Celebrity-In-Chief: How Show Business Took over the White House

Rating:
Summary: Washington and Hollywood: Locked In A Mutual Embrace
Review: For more than a century, presidents of the United States and Hollywood have been involved in a complicated, interdependent relationship. Sometimes the two have embraced each other with mutual affection (Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Bill
Clinton) and sometimes the relationship has been more arms-length (Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, the two George Bushes), but, as Alan Schroeder makes clear in this book, the two have developed a mutual dependence on each other.

Anyone who has followed politics and popular culture in recent decades will recall many of the incidents chronicled between these pages, but there is also much that hasn't been well-known previously. Did you know, for instance, that the relationship between Hollywood and the White House extends as far back as Woodrow Wilson's administration? Or than Dwight Eisenhower was the first president to make regular use of a media consultant (actor Robert Montgomery)? Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to JFK or Nixon meeting Elvis may provide the most enduring images in our collective memories; but as Schroeder makes clear, the reality of these relationships is often more subtle and complex. Presidents look toward Hollywood for a luster they might otherwise lack; stars are drawn toward the White House in hopes of gaining a degree of substance and credibility they can't claim on their own.

Today, some Americans still decry the relationship between politics and show business. While Schroeder offers no definitive conclusions, his work helps us to see that the two will always be interdependent; perhaps we should be instead asking how to make the partnership more beneficial to the public good and insure that there's substance behind the glitter.--William C. Hall

Rating:
Summary: The performers in theWhite House.
Review: Our recent presidents have been celebrities in different ways, some in music, acting, scholars, military geniuses, former governors of states in these U. S. A.

Mainly this book, compiled by Alan Schroeder (has quite a lengthy index of sources he used), relates the influence of show business on politics from the top on down. Harry Truman played piano passably and had a talented daughter, Margaret; he is shown performing with Jack Benny on the violin.

Richard Nixon also played the piano and even performed on the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville, TN He invited Elvis Presley to the White House. Bill Clinton played the saxophone somewhat and was the butt of jokes on several t.v. shows. He promoted Barbra Streisand because she was a favorite of his dear Mother's. He also invited United Artists' producer Mike Medavoy to the White House and allowed him to sit in the chair there in the Oval Office and he and his wife spent the night there.

Ronald Reagan should have the title of "celebrity" pres. but I think the title really goes to John F. Kennedy. He went all out to seduce movie stars with the assistance of his brother-in-law, actor Peter Lawford. He had an association with Frank Sinatra at the same time Sinatra was sharing a mistress with a Mafia leader. Politics are indeed strange bedfellows.

Dwight Eisenhower welcomed Robert Montgomery and the pianist, Liberace, to the White House as he did his favorite (and mine) singer, Eddie Fisher, who sang 'Count Your Blessings.' Eddie also sang with a group of other male celebrities, 'Together' to JFK, as did his favorite, Marilyn Monroe.

Gerald Ford, the non-President, only one to not be voted in by the populace, favored comedians off t.v. shows and John Wayne who narrated a fabulous collaboration to America and her people. He also like Carol Channing for some reason.

Jimmy Carter, the scholar and chaste one, is shown with John Travolta who went on many years later to play a Presidential candidate in the movies.

The moviedom out in California have always had a say in politics of this great nation. Hearst who built that marvelous mansion along Route 1 for his movie star, Marion Davises, owned the newspapers which could make or break a candidate.

These are interesting ancedotes naming some big names. The photos are good. My favorite was of the thirty-two Hollywood stars who posed with Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940. Have things changed? Is L.A. still a dominant influence on the nation's politics and our leaders who must represent all states, not just one.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: This book is a sweeping look at 20th century presidents and show-biz stars. Each chapter introduces a theme ("Celebrities can be good for Presidents," "Celebrities can be bad for Presidents," etc.), and then examines the theme president by president, in a systematic (often chronological) order. Each chapter can stand alone, and each president's section in a chapter can stand alone. In short, much of the book reads like snippets from a newspaper style section or People magazine. The number of big names per page in the book may be unprecedented. Schroeder keeps his own insights appropriately light, and all the antecdotes about (mainly) FDR to W. Bush have a cumulative effect on themes; charisma helps power, "co-stars" affect image, circuses are as important as bread, social events are diplomacy, popularity is king....

Most sections are dedicated to the leaders who appealed to celebrities: FDR, JFK, Clinton. And to the former celebrity, Reagan.... And Nixon with Sammy, and his enemies list... Okay, lots of presidents are covered well :-). Schroeder's book is excellent for a great overview of Presidents and stars (with subtext on media relations and mass psychology) over the last 100 years... in a way that actually altered my concept of time. (You mean Kennedy was only 20 years after FDR? That's like Reagan '84 to Bush '04 -- that's not that long! And Bob Hope went all the way to back then? And Lauren Bacall was hot! Not too long ago!). I know it's basic math, but Schroeder's deft moves through the familiar players and decades makes the "distant" past seem very tangible. And the book is fresh, covering the after effects of 9/11, and even the governorship of Arnold S. For fans of U.S. politics, this book is a quick, fun read. Also try "Power and Glitter"... after Schroeder's book, which is better :-). Peace out!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: This book is a sweeping look at 20th century presidents and show-biz stars. Each chapter introduces a theme ("Celebrities can be good for Presidents," "Celebrities can be bad for Presidents," etc.), and then examines the theme president by president, in a systematic (often chronological) order. Each chapter can stand alone, and each president's section in a chapter can stand alone. In short, much of the book reads like snippets from a newspaper style section or People magazine. The number of big names per page in the book may be unprecedented. Schroeder keeps his own insights appropriately light, and all the antecdotes about (mainly) FDR to W. Bush have a cumulative effect on themes; charisma helps power, "co-stars" affect image, circuses are as important as bread, social events are diplomacy, popularity is king....

Most sections are dedicated to the leaders who appealed to celebrities: FDR, JFK, Clinton. And to the former celebrity, Reagan.... And Nixon with Sammy, and his enemies list... Okay, lots of presidents are covered well :-). Schroeder's book is excellent for a great overview of Presidents and stars (with subtext on media relations and mass psychology) over the last 100 years... in a way that actually altered my concept of time. (You mean Kennedy was only 20 years after FDR? That's like Reagan '84 to Bush '04 -- that's not that long! And Bob Hope went all the way to back then? And Lauren Bacall was hot! Not too long ago!). I know it's basic math, but Schroeder's deft moves through the familiar players and decades makes the "distant" past seem very tangible. And the book is fresh, covering the after effects of 9/11, and even the governorship of Arnold S. For fans of U.S. politics, this book is a quick, fun read. Also try "Power and Glitter"... after Schroeder's book, which is better :-). Peace out!