Hollywood Pilot
The Biography of Paul Mantz
Dwiggins, Don
First Edition - rare book
Paul Mantz grew up in aviation, starting in the days when dare-devil fliers in rickety biplanes entertained yokels at country fairs, and culminating in camera flying for the first Cinerama spectaculars. In between, he won a record number of Bendix Air Trophies. He operated a Charter service (christened the Honeymoon Express) for some big names who wanted to get to Nevada in a hurry - and the secret passenger lists read like a Whos Who of the entertainment world. Some of Paul's closest friends were legendary in aviation, among others: Jimmy Doolittle and Amelia Earhart, who enlisted Mantz's technical advice for her round-the-world flight.
Name any spot around the world, including some not usually associated with low-flying aircraft under the Brooklyn Bridge, over the Matterhorn, right through numerous plane hangars - and barnstorming Paul Mantz was likely to have flown there, either for fun, photographs, or at the request of an eloping Hollywood star. Here is the salty and outspoken story of a remarkable career, much of it in Mantz's own words, as told before he died in 1965 in a stunt plane crash during the making of 'Flight of the Phoenix'.
HOLLYWOOD PILOT has the devil-may-care tone that characterized a colorful man, in addition to vignettes and outspoken opinions of other aviation greats who characterized an era. It's wonderful reading for aviation and movie buffs alike.
Don Dwiggins, a flier himself, is an award-winning writer of aviation magazine articles and the former Aviation Editor of the Los Angeles Mirror-News. He lives in Malibu, California.
Hardcover with dust jacket
249 Seiten / pages
many photos
book very good condition, dust jacked with tears
Garden City, New York - 1967 - Doubleday & Company
Art.Nr. 25035