the dog house she had herself rolled onto the set of "Naughty Marietta" in to apologize to the director, W.S. Van Dyke, for a goof she had made, and a boxing match between herself and Nelson Eddy staged to promote "Sweethearts").Strongly recommended; buy this in conjunction with the Citadel Press book _The Complete Films of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy_, also available through Amazon Marketplace. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1892 a young Scotswoman arrived in Australia to become the first principal of the new Women's College at the University of Sydney. For over a decade she wrote weekly letters to her friend and mentor in London, Eleanor Grove. Extracts from Louisa's letters tell the story of the early days of the Women's College and offer an insider's view of life at the University and in Sydney in the 1890s. As principal of the Women's College, Louisa Macdonald was one of Sydney's leading women, and participated in almost every women's organisation of the period. She was involved in campaigns for suffrage and against workplace exploitation, and made a major contribution to the higher education of women. Letters from Louisais an engaging account of the contribution of one of Australia's early feminists. 'This is much more than the story of the founding of a much-loved institution of learning. It's a timely reminder of the women and men of Sydney who believed in it and supported it, and it's moving evidence that in the 1890s women needed the same self-belief to resist being marginalised and deprived as they do in the 1990s, even if the reasons are differ ... Read more

Product Description
The British scientist, Hugh MacDonald Sinclair (1910-1990), is best remembered for his belief that diets deficient in essential fatty acids are the cause of most degenerative illnesses, including coronary heart disease. Sinclair's forceful arguments on this matter preceded firm scientific evidence, however; and his self-experimentation, including the infamous 100 day seal-meat diet, were the subject of widespread ridicule and professional ruin. Fine Wine and Fish Oil explores the facts behind Sinclair's rise and fall, and finds a complex story involving family life, personal ambition, and the schism between the academic pursuit of knowledge and the use of information for the public good. Much of the story is set against the events of the Second World War, and the struggle to feed people on limited rations as a means of sustaining both human health and the defence of the nation.The study of human nutrition during the twentieth century provides the thread that binds these events together. ... Read more

Product Description
A romantic chronicle of the careers of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, featuring dozens of photographs, many hitherto unpublished, and including interviews with Irene Dunne, Myrna Loy, and others, reveals, for the first time, their off-screen love affair. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Good source, but don't believe everything in it.
A good source for information on the on and off-screen love affair between Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. There are not many books out there than suggest that their love affair was even a possibility.

Full of accounts of suicide attempts, physical and emotional breakdowns, breakups and reconciliations, and other tragedies, there is an upside to all this: The deep and abiding love between two very intense, talented, and passionate human beings.

The book remainds a good source, but I was put off by the many spelling and grammatical errors in the book. A good editor should have caught these. And the reliance on too many secondary and "anonymous" sources was off-putting as well. Some of the claims could indeed have been better substantiated.
All in all, I believe in the romance of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald due to the BETTER sources in the book, plus the feeling I get when watching their movies. You could SEE they were in love with each other.
In closing, I would recommend the book as a valuable starting tool for learning about one of the most popular duos of the 1930's. But please keep an open mind.

Sucessfully engrossing examination
An eye-opener! If you loved Jeanette Mac Donald and Nelson Eddy, you'll love this revealing book.

Both THUMBS UP for this Book! Long Live Jeanette & Nelson!
I've read both new biographys of Jeanette MacDonald and I would really recommend this one.The one written by Mr. Turk is a sugar-coated silly tribute to Gene Raymond.Jeanette and Nelson were obvioulsy very much in love.This seems evident by just how they looked at one another.Both of them seem somewhat lost today.It's really a shame that society has sunk so low.We can only hope that their kind will come back sometime soon!This book is such a good read and very entertaining while still being very honest and candid.I too have first hand knowledge by way of another Hollywood Luminary, none other than Ann Sothern who was a frequent co-star with Gene Raymond in the 1930's and a fellow player at MGM in the early 1940's.Ms. Sothern shared some very interesting facts regarding the MacDonald/Eddy relationship.It is such a shame that they were not able to live a life together.Many years from now, the written words and gossip will all be forgotten, but the films they made for us will live forever.Thanks Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald from the bottom of my heart for sharing your wonderful talents with us, We all hope you are singing together forever more!

