In the 1930s and 1940s, an untamed group of Hollywood notables, men mostly well-known for their talents on the silver screen, frequently met and behaved in a manner that no doubt made them infamous within their community. For a brief period, their insatiable appetites for women and strong drink made them the life of the party. The group included the likes of actors John Barrymore. Errol Flynn, W.C. Fields, and Anthony Quinn: writers Gene Fowler. Will Fowler, and Ben Hecht: art critic Sadakichi Hartmann: and the man who stood at the center of this gang of mischief makers: eccentric artist John Decker. Additional characters who were regulars on the scene included Pulitzer Prize winning poet Robert Hillver: artist and goldsmith Philip Paval: and actors Thomas Mitchell.
Vincent Price. John Carradine. Burgess Meredith. Roland Young, and Lionel Barrymore. In time, the group became known as the Bundy Drive Boys - named for the location of their favorite hangout. Decker's home and art studio-and their adventures became legendary, if not downright scandalous. In Hollywood's Original Rat Pack: The Bards of Bundy Drive. Stephen C.
Jordan revisits the lives and times of this free-spirited gang and rekindles the spirit of their excesses. In this lighthearted history. Jordan introduces the members of the Bundy Drive Boys and then focuses on the unique personalities of each man. Stardom or wealth had nothing to do with membership: rather, entry into the informal circle of actors, artists, writers, and poets required uniqueness of character. The group was often cynical, but always poetically so, and never sentimental. They enjoyed each other's company as friends, philosophers, poets, humorists, critics, and especially drinking companions. Hollywood's Original Rat Pack brings their lusty stories of carousing and debauchery to life and pays tribute to their carefree though admittedly reckless antics. A tribute to an all-but-forgotten era of Hollywood, this book will no doubt fascinate anyone interested in learning about Tinseltown's original troublemakers.
Book jacket.