SELZNICK, IRENE MAYER — A Private View

USA, Alfred A. Knopf. 1983. Hardcover with dust jacket, 24 Cm. Book, 384pp & 800g to post. Irene Mayer came to Hollywood when she was ten. Her childhood was populated with legendary names as her father, Louis B. practically created the movie industry. But life at the Mayers' was not lived in the typical Hollywood style. They believed in family, in strict hours, tiny allowances, no boys, no going away to college, and no socializing with actors. She didn't marry an actor. She married David O. Selznick, a wildly energized, and ambitious man who would go on to make some of the greatest movies Hollywood would ever see. Irene eventually left him, and Hollywood, for New York where she became a Broadway producer. Here she tells her story: about being her father's daughter, her husband's wife, and, finally, herself. "Irene Mayer Selznick offers us a front-row seat at the Hollywood spectacle and we enjoy every moment of it." (Variety) - and this from Wikipedia >> Irene Mayer married producer David O. Selznick in 1930. Her husband came from an extremely dysfunctional but talented family and he was one of the few men who stimulated her intellect. During the marriage, Irene Selznick acted as a hostess to the couple's Hollywood parties. The couple frequently socialized with Hollywood stars including Ingrid Bergman, Janet Gaynor, and Katharine Hepburn. Selznick was also an executive at her husband's production company. Selznick also did volunteer and charity work and worked as a probation officer for juveniles for Los Angeles County during World War II. After separating from her husband in 1945, Irene Selznick moved to New York City where she pursued her love of the theatre. In 1947, she worked with playwright Tennessee Williams and director Elia Kazan and produced her first play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which gave Marlon Brando his break-out role. The play's success brought her a great deal of respect, and she went on to produce four more plays, among them 1955's The Chalk Garden for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She retired in 1961. Considered by her peers within the entertainment industry as one of the foremost historians of Hollywood and Broadway, Selznick published her autobiography A Private View in 1983. Very Good/Very Good/Good.