Product Description
In Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams, Donald Bogle tells–for the first time–the story of a place both mythic and real: Black Hollywood. Spanning sixty years, this deliciously entertaining history uncovers the audacious manner in which many blacks made a place for themselves in an industry that originally had no place for them.

Through interviews and the personal recollections of Hollywood luminaries, Bogle pieces together a remarkable history that remains largely obscure to this day. We discover that Black Hollywood was a place distinct from the studio-system-dominated Tinseltown–a world unto itself, with unique rules and social hierarchy. It had its own talent scouts and media, its own watering holes, elegant hotels, and fashionable nightspots, and of course its own glamorous and brilliant personalities.

Along with famous actors including Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Hattie McDaniel (whose home was among Hollywood’s most exquisite), and, later, the stunningly beautiful Lena Horne and the fabulously gifted Sammy Davis, Jr., we meet the likes of heartthrob James Edwards, whose promising career was derailed by whispers of an affair with Lana Turner, and the mysterious Madame Sul-Te-Wan, who shared a close lifelong friendship with pioneering director D. W. Griffith. But Bogle also looks at other members of the black community–from the white stars’ black servants, who had their own money and prestige, to gossip columnists, hairstylists, and architects–and at the world that grew up around them along Central Avenue, the Harlem of the West.

In the tradition of Hortense Powdermaker’s classic Hollywood: The Dream Factory and Neal Gabler’s An Empire of Their Own, in Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams, Donald Bogle re-creates a vanished world that left an indelible mark on Hollywood–and on all of America.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 10 reviews)

Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams

I enjoyed this book. It provided some insight into the Black Hollywood scene from it's humble beginnings through the 1950s. Since I'd previously read books about Stepin Fetchit, Hattie McDaniel, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ethel Waters, and Dorothy Dandridge, Bogle rehashes alot of information that I already knew. He did, however, talk about some of the lesser known stars like Herb Jeffries, Madame Sul-Te Wan, Fredi Washington, et al. Bogle also talks about the wonderful contributions of architect Paul Williams - someone who I'd never heard of but would love to find out more about. We get to read about the famous Central Avenue and it's smoking clubs and swanky hotels. We get some inside dish on career breaking interracial relationships and some pretty detailed info on just how and where the Black stars lived. If you like Bogle's other works about Black film/Hollywood and its contributions to the entertainment world, you'll probably like this effort.
September 25, 2007

Great Read

It is very informative of Life in Los Angeles for Afro Americans the first part of the 20th century as well as the Movie stars and the growth of the community springing out from its base from Central Ave.
June 08, 2007

Great book. Fills in the blanks for me regarding Black Hollywood heritage

I'm a black woman with a lifelong fascination with Hollywood, but who had next to no knowledge about the contributions of African-Americans to the field. During the early 90s, I had taken university level film courses, and I even earned a communications degree, but never once during that time did any of my profs ever discuss the contributions of Black people to the motion picture industry...except for Spike Lee and even at that time he was blown off by some as an "upstart."

Well, thank heavens for Donald Bogle for partially "completing my education" in this subject with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams. I learned a lot that I hadn't known before, and had many urban legends and myths dispelled in the process.

For example, all my life I've had immediate knee jerk reactions to the movies Birth Of A Nation, Gone With The Wind and Imitation Of Life because of negative reations from my mother and other people. They would just say "it's demeaning" but never go into the reasons why they felt that way...they'd just change the subject.

While I will probably never warm to any of those three flicks, at least Mr. Bogle's book has helped me to understand why none of those movies or black actors in them can be dismissed out of hand, and how each motion picture in its own way spurred black people to get out there and find their own voice in Hollywood.

It has certainly inspired me to get out there, learn more, find and watch those "race" movies. I've discovered my local library has a lot of them both silent and "talkies", and quite a few are available for purchase online. In the past few weeks, I've watched two Oscar Micheaux movies, and I finally saw St Louis Blues (1929) in its entirety with Bessie Smith. I also discovered the "soundies" from the 1940s, those were the percursers to MTV...

