BBC/AudioGO Publishes New Edition of Acclaimed Hollywood Biography

The spring publication of this dual biography also marks the centennial of Universal City itself.

As industry royalty, Lew Wasserman and his politically shrewd wife Edie ruled over 20th Century Hollywood for more than 60 years, longer than any other duo, and outlasting L.B. Mayer, Jack Warner and all the other moguls. With Lew at the helm and Edie at his side, the couple built the world’s largest talent agency, cultivating such talent as Dean Martin, Alfred Hitchcock, Marilyn Monroe, and Janet Leigh. When television was born, they produced Leave it to Beaver, Dragnet, and Law & Order among hundreds of other series.

When movies seemed to be dying, Lew bought a broken-down film studio and incurred the town’s ridicule. But he transformed Universal Studios into a global juggernaut, producing Jaws, E.T., King Kong and other blockbusters. The couple went on to develop politicos such as Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan and another power couple, Bill and Hillary Clinton. If not for the Wassermans, there’d be no river of cash between Washington, D.C. and our entertainment capitol.

Celebrated author and award-winning journalist Kathleen Sharp covered Hollywood for the Boston Globe and now chronicles the amazing story of this legendary couple in an updated edition of her book. First published by Carroll & Graf, it received excellent reviews from Vanity Fair, New York Newsday and Kirkus Reviews, which called it “dramatic and enthralling.” She helped turn her book into a film documentary The Last Mogul.

Now, the book is available for the first time in audio and e-book form. The Santa Barbara-based author is scheduling interviews, speaking engagements and booksignings. To schedule an appearance and obtain a review copy of the ebook of Mr. and Mrs. Hollywood, please contact publicist Kate Schwab: K8Schwab@gmail.com.