The Golden Age of Hollywood is generally considered to be the period from the 1930s to the 1950s when the studio system reigned supreme and produced many of the greatest films ever made. Actor Robert Wagner was born at the beginning of this era and grew up in Bel Air, California. He remembers seeing Hollywood and especially Beverly Hills grow from countryside to the home of the stars. This isn't a book of gossip or of who did what to whom. Instead it's about the growth of the areas where the studios grew up and the movie moguls and stars built their mansions, the restaurants and favorite night spots, who gave the best and/or most elaborate parties, and the people who made it all happen. Because Wagner grew up there and had a contract with 20th Century-Fox as a young man, he knew and worked with many of the most famous of that era. He includes many reminiscences of time spent with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Wagner bemoans the loss of that glamorous time. Some parts are rather slow but for classic movie buffs there is a lot to enjoy. However, I couldn't help hearing Wagner's distinctive voice in my head, narrating as I read the book.
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