Truth Will Out
At last, something other than those family "authorized" bios defending the status quo. Nelson & Jeanette had a 35 year love affair, well documented in this book. Despite their gorgeous voices, looks and talent, there was no happy ending for these sweethearts. Let's hope this book will dispell some of the myths about happy marriages, that were dismal failures and circumstances that conspired to keep these lovers apart. With this book, those who still deny their love will have to face reality.

Two thumbs up--Awesome Book! Where's the Movie Version?
I read both the 1994 edition and the new 2001 updated paperback edition of "Sweethearts." Both are excellent, well-written, well-researched and tear-jerkers! I like the new chapter that tells how Miss Rich met and became friends with Jeanette's sister Blossom, who got her started on this story. Also in the new version I counted 56 pages of meticulous source notes, including reproductions of letters (from previously annonymous sources who have since died)for those who have to see it to believe it, Gene Raymond's arrest log, FBI files, etc. Famous people who are still alive and knew about the Jeanette-Nelson romance are quoted by name. No documentation? Get real! Arguing that Mayer was called "Louie B." in the book is a minus point? He WAS called either that or L.B. to his name--and a lot worse names behind his back! Nelson Eddy called him "Louie B." in interviews, so what is the problem here? Also, so what if some of the author's sources who are still living haven't decided to turn over private letters to a library. It has no bearing on the validity of those letters. Miss Rich played a lengthy videotape in Los Angeles last year at a Mac/Eddy luncheon of the owner of some of the letters. The elderly woman held the original letters up to the camera and read lengthy selections out loud, even some of the more graphic ones. Word for word, they were exactly as quoted in the book. Bottom line: Nelson Eddy bedded Jeanette MacDonald, as often as he could, it seems. So get over it! All I want to know is, Miss Rich, where's the movie version? We're waiting impatiently! I'm certain even the younger generation can learn from this tragic story of two people who discovered too late how much they loved each other. But until the movie is made, I highly recommend the book for any fan of old Hollywood or anyone who wants to read a true-life "Romeo and Juliet." ... Read more

Product Description
"Perhaps the most unbelievable note I ever received backstage was between the second and third act of [the opera] Romeo and Juliet. It read: 'Please sing "The Indian Love Call" during the next intermission.'"

So writes Jeanette MacDonald in her unpublished autobiography. This book tells the fascinating story of that ill-fated project and includes an incomplete, unpolished edition dating from summer 1960. Written in collaboration with movie magazine writer Fredda Dudley Balling, the typewritten manuscript has Jeanette's hand-written comments and corrections all over it. She crossed out certain sensitive passages and entire pages but the full manuscript is reproduced so that today's reader can experience it uncensored.

How much did the beloved MGM singing star reveal? Did she tell the truth about her life? Her career? Her purported first marriage to Bob Ritchie? Her Hollywood marriage to Gene Raymond? Her romance with co-star Nelson Eddy? What did Balling think of their collaboration...and the final book? Why did Jeanette need a ghost writer and why was this mysterious book never published?

MacDonald biographer Sharon Rich answers these questions. She has fully annotated the manuscript, providing reality checks, extensive background data and tragic new information about Jeanette's final years. Also included is Fredda Balling's correspondence about the project and working with MacDonald. The book includes a filmography, photos and a rare color picture gallery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Terrific piece of unknown Hollywood History
Its always fascinating to see what a celebrity has to say about their time in the limelight even if its seen through a gauze towards rewriting history. This is another fascinating insight into the world of Jeanette during her heyday. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy. During the 1930s and 1940s she starred in 29 feature films, four nominated for Best Picture Oscars, and recorded extensively, earning three gold records. She later appeared in grand opera, concerts, radio, and television. MacDonald was one of the most influential sopranos of the 20th century, introducing grand opera to movie-going audiences and inspiring a generation of singers. ... Read more