Joseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years

by Cari Beauchamp

Book Overview

Joseph P. Kennedy's reputation as a savvy businessman, diplomat, and sly political patriarch is well-documented. But his years as a Hollywood mogul have never been fully explored until now. In Joseph... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400040000
• ISBN13: 9781400040001
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 506 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.6" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Joseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years

This meticulously researched, highly intelligent read clarifies the Joseph Kennedy myth. Yes, he was a ruthless and highly effective businessman who earned much of his fortune from hard work mixed with placing himself continuously at the edge of the newest, latest opportunity. The easy throwaway line that he made all his money as a bootlegger is dispelled by this account of JPK's dealings in Hollywood. Many who can barely approach JPK's level of confidence and skill often wish to negate his considerable accomplishments through facile throwaway lines. The man was brilliant though clearly not soft, weak, or even thoughtful towards those who might thwart his steamroller ambition. Many say that "timing is everything;" his business timing was impeccable. Well worth the read for anyone who has a serious interest in the true story about the beginnings of the Kennedy dynasty and legacy; and, the early days of Hollywood.

Interesting take on Kennedy history......

Great read, interesting take on the Kennedy saga detailing Joe Sr's years in Hollywood, wheeling and dealing and making the foundation of the family fortune.......

The Stocks and Bonds of Joseph P. Kennedy

This review refers to the Audible version of the book, since the new Audible site has disabled its review and ratings features (no buttons for this any more). Joseph P. Kennedy Presents is an interesting book, although it's less engaging than Beauchamp's earlier book on Frances Marion, Without Lying Down. Beauchamp has done a lot of work in the archives and is able to trace Kennedy's business dealings in intricate, sometimes excruciating, detail. Although she dispels the idea that Kennedy was a bootlegger, she does point out that at the beginning of WWII he was able to send 200,000 cases of liquor back to the U.S., when such shipments were prohibited, by using his diplomatic status as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James. The Kennedy that emerges in this book is a brilliant businessman and a charismatic figure who had the foresight to invent new ways of structuring companies to maximize profits for himself, although in a classic case of shutting the barn door after the horses have escaped, many of these methods were later regulated out of existence, due perhaps in part to the wreckage that he left behind. Beauchamp points out that to Kennedy's way of thinking, this kind of wreckage was not his problem: if Gloria Swanson or others who trusted him did not look out for themselves, that was their fault for being too naive. The women left in the wake of his serial and incessant womanizing (as described here) were similarly at fault, in his mind, if they didn't manage to escape the charm offensive (and occasionally hands-on groping) that he continued to engage in throughout his life. Lest this sound too negative, Beauchamp stresses Kennedy's love for his children despite absences from home that seem from this book to stretch for months at a time. Kennedy had charm, energy, intelligence, and charisma, and he could read a balance sheet like nobody's business. Ethics in business seems to have eluded him as a concept, but he had a powerful grasp of the idea of public relations. Although he used these in damaging ways (as during his isolationism in WWII), he's still a fascinating figure to read about.

Joseph P. Kennedy Presents His Hollywood Years

A truly outstanding book which provided countless previously unknown looks into Mr. Kennedy's involvement in the film industry.

Kennedy Changed Hollywood, But For Better Or Worse?

There have been previous books on Joseph P. Kennedy, and much attention given to his financial dealings, but nothing so far has focused on his Hollywood years. Until now. Beauchamp ran into repeated references to Kennedy as she researched her book /Without Lying Down/, but it wasn't until she received access to the John F. Kennedy Library for a Vanity Fair article, that she realized that there was way more material on JPK's time in Hollywood, than she could fit into a 5,000 word article. Years of research later, Beauchamp presents her findings; a tale of ruthlessness, greed and excess that could have served as its own movie. JPK entered Hollywood by buying western film studio FBO, and after a couple of years of collecting other studios and theaters, combined them all into RKO. /Joseph P. Kennedy Presents His Hollywood Years/ is more than just book about his business dealings, but documents his affair with Gloria Swanson, his many personal rivalries (especially with William Randolf Hearst) and the rise and fall of his influence over the studio system. It is an intriguing story, and Beauchamp tells it well, with plenty of notes to document her conclusions. The book is dense, but not overly scholarly, and easy to read. The late 1920s and early 1930s were an exciting period of time in Hollywood. JPK is no longer an under-appreciated player in its history.