Product Description
Fixers, fakers, and star makers… They built the dream factory that is Hollywood, but until now, their own incredible stories have largely remained untold.
Who were the unsung heroes (and not a few villains) behind the glitter of Tinseltown? Rudolph Valentino had Harry Reichenbach. Theda Bara had Maynard Nottage. Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Katharine Hepburn and all the other MGM stars had Howard Strickling and his team of illusionists.
Behind every star and movie mogul loomed a great publicist: manipulating headlines, concealing sins and shaping destinies. And it was these publicists, as much as anyone, who created the Hollywood dream: and by extension, the celebrity industry as it stands today.
“The Fame Formula” does for Hollywood what “Mad Men” did for the advertising business. It is the authoritative history of the birth of an industry that shaped the American dream and continues to define our world today.
With an insider’s knowing eye, Mark Borkowski introduces the reader to a secret cabal of great publicists whose carefully crafted images, stunts and flashes of divine inspiration have mapped the media agenda for the last century. From Phineas Taylor Barnum all the way through to “The X Factor” and “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here” – the DNA fingerprint is clear.
Avoiding the limelight as assiduously as they pursued it for their clients, the wizards of Hollywood have finally met their nemesis in “The Fame Formula”.
Who were the unsung heroes (and not a few villains) behind the glitter of Tinseltown? Rudolph Valentino had Harry Reichenbach. Theda Bara had Maynard Nottage. Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Katharine Hepburn and all the other MGM stars had Howard Strickling and his team of illusionists.
Behind every star and movie mogul loomed a great publicist: manipulating headlines, concealing sins and shaping destinies. And it was these publicists, as much as anyone, who created the Hollywood dream: and by extension, the celebrity industry as it stands today.
“The Fame Formula” does for Hollywood what “Mad Men” did for the advertising business. It is the authoritative history of the birth of an industry that shaped the American dream and continues to define our world today.
With an insider’s knowing eye, Mark Borkowski introduces the reader to a secret cabal of great publicists whose carefully crafted images, stunts and flashes of divine inspiration have mapped the media agenda for the last century. From Phineas Taylor Barnum all the way through to “The X Factor” and “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here” – the DNA fingerprint is clear.
Avoiding the limelight as assiduously as they pursued it for their clients, the wizards of Hollywood have finally met their nemesis in “The Fame Formula”.
Book Description
The Fame Formula is a highly entertaining study of the creators of the publicity industry, taking us from vaudeville and the movies to the age of television and the internet. Starting with Maynard Nottage and Harry Reichenbach, who applied their anarchic talents to dreaming up stunts at the turn of the twentieth century, Borkowski goes on to describe how, in the hands of Hollywood fixers Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling, publicity agents Russell Birdwell, Warren Cowan, Henry Rogers and more, this freewheeling industry developed. These men hatched ostrich eggs to promote movies and hatched incredible stories to dress up the lives of stars, buried scandals and buried their lives in their work. And in so doing they laid the foundation of a billion dollar manipulation industry and the modern world's rampant celebrity culture. Borkowski also reveals how his research has led to the creation of a fame formula, an analysis of how long any celebrity can expect to stay famous - and how to avoid relegation to the Z list. 'A brilliantly original account of a neglected subject' Stephen Bayley 'Fascinating . . . one of Britain's top publicists tells all about what fame is, how to get it, and what to do with it' Lord Saatchi
About the Author
Mark Borkowski has publicized some of the biggest names in entertainment - from Michael Jackson to The Matrix… Archaos to Our Friends in the North. His titular PR company has dealt with a broad roster of clients over the years, reflecting Borkowski’s wide-ranging interests, and encompassing international theatre and circus, charities such as Amnesty International, brands including Sony UK, Hovis, Freesat and IKEA, performance poets and celebrities such as Noel Edmonds.
Regarded as an authority on the history of the publicity stunt, his first book “Improperganda: A Pictorial History Of This Artform” was released in 2001. His one-man show “Sons of Barnum” was produced at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and became the basis for “The Fame Formula”.
He lives in Gloucestershire with his family and an astonishing archive of pop cultural ephemera and history.
Regarded as an authority on the history of the publicity stunt, his first book “Improperganda: A Pictorial History Of This Artform” was released in 2001. His one-man show “Sons of Barnum” was produced at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and became the basis for “The Fame Formula”.
He lives in Gloucestershire with his family and an astonishing archive of pop cultural ephemera and history.
