Michael G. Ankerich

Fascinating and well researched book on silent film star Mae Murray (best known for 1925’s The Merry Widow). For a woman who was always vague in interviews and during her lifetime changed her year of birth from 1885 to 1906 as she got older, author Ankerich did a fantastic job of tracking down and finding out the facts about Murray’s life. The book included interviews with Murray’s son and nephews, neither of whom had an intimate relation with her. Murray’s life could be the model for Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard and it is just too bad that this talented lady could not move on with her life and live in the present. The book presents a good look at the silent film industry and life in vaudeville after the studio system blacklisted Murray. Her decline and loss of fortune to a fortune hunting husband is detailed and Murray’s constant court battles. One thing you can say for Murray is that she always thought of herself as a star. The book contains some fantastic photographs, a complete filmography, and list of theatrical work and lets you know what happened to all of the principal individuals in Murray’s life. Recommended for any fan of silent films or early Hollywood history.… (meer)