Going Hollywood: Midwesterners In Movieland (248 pgs)

Despite being from a region of the American Midwest, an area best known for its simple, wholesome values and salt of the earth folks, the 12 Heartland-born celebrities profiled in this fun and well-researched new tome led complex, fast-track Hollywood lives of fame, fortune, glamour and excess.

From sexy stars like Jean Harlow, Jane Russell and Rock Hudson to venerated pros Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable and Jane Wyman, this engrossing book provides “the story behind the story” about what made these remarkable people tick. It culminates with a profile of Hollywood’s first major—and most feared—gossip columnist, Illinois native Louella Parsons, who proved the adage that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Going Hollywood: Midwesterners in Movieland is the first book of its kind to chronicle the lives of 12 Hollywood legends: In addition to those listed above, included are intimate looks at Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow, Anne Baxter, Jean Seberg, Dorothy Dandridge, and Marilyn Maxwell, each from middle America.

Using rare archival and first-hand sources, author Sara Jordan-Heintz provides an inside look at how being from the Midwest influenced their lives, how they emerged on the Hollywood scene and what their legacies look like today, years after their deaths. 

TO WATCH A VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ REGARDING HER BOOK, CLICK HERE. (After loading video, please be patient for a couple of minutes until the Zoom meeting begins).

Ms. Jordan-Heintz is also quoted in five other books by big-league authors and is the 2018 winner of the Outstanding Young Iowa Journalists Award from the Iowa Newspaper Foundation, plus a 2019 First Place award from the Iowa Associated Press Media Editors. An honors graduate of the prestigious University of Iowa, she holds degrees in American Studies and History. 

When you order from this site, you may request that author Sara Jordan-Heintz autograph your copy with a personal inscription of your choosing. Just email us HERE to let us know your request.

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