The nice guys at Larry Edmunds Bookshop are back in the swing of events with two book parties for Robert Matzen, author of “Fireball: Carole Lombard & the Mystery of Flight 3.”
Matzen takes a fresh look at Hollywood’s Queen of Screwball Comedies, Carole Lombard, and examines the plane crash that took her life on Jan. 16, 1942. With TWA’s most experienced pilot flying a 10-month-old aircraft on a clear night, why did the flight crash into the side of a Nevada mountain?
Having just completed the first sale of war bonds and stamps, following the U.S. entry into World War II, Lombard became the first Hollywood star to sacrifice her life in the war. “Fireball” tells multiple stories: the passengers (including 15 members of the U.S. Army Air Corps), the friends and families left behind (such as Lombard’s husband Clark Gable) and the first responders who struggled up a mountain hoping to perform a miracle rescue.
There will be two signings this week:
From 8-10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16 at the Museum of Flying, 3100 Airport Ave. in Santa Monica.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18 at Larry Edmunds Bookshop, 6644 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 323-463-3273.
Known as the Rembrandt of Hollywood, Hurrell (1904–1992) was the creator of the glamour portrait and played a crucial role in establishing the star power of Tinseltown’s elite. Perhaps most famous for his work with Joan Crawford, he also photographed Marlene Dietrich, Norma Shearer, Bette Davis, Jane Russell, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Warren Beatty and, as you can see from the book’s cover, the stunning blonde goddess, Carole Lombard.