Beyond Paradise

Intelligent, thoughtful, knowledgeable. One of the best books on Hollywood in years. Level-headed, impressively researched biography of the first Latin performer to succeed in Hollywood. Concisely written and carefully researched. A remarkable new book. . . as close to the truth as we are able to get. The rise and fall of Ramon . . . Novarro . . . is superbly chronicled in this smooth, solid, exhaustively researched biography. From BooklistTo the recent spate of books detailing the history of gays in Hollywood's golden age (e.g., William J. Mann's Behind the Screen [2001] and Diana McLellan's The Girls [2000]) comes a worthy addition, Soares' chronicle of one of the biggest silent stars, Ramon Novarro, whose fame was parabolic, soaring to a Douglas Fairbanks-like peak when he played the title role in Ben-Hur (1926) and peaking again with his grisly demise some 40 years after his first perihelion. In between, after sound dispelled the silents, his was largely a name from the past, a la Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, though he made the transition to talkies far better than fellow top-of-the-heap silent star John Gilbert.Still, his career spiraled down into cameo appearances and the like. By the time he was beaten to death by a couple of cruisers who may have intended only to steal some money, Novarro had been a customer of escort services for men for many years. However, Soares specifically accuses Hollywood sleazemonger Kenneth Anger of fabricating the lead art-deco dildo supposedly stuffed down the dead Novarro's throat. Dildo or no dildo, no Hollywood collection should be without a biography of Novarro, and Soares' story of this prototypical cinematic Latin lover fills the bill in excellent form. Mike TribbyCopyright (c) American Library Association. All rights reserved From the San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2003The rise and fall of Ramon (Samaniego) Novarro, the first successful Latin star in Hollywood, is superbly chronicled in this smooth, solid, exhaustively researched biography by Los Angeles screenwriter Andre Soares. . . . Soares has clearly done his homework, as this life story is notonly packed with the intricacies of Novarro's livelihood but also with Hollywood's racy, cutthroat culture. . . . Historians of Old Hollywood and devoted star trackers alike will bedelighted with this comprehensive portrait of a major actor from Tinseltown's glittery yesteryear. James Piechota. From Booklist To the recent spate of books detailing the history of gays in Hollywood's golden age (e.g., William J. Mann's Behind the Screen [2001] and Diana McLellan's The Girls [2000]) comes a worthy addition, Soares' chronicle of one of the biggest silent stars, Ramon Novarro, whose fame was parabolic, soaring to a Douglas Fairbanks-like peak when he played the title role in Ben-Hur (1926) and peaking again with his grisly demise some 40 years after his first perihelion. In between, after sound dispelled the silents, his was largely a name from the past, a la Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, though he made the transition to talkies far better than fellow top-of-the-heap silent star John Gilbert. Still, his career spiraled down into cameo appearances and the like. By the time he was beaten to death by a couple of cruisers who may have intended only to steal some money, Novarro had been a customer of escort services for men for many years. However, Soares specifically accuses Hollywood sleazemonger Kenneth Anger of fabricating the lead art-deco dildo supposedly stuffed down the dead Novarro's throat. Dildo or no dildo, no Hollywood collection should be without a biography of Novarro, and Soares' story of this prototypical cinematic Latin lover fills the bill in excellent form. Mike Tribby Copyright (c) American Library Association. All rights reserved From the San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 2003 The rise and fall of Ramon (Samaniego) Novarro, the first successful Latin star in Hollywood, is superbly chronicled in this smooth, solid, exhaustively researched biography by Los Angeles screenwriter Andre Soares. . . . Soares has clearly done his homework, asthis life story is not only packed with the intricacies of Novarro's livelihood but also with Hollywood's racy, cutthroat culture. . . . Historians of Old Hollywood and devoted star trackers alike will be delighted with this comprehensive portrait of a major actor from Tinseltown's glittery yesteryear. James Piechota.