194:(MGM) studios. Her mother, Rose Meltzer, worked at MGM's wardrobe department from 1937 to 1951, as an accountant and then the assistant department head. As a teenager, Harmetz held a summer job at MGM working in the fan mail department. During her lunch breaks, she walked around the studio backlot and dreamed of becoming an actress. Harmetz wrote, "I wanted to be a movie star more than anything in the world. The closest I came was when my mother, who worked in the wardrobe department at MGM, got me an audition with director
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By the mid-1950s, Harmetz began working as an entertainment reporter. Intent on protecting their stars' personal lives, a MGM publicist told
Harmetz: "No MGM star drinks, smokes, uses bad language, or has sex—even with her husband." In 1978, Harmetz became the
284:
magazine characterized
Harmetz as possibly "the most inexplicable journalist in Hollywood. If Harmetz writes a story, then it is either (a) wrong, (b) late, (c) trivial or (d) designed to advance the career of one of her sources. Or all of the above."
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called the book "a sizzling summertime thriller" and added, "Harmetz spins her tale with taut, wiry prose, and her pages are filled with insight and intrigue. You might have nightmares after reading this book, but you won't regret it."
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said of the book: "well above the classic thriller fare... powerful... psychologically complex... lingers in the mind well after the reader has raced through its pages to the conclusion."
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229:. To strengthen her writing skills, she submitted freelance writing samples to several publications. Her first published work was a poem featured in the
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was named by The Book
Collectors (Los Angeles) as one of the hundred best books ever written on the movies. It was honored at a reception hosted by the
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is a suspense novel about a boy's abduction and the efforts to free him. It was published by
Scribner in 1997 and as a paperbound by
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247:: "I do not in any way try to hide or turn my back on my fan magazine heritage ... It was an earn-as-you-learn equivalent of the
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called it the "best of the beach reads....a terrifying but revealing take on the most universal of horror stories." And
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in 1977, and has never been out of print. It was re-released in 2013 for the 75th anniversary of the film.
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called the book "engrossing," a "tightly controlled, intelligently told, acutely creepy debut thriller."
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in 1982. The event featured a panel, moderated by
Harmetz, of six remaining cast and crew members.
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She married
Richard S. Harmetz, and they have three children: Anthony, Daniel, and Elizabeth.
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In the mid-1970s, Harmetz began writing a book about the production of the 1939 MGM film
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Round Up the Usual
Suspects: The Making of Casablanca: Bogart, Bergman, and World War II
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350:. She interviewed over fifty surviving cast and crew members from the film, including
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153:(born December 30, 1929) is an American journalist and film historian. She was the
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In 1979, Harmetz wrote and narrated a television documentary about the making of
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396:. The documentary included filmed interviews with Bolger, Haley, LeRoy, and
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Born Aljean
Meltsir Levin, Harmetz grew up in Southern California, near the
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Since her retirement, Harmetz has written several celebrity obituaries for
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17:
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469:'s Poynter Fellowship, an award for distinguished journalism.
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from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially
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accent. When I was done, he thanked me, and that was that."
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Round Up the Usual
Suspects: The Making of "Casablanca"
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752:
734:, Volume 26 (Stanford Alumni Association, 1998), p. 92
688:"She followed the yellow brick road to 'Making of Oz'"
205:
Harmetz instead decided to be a writer, and graduated
762:"Fan Magazine Reporters: 'Underrated as Journalists'"
571:
On the Road to Tara: The Making of Gone with the Wind
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172:(1977), a detailed study of the classic 1939 film
876:Jennifer Egan, “Betrayed but Not Abandoned” in
867:(New York) dated Sunday, August 3, 1997, p. 194
8:
815:"Recent and archived work by Aljean Harmetz"
223:. While at Stanford, she was a reporter for
478:Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
409:Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
67:about living persons that is unsourced or
968:21st-century American non-fiction writers
948:20th-century American non-fiction writers
235:, while her third was an article for the
138:Learn how and when to remove this message
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251:(pop mystery) magazines of the '30s for
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523:Rolling Breaks and Other Movie Business
27:American journalist and film historian
7:
845:"Library of Congress Online Catalog"
978:21st-century American women writers
958:20th-century American women writers
575:. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 1996.
