Walter Leman was a native of Boston, and began his career as a journeyman actor there, at the Tremont Theatre, aged 17. He appeared most frequently in his home town, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and post gold rush California. In this book he describes his youthful enthusiasm for theater, and the notables with whom he acted. As was typical of the time, he appeared in a wide range of contemporary and classic works. His memories are colorful, and his reminiscences of his colleagues are warm and complimentary. An engaging peek into the workings of the theatre and the professional actors milieu during the 19th century.

"In a career that has spanned more than sixty years, Robert Wagner has witnessed the twilight of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the rise of television ... During that time he became acquainted, both professionally and socially, with the remarkable women who were the greatest screen personalities of their day. [This memoir] is his ... account of the charisma of these women on film, why they became stars, and how their specific emotional and dramatic chemistries affected the choices they made as actresses as well as the choices they made as women"--

During his lifetime, Spencer Tracy was known as Hollywood's 'actor's actor'. Critics wrote that what Olivier was to theatre, Tracy was to film. Over his career he was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and won two. But there has been no substantial, intimate biography of the man, until now. From his earliest days in stock theatre, Tracy was a publicist's trial, guarding his private life fiercely. Most of the people associated closely with him shunned the limelight - notably his wife, his children and the great actress Katharine Hepburn, with whom he had an affair that lasted over 26 years. Although his screen roles often depicted a happy, twinkling Irishman, Tracy struggled with alchoholism to the end, a fact which the studios managed to keep out of the papers.With the help of Tracy's daughter, Susie, and access to previously unseen papers, James Curtis has now produced the definitive biography of a tortured, complex and immensely talented man.The book contains 124 integrated photos, many published for the first time.