Forgotten Hollywood

In this episode, I discuss with author Jennifer Ann Redmond about her book "Too Fast, Too Short: The Life of Diana Barrymore". American actress and socialite Diana Barrymore (1921–1960) was a figure often overshadowed by her famous lineage and tragic narrative. In Too Fast, Too Short: The Life of Diana Barrymore , author Jennifer Ann Redmond illuminates Barrymore’s complex world, revealing a woman...

In this episode, I spoke with author John Malahy regarding his book " Rewinding The ’80s: Cinema Under the Influence of Music Videos, Action Stars, and a Cold War". The movies were flying blind in 1980. “New Hollywood” was over and the era of auteur-driven, personal films that had defined moviemaking since the late ‘60s came to a symbolic end with Heaven’s Gate  (1980),   replaced by a new world o...

In this episode I spoke with Neil O'Brien about his book "After Disney: Toil, Trouble, and the Transformation of America's Favorite Media Company". The untold succession struggle at Walt Disney Productions following the death of its founder, and the generational transformation which led to the birth of the modern multibillion-dollar animation industry.

In this episode I spoke with author Mark Archuleta about his boo; "The Reel Thrilling Events of Bank Robber Henry Starr: From Gentleman Bandit to Movie Star and Back Again". In 1921 headlines across the country announced the death of Henry Starr, a burgeoning silent film star who was killed while attempting to rob a bank in Harrison, Arkansas. Cynics who knew the real Starr were not surprised. Bef...

In this episode I spoke with author Jennifer O'Callaghan about her book "Rear Window: The Making of a Hitchcock Masterpiece in the Hollywood Golden Age." The definitive, in-depth look inside Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window —the all-time classic of voyeurism, paranoia, and murder that became one of Hollywood’s greatest achievements and turned generations of viewers into “a race of Peeping Toms.” A m...

In this episode, I spoke with author Gary Wigglesworth about his book "The Movie Lover's Quiz Book". Whether you want to challenge yourself or someone else, The Movie Lover's Quiz Book is perfect for any cinephile. Inside you'll find a fun range of rounds and an eclectic mix of questions, all designed to give you hours of entertainment. Doug Hess is the host! Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook and...

In this episode I spoke with author Maggie Hennefeld about her latest book "Death by Laughter: Female Hysteria and Early Cinema". Can you really die from laughing too hard? Between 1870 and 1920, hundreds of women suffered such a fate―or so a slew of sensationalist obituaries would have us believe. How could laughter be fatal, and what do these reports of women’s risible deaths tell us about the p...

In this episode, I discuss with author Kristen Lopez about her latest book " Popcorn Disabilities: The Highs and Lows of Disabled Representation in the Movies that will be released on November 13, 2025. You can learn a lot from the movies-about sex and relationships, about business, about history. Sure, there's a fair amount of fantasy, wish fulfillment, and glorious hair to exaggerate everything,...

Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook. Forgotten Hollywood Reference book series on Amazon. Doug Hes is the Creator/Producer/Host of the show. Thank you guest Author Bernard D Dick

In this episode, I spoke with Tracey Goessel about her book "The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks". Douglas Fairbanks was the greatest leading man of his generation—the first and the best of the swashbucklers. He made some of the greatest films of the silent era, including The Thief of Bagdad ,  Robin Hood , and  The Mark of Zorro . With Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, and h...

In this episode, I spoke with author David M. Stewart about his book "There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme". Jonathan Demme, one of the most influential and dynamic directors of the twentieth century, was a fearless and radical filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer―a compassionate artist, advocate, and humanist who was compelled to tell the stories of marginalized communities...

Guest host James Lott Jr talks about a Store, Counterpoint Records and Books, in East Hollywood that has grea rare finds. He showcases two of the things he found. Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook. Executive Producer -Doug Hess

Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook. Forgotten Hollywood Books are on Amazon. In this episode I spoke with author Sheri Chinen Biesen about her book "Through a Noir Lens: Adapting Film Noir Visual Style".  Shadows. Smoke. Dark alleys. Rain-slicked city streets. These are iconic elements of film noir visual style. Long after its 1940s heyday, noir hallmarks continue to appear in a variety of new med...

In this episode, I spoke with author Samuel Garza Bernstein about his book "Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild". Dynamic and debonair, Cesar Romero was best known for creating the role of the Joker in the 1960s Batman  television series. As the first actor to play Batman and Robin's villainous nemesis, Romero established the character's giddy, manic tone and the distinctive laugh that subsequent acto...

The Apple. Last Starfighter. Weekend At Bernie's. Night of the Comet. Knight Rider. Hotel. Sins. The Outer Limits. Law and Order and Days of Our Lives. Catherine Mary Stewart goes down memory lane with Guest Host James Lott Jr. Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook! 

In this episode, I spoke with author Mitchell Hadley regarding his book "Darkness In Primetime". Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society’s Descent into Hell reveals how television shows of the 1950s and 1960s, with shocking accuracy, envisioned a world of 24/7 surveillance, thought control, disinformation, persecution, and the loss of freedom—a world disturbingly similar t...

In this episode, I spoke with Ed Robertson about his book "Men of Action: Behind-the-Scenes of Four Classic TV Series". An in-depth look at The Untouchables , Run for Your Life, The Magician and Harry O four classic series that helped define the landscape of American television as we know it today. Each entry features a detailed episode guide and behind-the-scenes interviews with the actors, write...

In this episode, I spoke with Roberta Smoodin regarding her book "Horses of Hollywood". In Horses of Hollywood , Roberta Smoodin gives equine film stars the credit and recognition they have long deserved. Smoodin goes behind the scenes to feature the trainers, actors, and directors who brought some of our favorite horses into the spotlight.  Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook.

Guest Host and JLJ Media CEO James Lott Jr talks about Hollywood that is forgotten and why this show exists. Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook. 

In this episode we discuss with author Jennifer Selway her book "The Godfather of Horror Films: Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee".  Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee: three middle-class Englishmen whose names are synonymous with the history of the horror movie. Karloff was born in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and Lee, the youngest, died in 2015,...

Its Episode 350! Guest Host James Lott Jr! Forgotten Hollywood is on Facebook! Go follow!  JLJ is talking about the late 80s with the Pet Shop Boys reinvented the music careers of Liza Minelli and Dusty Springfield! 

Sidney Arnold Franklin  (March 21, 1893 – May 18, 1972) was an American  film director  and  producer . Franklin, like  William C. deMille , specialized in adapting literary works or Broadway stage plays. His brother Chester Franklin  (1889–1954) also became a director during the  silent film  era, best known for directing the early  Technicolor  film  The Toll of the Sea .Franklin's work on radio...

Juliet Prowse: Born to Dance: The Extraordinary Life Story of My Aunt In this episode, I discussed with Juliet Prowse regarding her book about her Aunt Juliet Prowse.  Juliet Prowse was a young South African dancer and entertainer who burst into the international spotlight in her first Hollywood movie, Can-Can. Considered talented and exotic, she caught the media’s attention and her engagement to...

In this episode, I spoke with author Chris Nashawaty about his recent book "The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982". In the summer of 1982, eight science fiction films were released within six weeks of one another. E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing , and Mad Max: The Road Warrior c hanged the careers o...

In this episode, I spoke with Mary Owen who is the daughter of Donna Reed.