Menu
Mark Borkowski.
Mark My Words
  • Blog
  • About
  • Talks
  • Press
  • Books
  • Social
  • Archive
  • Contact
Close Menu
April 21, 2008

The Fame Formula at London Book Fair

Encouraging news on the book front – http://pfdbooks.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/the-last-day/ PFD,my agents, have been trying to sell the international rights to the book at the London Book Fair. My book, The Fame Formula, hits the bookshops in August. The Fame Formula is an account of how Hollywood’s fixers, fakers and star makers shaped the publicity industry. It is a history of the creators of that industry, who stepped out of circus life carrying the legacy of PT Barnum and applied it to Vaudeville, the movie industry and to the world that sprang from their legacy.

Hopefully I take the reader on a fascinating journey in search of my heroes, starting with Maynard Nottage and Harry Reichenbach at the turn of the twentieth Century when Vaudeville was booming and movies were in their infancy. They thrilled America with their innovative stunts, turning prim actresses into vamps, creating fake sheiks and smuggling animals into hotels to publicize their clients’ movies.

During the Golden Age of Hollywood, when the image of the studios was all important, Nottage and Reichenbach made way for publicists such as Howard Strickling at MGM who ruthlessly manipulated the lives of stars like Clark Gable and Judy Garland. The Fame Formula reveals how the fixers kept scandals out of the press, arranged marriages and even covered up murder.

As the studio system declined and the world saw the rise of the television, the PR industry adapted again with the emergence of press agents like Henry Rogers and Warren Cowan who helped the stars take control of their own images. The Fame Formula charts the slow rise through the 20th Century, in the hands of these practitioners, of today’s celebrity culture.

The book Includes a fame formula that reveals how long any would be star can expect to last in the spotlight – place your orders on Amazon now – please.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fame-Formula-Hollywoods-Publicity-Industry/dp/0283070390/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208777310&sr=1-1

Related Posts

Mark Comments, Uncategorized

Circus showman Gerry Cottle dies with coronavirus aged 75

Mark Comments, Uncategorized

STRIKE A POSE Catwalk Queen Kate Moss has £12m in bank after being top of her game for years

Mark Comments, Uncategorized

Depp faces court of public opinion after libel trial

Recent Posts

  • Circus showman Gerry Cottle dies with coronavirus aged 75
  • The winners and losers of Megxit: One year on from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell announcement, how the Duke’s old school pals and the Queen have lost out while Oprah and even Joe Biden have benefitted
  • Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hired ex-Palace aids despite ‘vipers’ claim
  • ‘I am my mother’s son’: Harry uses a photo of Diana and vows to ‘unleash the power of compassion’ with Meghan on new website for foundation that reveals partnerships with Stanford ‘centre for altruism research’ and ‘humane technology’ charity
  • Archie’s first podcast: Meghan and Harry feature 19-month-old son in star-studded first Spotify episode and coax him into wishing listeners a Happy New Year in his American accent

Previous posts

January 2021
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Dec    

Archives

Back To Top
Mark Borkowski.
  • Blog
  • About
  • Talks
  • Press
  • Books
  • Social
  • Archive
  • Contact
© Mark Borkowski. 2021
Mark My Words
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram