FREDRIC MARCH: A CONSUMMATE ACTOR Charles Tranberg

FREDRIC MARCH: A CONSUMMATE ACTOR. Charles Tranberg. BearManor; 2013.

Tranberg, who has also written books on Fred MacMurray, and an especially outstanding tome on Agnes Moorehead, now looks at the life and career of Fredric March. Tranberg makes the point that March, strangely, seems forgotten when he won and was nominated for several Academy Awards, and appeared in several famous motion pictures, such as the original A Star is Born. Tranberg looks at March's early life, his stage career, his brief first marriage, and his long-lasting union with actress Florence Eldridge. Unfortunately, nowadays March would be seen as a bit of a pig and sexual harasser when it came to women, at least according to several accounts in the book, but this, of course, doesn't negate his considerable acting ability and his many achievements. Two of March's greatest performances were in Inherit the Wind and Middle of the Night, his last romantic lead role.

Verdict: Solid bio of a fine and unjustly neglected actor. ***.

I LOVE THE ILLUSION: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF AGNES MOOREHEAD

I LOVE THE ILLUSION: The Life and Career of AGNES MOOREHEAD. Charles Tranberg. BearManor Media; 2007.

In this excellent biography by the author of Fred MacMurray: A Biography, the life and career of talented actress Agnes Moorehead is thoroughly examined and scrupulously researched. Moorehead had a successful radio career -- "Sorry, Wrong Number" on Suspense was one of her career highlights -- and also benefited [and vice versa] from her association with Orson Welles, with such films as Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. Moorehead toured with Shaw's "Don Juan in Hell," appeared in many movies [including Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte] and eventually landed a gig as Endora on Bewitched that made her a household name for the boob tube generation. Tranberg looks at Moorehead's marriages, her conservative politics and religious attitudes, and her relationships with her famous co-players.

Tranberg is to be congratulated for handling a sensitive area with class.Some biographers, when faced with rumors that their subject might be gay, react in a homophobic fashion, denying with outrage as if being gay were in a class with being a terrorist or child molester. Tranberg investigated the rumors, doesn't seem to give a damn if Moorehead were a lesbian or not, but simply could not come up with enough solid evidence to definitely say she was gay or bisexual. Apparently the rumors only got started because of a silly remark made by comedian Paul Lynde. Sure, Moorehead could have been a repressed lesbian restricted by her religious and conservative attitudes, but without solid proof one can't say so and no one will  ever know for sure [about Moorehead and many others]. Besides, her sexuality isn't the question or the point, but rather her talent, which Tranberg illustrates adeptly on virtually every page. The book also includes a list of especially memorable Bewitched episodes and is generously illustrated as well.

Verdict: Outstanding biography of a noteworthy figure. ****.

FRED MACMURRAY: A BIOGRAPHY

FRED MACMURRAY: A BIOGRAPHY. Charles Tranberg. 2007. Bear Manor Media.

The under-rated MacMurray at last gets the major bio treatment in this fine work by Charles Tranberg. Although MacMurray, whose life and career avoided scandal and the sensational for the most part, might stymie most biographers, Tranberg has managed to come up with an interesting book that goes behind the scenes of MacMurray's many movies, such as Double Indemnity, and his long-running TV series My Three Sons. (The show was filmed out of sequence, with MacMurray coming in only for a few days to shoot his sequences with the rest of the cast.) MacMurray had his flaws -- he refused to hire director Mitchell Leisen for My Three Sons because he didn't want the homosexual director around young boys (the old gay man as molester stereotype) but at least this happened way back in the sixties. The book is filled with many friends and co-workers' impressions of the actor. MacMurray himself might have been a bit on the dull side, but this book about him is not.

Verdict: Good show. ***.