Joseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years

The first book to tell the full story of Joseph P. Kennedy's reign in Hollywood--from 1926 to 1930, during which time he simultaneously ran three movie studios (FBO, Pathe, and First National), as well as the Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuit . . . led the revolution in sound pictures . . . created the first modern entertainment empire (which became the blueprint for contemporary Hollywood) . . . and destroyed the careers of two of Hollywood's most sensational stars, one of them his lover Gloria Swanson.
Sorting through the maze of Kennedy deals, letters, and memos--papers locked away in his archives for decades--Cari Beauchamp tells how he made it all happen, a miracle of smoke and mirrors that lined his pockets in a gambit never seen before, or since: the merger of his studios and theaters with David Sarnoff's RCA that resulted in RKO Studios.
Beauchamp writes about the pictures Kennedy produced; the stars he made (and ruined); and the Hollywood titans he charmed, cajoled, and battled, among them: William Randolph Hearst (Kennedy, a frequent guest at San Simeon, tried to grab Hearst's empire out from under him when he was facing bankruptcy), Cecil B. De Mille, and others.
In this fascinating tale of greed and business genius, we see not only how Kennedy made his fortune, but how he changed the very nature of the business of moviemaking.