San Antonio College Library

A Gift of Joy is a collection of Helen Hayes' thoughts, reminiscences, and anecdotes, as well as selected pieces from her favorite writers. Taken together they express the very personal philosophy of a woman who has enjoyed self-fulfillment in both her professional and private life.

A biography of the American actress charting the course of her career and private life.

Actress Helen Hayes recounts her life on and off the stage, providing portraits of such personalities as Charlie Chaplin, William Randolph Hearst, and Gloria Swanson, and discussing her personal triumphs, tragedies, and regrets.

Describes the lesser-known technological talents of actress Hedy Lamarr and the collaborative work with avant-garde composer George Antheil that eventually led to the development of spread-spectrum radio, cell phones, and GPS systems.

They were everywhere, at least on the silver screen of the 1920s and 1930s: vamps and vixens with a dangerous talent for slinking away with a scene. Bad girl roles abounded, and most actresses played at least one. But for a small group of actresses, the spike heel was a perfect fit, and they wore it, over and over again. Because censorship required that goodness prevail, the bad girl was often a supporting or secondary role. As a result, few of these...

"Rediscover the fascinating lives and pioneering achievements of 15 women who dared to venture into early motion pictures, at a time when the industry was dominated by men. These women not only succeeded but became focal points of the industry, earning positions at the heights of their profession. Many are largely forgotten today, yet each made a lasting and significant contribution to early cinema." "Each profile contains a biographical treatment,...

They were the king and queen of the American theater, embodying all the clichés of the successful acting couple--temperamental, professional, argumentative, competitive, rebellious, ingenious, on-stage magic, offstage magical. Until they retired in 1960, the Lunts stood for high style and high professionalism on the American stage. After their first joint performance in Ferenc Molnar's "The Guardsman" in 1924, shortly after their marriage, they adopted...