Beause of Mr. Bogle's book, I am making plans to further my self-education on Black Hollywood history by collecting these films, visiting the graves of several black Hollywood pioneers when I visit Los Angeles next spring...and I will also go see and photograph their stars on the Walk of Fame, too. My mission? To make sure their contributions are NEVER forgotten, nor blown off by uninformed snarks who don't remember anything prior to the 1980s 'hip-hop' culture. Why is this so important? Because when you think of it, if there were no Birth Of A Nation, there may not have been an Oscar Micheaux...and perhaps no Spike Lee! If there was no "Gone With The Wind", then maybe we'd still be waiting for a black woman to win an Oscar...or not...one can never tell.

The only real complaint I have about the book? I wish there had been more pictures included! Otherwise, I think it is a real winner overall...and I recommend it for any person of color who is a serious student of theatre or film.
December 22, 2006

How can Bogle stay so consistent?

Here's a long but informative review!
Naturally since Bogle is the only one writing about early Black film stars people believe everything he says. He plays it safe by always talking about the same ole' stars that he talked about in his last books. Never does he introduce the public to unsung talents we never heard of. He spends most of the time talking about how mulatto, how light or how dark such and such is and how such and such couldn't do this or that because of this or that. When whites write on their stars they don't write about how blonde, how brunette or how red head someone was and how Irish or Italian one looked. Which proves how stuck on skin color Blacks really are! Why do Blacks feel they always have to spend time talking about race instead of giving these stars their recognition and due, forgetting how they look and telling of their life and versatile careers, who they really were, where they come from, making one reading feel like they knew the person all their lives, make one feel the happiness and sadness.
Bogle spends more time on what they didn't do then what they did do. Which is sad, the public is missing out on a lot. So again, do for yourself the research and don't' depend on others all the time.

Bogle loves talking about how white Fredi Washington looked instead of writing about her extensive, incredible career, she done more in her life then most of us could dream about it, she didn't let others prejudices hold her back. She was no tragic mulatto, another stupid name, minus well call Stepin Fetchit a tragic ni**er which he wasn't, he was the first black millionaire and no more of a stereotype then Black pimps, gangsters of today who are getting rich off of it like Step got rich off of his stereotype. Fredi will be the first to say she had a great life and career. She wasn't sad or confused but a strong black woman. Bogle is no better than a white writer who puts down a black but thinks its okay to coin a book Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks because he's black, I'm sure if a white titled a book that we be yelling racism, don't Black talents deserve a better title?

Bogle also plays it safe by always talking about Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge, never telling the stories and never giving recognition to other black actresses like Nina Mae McKinney, Mildred Washington, Theresa Harris, Fredi Washington, Edna Mae Harris, Florence O'Brien, Louise Franklin, Daisy Bufford, Jeni LeGon Evelyn Preer, Suzette Harbin, Hilda Simms, Francine Everett, Shirley Haven and countless of others who had a chance to display their talents on the screen in Hollywood and helped fight discrimination and help in the enhancement and betterment of blacks on screen but he gives all the credit to Horne and Dandridge, who didn't do as much as others if you want to get down to the truth, but I'm glad he don't talk about them in a way because he'll butcher up their life stories, I'll give them their due though. Many aren't remembered because maybe they didn't do as much, who cares about who has done more, were suppose to be remembering them for accomplishments and talents, right? White film historians sure remember all their stars, little or big. Someone like Louise Brooks, considered a early Hollywood icon is highly regarded as a great actress despite she only had a few good films and wasnt a big movie star. The woman is more remembered for one good film and a bobbed hairstyle but white historians will make sure you know her, her achievements and what she DID DO for the film industry. Why can't Bogle be like that instead of criticizing everyone and judging them by white people's standards of what success and beauty is? I guess it's true that you gotta work twice as hard as whites to be someone in this world, whites can be remembered for little things, few successes, Blacks gotta have many successes to get rememberance and recognition even for other Blacks to remember them. Bogle is one of the few black film historians, you would think he would write more positively of blacks in Hollywood but he treats many worse then whites treated them when they were alive. Bogle never mentions Willie Covan and Marie Bryant (and appeared in movies also and was a good friend of Lena Horne's too) who choreograhed many white stars, they were behind the scenes but contributed to Hollywood. He suppose to be giving credit not taking away. Either Bogle is too lazy or likes to show favoritism because he sure won't tell other unsung talents stories. If he does he clutter it up with talking about their looks especially if he doesn't know how to write about them. Bogle knows nothing about the great career of Nina Mae McKinney, the first movie star of Hollywood and Europe, who done more films then any other black actress of her time, the first to appear on many magazines, she had so many achievements, yet he gives her one little page, if you don't know about a person, I rather you not write about them at all then to write lies. He never talks about the Black Cinema independent movie stars or the industry who was apart of American cinema, I guess their too hard for him to research, so he takes the easy path in writing about stars he already wrote about a million times. He never writes about Ethel Moses, Francine Everett, Dorothy Van Engle, Edna Mae Harris, Margaret Whitten, Tomiwitta Moore, Bee Freeman, Lorenzo Tucker, Monte Hawley, Ralph Cooper (created the first black studio in Hollywood), Oscar Micheaux, Spencer Williams and countless other black movie stars who appeared in films for blacks made by blacks in the 30's and 40's, I guess that's too mediocre for him but they done more for the enhancement of Blacks in movies by creating their own images, own roles, own portrayals, playing people from all walks of life unlike ones in Hollywood who were stuck playing the same types of roles and being the same images he always complaining about well I feel give due to ones who at least tried to do for themselves and become what they wanted but see they weren't cross-overs so their looked at as non-important by some which kind of dictated by whites who we should remembered and who's important. It's hard researching Black Cinema stars but boy it's worth it plus studying them, watching them perform gives you a good idea of who they were even if you can't find info on them. I still find the time to give them due and I'm no professional or anything but Bogle is a high class guy who only likes to write about Hollywood and his favorite gals Horne and Dandridge.

