They Talked to the Stars of Hollywood's 'Golden Age'

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David Fantle and Tom Johnson were Twin Cities high school students when they discovered their love for old Hollywood. This was in the pre-home video, pre-Wiki 1970s when learning about old movies involved lots of legwork (and staying up till all hours for the “Late Late Show” on TV).

Their hands-on research brought many rewards—including the opportunity to meet some of the stars. Many marquee names from the 1930s through ’50s were still alive and—like most older people—eager to talk. Perhaps that explains why James Cagney and Gene Kelly agreed to be interviewed by a couple of unknown kids traveling to L.A. on spring break clutching notepads and tape recorders.

Fantle and Johnson turned their love into careers—Fantle as adjunct professor of film at Marquette University and Johnson as senior editor at Netflix. Their latest collection of articles drawn from their interviewing years, Hollywood Heyday: 75 Candid Interviews with Golden Age Legends, extends the definition of golden into television and pushes the timeline into the ’70s. Cagney and Kelly are included, as are Ed Asner and Bob Newhart.

Fantle and Johnson continued to conduct star interviews into the ’90s. Director Robert Wise resembled “a sagacious old owl” (with a memory sharp as an owl’s beak) by the time they reached him in 1995. Wise is best known for The Sound of Music and West Side Story but his career included editing Citizen Kane. He’s worth a book unto himself. Some subjects were not in good humor. Director Stanley Donen (Charade) behaved more like an impatient mob boss than a gracious host. But most encounters were charming and filled with memorable anecdotes. Angie Dickinson’s condition for granting an interview? Fantle and Johnson had to fetch a Grand Latte decaf from Starbucks on the way to her Beverly Hills home.

David Fantle will discuss Hollywood Heyday at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 7 at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, 6255 N Santa Monica Blvd., co-sponsored by Boswell Book Company Copies of the books will be available for purchase.