Researching our stories which are set in the mid 1950s led us to discover the huge changes that came to Hollywood. Television was stealing customers from theaters and color TV was coming into the mainstream. So what did the big studios do?
The movie screens got wider, the color got more vivid, and they even tried 3-D! Drive-in theaters were going strong, but the fact you could stay home and watch a variety of different programs for FREE made competition for customers fierce.
Many actors who had staked their careers in the big screen movies were, at first leery of the little box with the small screen. Some thought it was only for game shows and low brow comedy. It didn’t take long to see that was where steady work and the money was.
What about books? Books were doing great, and many stories were adapted to both movies and television. Take Perry Mason for instance. Erle Stanley Gardner was a well known mystery writer, but when his stories came to television, he became rich!
Will
SLIVERS OF GLASS
Southern California 1955: the summer Disneyland opened, but even "The Happiest Place on Earth" couldn't hide the smell of dirty cops, corruption and murder.
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Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn had been writing individually until they got together and wrote the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1955. Janet has published seven mystery novels and Will has three plus a couple of short stories. Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and live in Southern California.
http://www.willzeilingerauthor.com/
www.themarriedauthors.blogspot.com
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A rumor began during the run of the 1970sTV show, The Brady Bunch. It was that 36-year-old Florence Henderson and co-star, 16-year-old Barry Williams, who played the oldest son Greg, dated and had an affair. This shocking bit of scandal haunted Henderson long after the show ended.
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While researching the 1950s, we came across memoirs of Los Angeles. Since our Private Eye character, Skylar Drake, moonlights as a stuntman for the movie industry, the Hollywood scene during that time is an intricate part of each book.
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The civil and criminal actions lawsuit that came after the accident, during the filming of Twilight Zone, was the result of negligence.
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Researching for a book takes many forms. When it comes to finding unique characters, I love to people-watch. That activity allows me to discover interesting physical characteristics and mannerisms I can use to flesh out some of the people (and animals) who make up the cast of characters.
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It’s hard to forget the 1950s scandal with Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor, leaving a furious Hedda Hopper, and heartbroken Debbie Reynolds.
Featured Books
FORGOTTEN WITNESS
A madman's ramblings, a government's secrets and a personal pain send Josie Bates into hell on earth.
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