Blog Archives

Ghosts of the Savoy

Posted on October 31, 2022 by ronbase — Leave a comment

Seated on a banquette in a corner of the Savoy Hotel’s iconic American Bar, sipping one of Priscilla’s Buck Fizzes, the celebrated ghosts of the hotel’s legendary past swirl around. The 2022 Savoy is a sleek modern, beautifully run hotel…

Tagged with: American Bar, Death at the Savoy, Downton Abbey, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, London, Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward, Prudence Emery, Richard Burton, Savoy Hotel, Scandal at the Savoy
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Black Snake: The Forgotten Life of George Raft

Posted on July 2, 2015 by ronbase — 5 Comments

Please click HERE to download The Confidence Man The difference between Humphrey Bogart and George Raft came down to this: Bogey was an actor; Raft was a gangster. Bogart acted tough. Raft was tough. Raft conspired to ensure…

Tagged with: Aljean Harmetz, Billy Wilder, Bugsy Siegel, Casablanca, Dead End, Double Indemnity, Edward G. Robinson, Fred MacMurray, Gary Cooper, George Raft, Hal Wallis, High Sierra, Howard Hawks, Humphrey Bogart, Jack Warner, James Cagney, John Garfield, John Huston, Owney Madden, Paramount Pictures, Raoul Walsh, Round Up the Usual Suspects, Sam Goldwyn, Scarface, The Maltese Falcon, The Sea Wolf, W.R. Burnett, Warner Baxter, Warner Bros
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Gary Cooper, The Confidence Man, and the Ghosts of Old Hollywood

Posted on May 23, 2015 by ronbase — 1 Comment

What fascinated me most researching the Los Angeles of 1928 for my new novel, The Confidence Man, was the lost world of movies I encountered. That was the year, as any film buff knows, sound movies were introduced (most notably…

Tagged with: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California, Charles Farrell, Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, Cuba, Delores del Rio, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Gary Cooper, George Raft, Gerardo Machado, Hollywood, Jobyna Ralston, John Gilbert, Lillac Time, Los Angeles, Margaret Herrick Library, Rene Rich, silent movies, talkies, The Confidence Man, The Fleet's In, The Toilers, The Virginian, University of Southern California, Wings
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Me and the Duke

Posted on November 15, 2011 by ronbase — 2 Comments

In 1975, I went down to Newport Beach, California to interview John Wayne at the rambling seaside bungalow where he had lived for ten years. Wayne promptly pumped me full of tequila, a drink I had never had before, and…

Tagged with: Brannigan, Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda, Howard Hawks, John Ford, John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Newport Beach, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, The Searchers, The Shootist, The Toronto Sun
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