Overview

Scandal, adultery, secret marriages, divorce, custody battles, suicide attempts, and alcoholism-the trials and tribulations of the Costellos were as riveting as any Hollywood feature film. This eccentric and talented clan was one of the twentieth century's most famous families of actors, until their achievements were eclipsed by their own immutable penchant for self-destruction. Patriarch Maurice Costello was considered the first screen idol until his career, marked by accusations of spousal abuse, drunkenness, and physical assault, abruptly ended. Costello's daughter, Helene, was the first actress to star in an all-talking picture, but her career was ruined by a very public divorce from Lowell Sherman, who testified that his wife was a drunk and an avid reader of pornography. And though the original members of this family may be gone, the legacy lives on-most notably through actress Drew Barrymore. Written with unprecedented access to the family's personal documents and artifacts, as well as interviews with several family members, Film's First Family explores the dramatic history of the Costellos and their extraordinary significance to the stage and screen.

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9780813196565

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Finally we can learn the truth about this storied family! Relying on primary source material, and with tight, succinct prose, Terry Chester Shulman has provided a wealth of narrative about the troubled, talented, beautiful, and doomed Costellos. -- Tracey Goessel, author of The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks Maurice Costello was one of the first true movie stars, but if he is remembered today it is primarily because his daughter Dolores married John Barrymore, merging two American acting dynasties. Author Terry Shulman had access to Costello family archives and interviewed Dolores Barrymore Bedell (the daughter of John Barrymore and Dolores Costello) and Helene Costello's daughter Deirdre to research this sweeping story...enough juicy material to have filled several volumes. -- Leonard Maltin A fascinating, endlessly insightful, and beautifully written portrait of a tempestuous family that played a pivotal role in the development of American film. Shulman's prose brims with intelligence and wit as he follows the Costellos through trials and triumphs and, heartbreakingly, back again. Film's First Family is a captivating, first-class contribution to film literature. -- Vanda Krefft, author of The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox

Author Information

Terry Chester Shulman is an acclaimed author and a veteran historical journalist whose work has appeared nationally in magazines and newspapers.

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