825:from the original on July 19, 2024
759:Lowrie, Katharine (July 6, 1980).
497:"The Way Childbirth Really Is" in
25:
919:collected news and commentary at
686:Morris, Gay (December 10, 1977).
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374:, who became a personal friend.
241:magazine. In 1980, she told the
34:
998:Novelists from New York (state)
963:20th-century American novelists
1003:The New York Times journalists
506:The Making of The Wizard of Oz
474:The Making of The Wizard of Oz
454:The New York Times Book Review
340:The Making of The Wizard of Oz
333:The Making of The Wizard of Oz
169:The Making of The Wizard of Oz
1:
597:. New York: Scribner. 1997.
553:. New York: Hyperion. 1992.
403:Harmetz hosted a tribute to
45:biography of a living person
973:21st-century American women
953:20th-century American women
777:– via Newspapers.com.
702:– via Newspapers.com.
370:, and Wicked Witch actress
72:must be removed immediately
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465:Harmetz is a recipient of
377:The book was published by
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988:American women historians
593:Off the Face of the Earth
423:Off the Face of the Earth
416:Off the Face of the Earth
207:Beverly Hills High School
993:American women novelists
983:American film historians
186:Early life and education
1008:Writers from California
631:"Off to See the Wizard"
166:Her film books include
151:Aljean Meltsir Harmetz
59:Please help by adding
629:(January 31, 1978).
209:. She then became a
65:Contentious material
882:dated Sept 14, 1997
435:New York Daily News
215:Stanford University
198:. I did a splendid
192:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
163:from 1978 to 1990.
922:The New York Times
879:The New York Times
819:The New York Times
472:In 1993, her book
394:The Wizardry of Oz
290:The New York Times
275:The New York Times
226:The Stanford Daily
160:The New York Times
157:correspondent for
847:. Catalog.loc.gov
803:. September 1988.
767:Los Angeles Times
635:Los Angeles Times
627:Champlin, Charles
443:Publishers Weekly
398:Margaret Hamilton
372:Margaret Hamilton
292:. These include:
272:correspondent of
244:Los Angeles Times
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16:(Redirected from
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257:Dashiell Hammett
253:Raymond Chandler
232:Atlantic Monthly
175:The Wizard of Oz
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637:. Part IV, p. 1
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509:(Knopf, 1977)
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849:. Retrieved
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827:. Retrieved
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788:Harmetz 1983
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771:. Retrieved
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696:. Retrieved
694:. p. 14
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669:. Retrieved
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529:Random House
527:. New York:
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427:Pocket Books
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364:Noel Langley
360:Mervyn LeRoy
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318:Dina Merrill
306:Billy Wilder
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938:1929 births
432:The Sunday
368:Yip Harburg
358:, producer
322:Paul Newman
310:Jack Lemmon
932:Categories
865:Daily News
851:2012-08-01
613:References
421:Harmetz’s
356:Jack Haley
352:Ray Bolger
326:Tab Hunter
298:Lena Horne
249:Black Mask
98:newspapers
461:Accolades
429:in 1998.
362:, writer
314:Doris Day
270:Hollywood
155:Hollywood
128:July 2007
50:citations
829:April 8,
823:Archived
732:Stanford
531:. 1983.
182:(1992).
76:libelous
666:Oz Club
448:Glamour
407:at the
392:titled
200:Cockney
112:scholar
18:Harmetz
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579:
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324:, and
320:, and
263:Career
178:, and
114:
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93:
85:
801:"Spy"
379:Knopf
119:JSTOR
105:books
43:This
912:IMDb
831:2020
775:2024
700:2024
673:2024
643:2024
599:ISBN
577:ISBN
555:ISBN
533:ISBN
511:ISBN
390:KCET
388:for
255:and
91:news
52:for
910:at
281:Spy
259:."
934::
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