Today, Norm Goldman, editor of Sketchandtravel.com and Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have author William A.Gordon as a guest.
William has written: The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book: Shot On This Site: Four Dead In Ohio: and The Quotable Writer.
Good morning William and thank you for agreeing to participate in our interview.
William: I’m very happy to do it.
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Could you tell us about yourself and when did your passion for writing begin? What kept you going?
William:
I started writing when I was eight years old and was quite prolific in my preteen years. I used to study the “Hardy Boys” novels and then wrote a couple of my own. I was a huge fan of television, and I didn’t just write demo scripts, I used to plan what were then 39-week seasons with plots and everything.
I guess I was an aspiring producer in my teenage years. I stopped writing for several years and then got back to it in college, where I wrote for the UCLA Daily Bruin. I then transferred to Kent State and wrote my first book on the 1970 shootings and trials. It took me almost eight years to write the book and another nine to get it published, but after that things fell into place and I wrote three more books.
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Two of the books he wrote are The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book and Shot On Site. Why did you get interested in writing these books? Can you explain some of his research techniques and how you found sources for his books?
William:
I wrote these books after Four Dead in Ohio was published in 1990. I needed to do something radically different and more appealing to the general public. And since I’ve always loved driving around Los Angeles (LA is my Paris), I wrote the tour book almost for fun. The One That Launched My Career, and Shot on This Site, was essentially a spin-off book. It covered movie locations across the United States, while the Hollywood book pointed tourists to movie and television locations in Los Angeles, among other attractions.
Having a background in investigative journalism prepared me to make the transition to investigative tourism. I interviewed real estate agents and Hollywood historians to find out who lived where and when; and browse celebrity biographies for more background information on the stars and their homes.
I would also go to the county assessor to confirm property records, and to the LA permit office to find records of who was allowed to film where in LA Plus I had friends in the entertainment industry who would take me to some of the places that tourists never visit. discovered My favorites include some of the sites that inspired songs and the so-called “Flying Saucer” house in the Hollywood Hills.
Standard:
Which celebrity owns the largest house in Los Angeles? The most expensive: The most disappointing?
William:
* The biggest house is owned by Aaron Spelling, the producer he brought in is “Charlie’s Angels”, “Dynasty”, “Melrose Place” and a lot of nonsense. He bought the old estate from Bing Crosby for $10 million, tore it down and then built a 123-room, 56,000-square-foot, $40 million mansion on the site. It is larger than the Taj Mahal or about 31 times the size of the average American house.
* However, he does not own the most expensive house in Los Angeles. That distinction belongs to David Geffen, one of the founders of DreamWorks. He bought the former property from Jack Warner for $47.5 million. Ironically, he spends most of his time at his beach house in Malibu, where he has just lost a fight with environmental activists who had to sue him to honor a deal that would allow beachgoers to access the public beach next door. from your house.
* The most disappointing house, at least for a celebrity of his magnitude, belongs to Jack Nicholson. He has a very modest country house, although he owns other houses for his children and his ex.
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If you had to choose 5 Hollywood venues for a wedding, as long as the venue was available for rent, which ones would you choose and why?
William:
* If you like castles, there is a castle known as Friedman’s Castle on Hollyridge Drive in the Hollywood Hills. It is sometimes rented out for weddings, as is the “Dynasty” house in Pasadena. It also rents out for corporate parties and has been in quite a few movies.
* There are also a few hotels, including the Bel-Air Hotel, which has storybook quality, and the two Ritz-Carltons in Pasadena and Marina del Rey.
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How have you used the Internet to further your writing career?
William:
The internet really helps my publishing career instead of my writing career. The editorial list servers I belong to give me some visibility and I like to give advice to writers who are in the same boat as I was. I hate to see people make the same mistakes I made when I started.
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Why are people so interested in visiting celebrity homes and why do they want to see where movies have been shot?
William:
People are fascinated, in fact probably a little too fascinated, with celebrities and their lifestyles. Looking at celebrity homes is probably no different than visiting presidential homes or libraries. It’s the closest most people get to power, and being a celebrity is a form of power.
When it comes to movies, I always enjoy seeing places that I’ve lived close to appear on the big screen. And also many people. However, if you visit some of the sites after the fact and take a close look at them, you may end up disappointed. The big screen works wonders in conventional homes.
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Could you point our readers to 5 places like hotels, parks, etc. where celebrities have been married and who were these celebrities?
William:
The best-known celebrities do not usually marry in places of worship.
never again, at least not in Los Angeles. It seems that more and more people are getting married in large private homes (Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears being two recent examples), and I think the reason is to protect their privacy. The Hotel Bel-Air is a popular spot for those on the “B” list, as is the Hotel Beverly Hills. . .
Standard:
Do you recommend other writers to find a niche or specialty? What have been the rewards for you?
William:
Yes, and I think not having a niche hasn’t helped my career. My tastes are too eclectic, and that’s not necessarily a good thing.
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What’s next for William A. Gordon? Is there anything else you would like to add to our interview?
William:
I’m between books right now, but I still sell my “Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book” year after year, and I’m happy that “Four Dead in Ohio” has been adopted into several college courses. Right now I’m selling databases to publishers and advertisers and looking for my next project.
Standard:
What is your website?
William:
* http://www.nrbooks.com.
Thank you and good luck with all your future endeavours.
