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Contact: Greg@gregorymank.com
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PLATINUM WIDOW: WHO KILLED JEAN HARLOW'S HUSBAND?
PORTER DOWN HOLLYWOOD MYSTERY #2
IS NOW AVAILABLE!
I am thrilled to announce that Platinum Widow: Who
Killed Jean Harlow’s Husband? has been published
by BearManor Media! The second in my Porter Down
Hollywood Mystery series can be ordered from the
or - better yet - can be purchased directly from the
author (me) if you are attending either of the two
conventions at which I will be selling books and
giving presentations within the next several months
(see details below).
Hollywood’s Golden Age lives again with a
vengeance in this manic mix of fact and fiction!
The death of Paul Bern, 65 days (and nights) after his
marriage to Platinum Blonde Bombshell, Jean Harlow,
is perhaps the most infamous of Hollywood's unsolved deaths. P. I. Porter Down witnesses the "true" events of the sordid and heart-breaking saga involving many historical Hollywood (and gangster) personages who were involved in some way with what happened during Labor Day weekend 1932. And ultimately, the book offers a fictional - but credible - solution to Bern's death based on the real-life events of 90-years-ago.
Please let me know how you like this narrative of the further adventures of Hollywood's ace-sleuth, Porter Down.
OF MICE AND MEN
As mentioned in my last website update, my book Of Mice and Men: Mental Enfeeblement, Racism, and Mercy-Killing in 1939 Hollywood, is a nominee for the Richard Wall Memorial Award, which honors books on Film and Broadcasting. This award is given by the Theatre Library Association, c/o the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts. The winning book is selected by committee and will be announced in the fall of 2023.
Researching and writing this book, published by BearManor, was a joy for me and it's great to see it receiving this recognition.
Of Mice and Men was a Best Picture Oscar nominee in 1939, “Hollywood’s Greatest Year,” and shattered taboos that film producers had never dared to challenge. Via access to studio archives that had been crated away for 80 years, the project became a virtual time machine back to the controversial casting and production of this haunting, heartbreaking film. It also covers the private lives of its three brilliant stars – Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, and Lon Chaney, Jr.
Of Mice and Men: Mental Enfeeblement, Racism, and Mercy-Killing in 1939 Hollywood is available from BearManor Media at OMM-BearManor and
Amazon at OMM-Amazon
MONSTER BASH CONVENTION – JUNE, 2023
and
MID-ATLANTIC NOSTALGIA CONVENTION – SEPTEMBER, 2023
I'll be giving a power-point presentation on Of Mice and Men at both the Monster Bash Convention (my talk is scheduled for 4 P.M. on Saturday June 17, 2023 at the Marriott Pittsburgh North, Cranberry Township-Mars, PA) and the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention (my talk is scheduled for 8 P.M. on Friday September 8, 2023 at the Hunt Valley Delta Marriott, Hunt Valley, MD).
I will be selling copies of Of Mice and Men: Mental Enfeeblement, Racism, and Mercy-Killing in 1939 Hollywood, Platinum Widow: Who Killed Jean Harlow’s Husband? as well as others of my earlier books, at these conventions.
Hope to see you at either (or both!) of these events.
NEXT UP
Meanwhile, I am working on my third “Porter Down Hollywood Mystery” for BearManor Media. As yet untitled, it involves a vampire (?) killer amok in 1935 Hollywood during the filming of the Bela Lugosi/Lionel Barrymore/Elizabeth Allan/Lionel Atwill/Carroll Borland classic film Mark of the Vampire.
And as for magazine articles: my recent article, “Dwight Frye and the Curse of Renfield”, appeared in the April issue of Fangoria Vol. 2 # 19, and I will have published an article on the Boris Karloff/Bela Lugosi film The Raven for The Age of Thrills 1930s/1940s. Upcoming is another 2023 article for this same British magazine.
Plus, I continue to work on a collaboration for BearManor Media with my good friend, ace Film Historian Tom Weaver.
Hope you come back here soon!
Greg
