For millions of movie lovers, no era in the history of Hollywood is more beloved than the period from the 1930s through the 1950s, the golden age of the studio system. Not only did it produce many of the greatest films of the American cinema, but it was then that Hollywood itself became firmly established as the nation's ultimate symbol of glamour and style, its stars almost godlike figures whose dazzling lives were chronicled in countless features in magazines like Photoplay and Modern Screen.
While these features were a standard part of the work of studio publicity departments, they told eager readers little about what life was really like for these celebrities once they steped out of the public eye. No one is better qualified to tell that story than Robert Wagner, whose own career has spanned more than five decades and whose New York Times bestseller, Pieces of My Heart, was one of the most successful Hollywood memoirs in recent years. You Must Remember This is Wagner's intimate ode to a bygone time, one of magnificent homes, luxurious hotels, opulent nightclubs and restaurants, and unforgettable parties that were all part of the Hollywood social scene at its peak.
From a dinner party at Clifton Webb's at which Judy Garland sang Gershwin at the piano to golf games with Fred Astair, from Jimmy Cagney's humble farmhouse in Coldwater Canyon to the magnificent beach mansion built by William Randolph Hearst for Marion Davies, from famous restaurants like the Brown Derby and Romanoff's to nightspots like the Trocadero and the Mocambo, Wagner shares his affectionate memories and anecdotes about the places and personalities that have all become part of Hollywood legend.
As poignant as it is revealing, You Must Remember This is Wagner's account of Hollywood as he saw it, far from the lights and cameras and gossip columns - and a tender farewell to the people of a mythical place long since transformed, and to a golden age long since passed.
