Billy Wilder in Hollywood

Billy Wilder in Hollywood by Maurice Zolotow. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781851452156.

This book is a richly entertaining biography of both screenwriter-director Wilder and his milieu – Hollywood. It is a fascinating montage of a man whose talents and quirks, virtues and faults, are endlessly engrossing. The author presents a richly anecdotal account of the man who, from an inauspicious start in Germany as a paid escort & dancing partner, rose to become the very heart & soul of the film industry. Electrifying opinions of those with whom he has worked and the original casting choices for his films are often Mae West was his first choice for Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard and Mary Pickford was his second! There are numerous black & white photos included.