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Tara Hanks

~ Author of 'The Mmm Girl' and 'Wicked Baby'

Tara Hanks

Author Archives: marina72

‘Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed’ – Out Now!

15 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by marina72 in Books, Film, History, Jeanne Eagels, Non-Fiction, Theatre, Updates

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Jeanne Eagels, Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed, Tara Hanks

11025743_796775497083511_8963251801759181405_nVery exciting news: as of today, Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed is finally available to order! I am proud to be co-author (with Eric Woodard) of the first full-length biography of this legendary actress to be published in 85 years.

From the publisher’s website, in paperback ($24.95) or hardcover ($34.95)

Both editions now listed on Amazon US and Amazon UK (paperback £16.31, hardcover £23.) They’re slightly cheaper at The Book Depository (paperback £15.26, hardcover £20.83.) And they’re also available from Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.

I will be adding further outlets to this post, and on the book’s dedicated page (over here.)

TV Review: ‘The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe’

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by marina72 in Marilyn Monroe, Television

≈ 3 Comments

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Emily Watson, Immortal Marilyn, J. Randy Taraborrelli, Kelli Garner, Laurie Collyer, Lifetime, Marilyn Monroe, Stephen Kronish, Susan Sarandon, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

You can also read this article at Immortal Marilyn.

The US cable channel, Lifetime, is well-known – notorious, even – for producing a range of celebrity biopics, including Liz and Dick, a widely-panned film about the Taylor-Burton affair, starring Lindsay Lohan. Since then, features on Whitney Houston and others have been released. Despite critical disdain, Lifetime’s tabloid-friendly subjects continue to attract large audiences. The channel’s decision to adapt J. Randy Taraborrelli’s 2009 book, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, was announced in August 2014. The two-part mini-series was filmed in early 2015, and broadcast on May 30-31 (the eve of what would be Monroe’s 89th birthday.) Continue reading →

A Birthday Gift – From Jeanne, to Norma Jeane

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by marina72 in Anniversaries, Books, Jeanne Eagels, Marilyn Monroe

≈ 1 Comment

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Jeanne Eagels, Marilyn Monroe, Rain

Jeanne Eagels, photographed by James Abbe (1920)

Jeanne Eagels, photographed by James Abbe (1919)

On what would be her 89th birthday, I’m remembering Marilyn Monroe – and the subject of my new book, Jeanne Eagels – with two excerpts from The Mmm Girl. Continue reading →

Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed

13 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by marina72 in Books, Jeanne Eagels, Non-Fiction, Theatre, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

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Eric Woodard, Jeanne Eagels, Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed, Rain, Sadie Thompson, Tara Hanks, W. Somerset Maugham, Wabash Blues

I’m delighted to announce that Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed – the first full-length biography of the legendary 1920s actress in 85 years, co-authored with Eric Woodard – will be published by Bearmanor Media in June. More news to come, but until then, here’s a brief synopsis:

The true story is finally told about Jeanne Eagels, legendary Broadway star as Sadie Thompson in Somerset Maugham’s Rain, celebrated silent movie actress, and Academy Award-nominated superstar in The Letter. She lived a life of renown, yet her rise to fame, her romances, her triumphs, her relentless perfectionism, and her fragile health propelled her into increasingly erratic behavior and a shocking climax that stunned the entire world. Illustrated with nearly 150 rare and unseen photographs.

Marilyn Monroe fans may recognise my writing partner as the author of Hometown Girl and Travilla Film Fashions. Eric has also created a book trailer for Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed.

Fans of trad jazz will notice that the music accompanying this video is, of course, ‘Wabash Blues’. Sadie Thompson, the loose-living heroine of W. Somerset Maugham’s Rain, played this record incessantly while entertaining her sailor friends during a sojourn on the South Seas – much to the annoyance of her priggish neighbours.

In 1922, Sadie became Jeanne Eagels’ most famous stage role, and while Rain has since been filmed several times, those who saw it first on Broadway insisted that her incendiary performance was never equalled.

Art Decades: Ultraviolence, Marilyn and More

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by marina72 in Books, Film, Lana Del Rey, Marilyn Monroe, Music, Non-Fiction, Periodicals

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Art Decades, Fan Phenomena, Lana Del Rey, Marcelline Block, Marilyn Monroe, Ultraviolence

10612690_374315412774340_4875242384017257934_n

Out now, the third issue of Art Decades magazine is the best yet. Highlights include interviews with two of music’s outliers. Viv Albertine, former guitarist of all-girl punk band The Slits, is now a solo artist. She published a widely-praised memoir in 2014. Maria McKee is a Californian singer-songwriter, who fronted country rock band Lone Justice, and topped the UK charts with ‘Show Me Heaven’ in 1990. She now makes music for film with her partner, director Jim Akin.

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On the subject of women in music, my review of Lana Del Rey’s latest album, Ultraviolence, is also featured. There is something of a David Bowie theme to this issue, which can never be a bad thing. Edward Bell, who designed several of Bowie’s album covers – from Scary Monsters to the ill-fated Tin Machine – is interviewed, and there is also a stunning pictorial inspired by Bowie’s 1999 song, ‘The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell.’

A short interview with myself is included in an article about Marcelline Block’s new book, Fan Phenomena: Marilyn Monroe. Superfans Megan Owen and Marco van der Munnik share their stories, and a long, fascinating interview with Los Angeles-based impersonator Holly Beavon is also included. Marilyn is also mentioned elsewhere, as an influence on Serena Czarnecki, an adult film star of the 1970s who has re-emerged as an artist and author.

Holly-Beavon-Marilyn-Monroe-Seated-Laughing-sm

Holly Beavon as Marilyn

While £15.48 (the current price on Amazon UK) may seem like a lot, Art Decades is filled with beautiful imagery and unique insights about music, film and artists who are mostly ignored, or (as in Marilyn and Lana’s case) misunderstood, and yet have inspired so many of us. Published quarterly, it is both a niche publication, and truly egalitarian. Unlike other, mass-market magazines, it is purely content-driven and doesn’t rely on copious advertising. It also has more to offer than a lot of similarly-priced books.

You can buy single issues on Amazon worldwide, or buy direct from the Art Decades website, with options to subscribe. A portion of the proceeds from sales of this issue will be donated to Belongto.org, a charity supporting young LGBTs – so you know it’s all in a good cause.

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