Ive done more research on unsung, forgotten stars then he has and it has been pleasurable teaching others on the net about blacks who contributed to stage and screen, stars who were just as important as Dandridge and Horne. I'm glad there are other people who are taking it upon themselves to tell the true stories of many unsung black legends and don't write in the same fashion as Bogle. Anyone who is hung up on skin color and don't want to think outside the box and like to hear the same stories then Bogle is for you but someone like me who researched many early black stars of stage and screen on my own and found out the real deal, found how they really were, found how they were really looked at, and found the true stories wouldn't appreciate Bogle's work much. I've talked with some legendary Blacks of the early years, some of their relatives also and they gave a completely different view then how Bogle describes them which shows he just goes by hearsay and documents and don't do accurate interviewing and researching.

I would think Bogle would spend more time on talking about the beauty of black women from dark to light and their wonderful achievements to the world. Black women are quite unique but instead Bogle tells the story of black women from white people's perspective it seems, he tells how black women were looked at from whites perspective not from a true black person's perspective that has pride for his race, maybe Bogle has a white person's way of thinking who is partial. Because I would commend these women, embrace and make the world embrace their beauty, courage, and talents; their many gifts to the world isn't as nearly written about as their skin tones are.
He loves spending time writing about how light, dark or mulatto someone looks. Again, he makes it seem like such and such suffered because she was mulatto, light or dark, come on man, if she had a tragic life it was her own fault if she suffered. He makes it seem like color and race was the problem for everything which is false, actually many of these women profited from the race sometimes and plus women in general face discrimination, no matter what race or color. Don't you think these women went through enough being judged by skin tone or looks, they wished in their life for being to judge their talent, at least give them that now, Bogle doesn't. Who isn't discriminated against in this world? Bogle makes it look like Black is a curse when these female performers change the world and introduce the world to their greatness and the greatness of the race. He loves talking about whether someone should of passed for white or not like when he's talking about the great Fredi Washington. He misses out on showcasing other great talents like Valaida Snow, Blanche Calloway, Una Mae Carlisle, Eunice Wilson, Adelaide Hall and others but that's okay because they have been written beautifully about by other writers. Well, many are dead so they cant stick up for themselves and Bogle takes advantage of that, he hasn't even interviewed or actually talked to ones who he writes about, he just goes by hearsay. Have your favorites but when you write a book, you can't show favoritism which he does all through which hurts others who has a story to tell but he only give honor to his faves. It seems no black can make him happy, he always has something to criticize. In his words every Black woman is a tragic, confused mulatto and every black man is a coon, or some other stereotype, he wouldn't say that to the young black guys or gals in entertainment today though, he takes advantage of the dead who can't stick up for themselves.

There is a website on unsung black talents of stage and screen, you all will enjoy.
http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/ninamaemckinney/

March 30, 2006

"Excellent research book"

I found this book excellent in its writing style and information. I finished it in 5 days and use it often to research on black hollywood. I loved it!!!

March 21, 2006

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