Behind the Screen

William Mann's Behind the Screen is a thoughtful & eye-opening look at the totality of the gay experience in studio-era Hollywood. Much has been written about how gays have been portrayed in the movies but no book--until now--has looked at their influence behind the screen. Whether out of or in the closet, gays & lesbians have from the very beginning played a significant role in shaping Hollywood. Gay actors were among the earliest matinee idols & gay directors have long been among the most popular & commercially successful filmmakers. In fact, gay set & costume designers created the very look of Hollywood. With this landmark book, Mann fills a void in the Hollywood history archives. Written in the tradition of Neal Gabler's An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood & based on hundreds of hours of interviews with survivors of this golden age, Behind the Screen is destined to become a classic of film literature.Mann, William J. is the author of 'Behind the Screen' with ISBN 9780670030170 and ISBN 0670030171.