|
SAN SIMEON: A MEMORIAL TO EGO, Hearst wanted his papers to entertain and not
merely report the news. Often, he was criticized by colleagues for
printing lies. Hearst searched for the lurid story, the extravagant
headline, the audacious editorial. In 1906, Collier's magazine said
that the ideal morning edition of a Hearst paper would declare that
"the Prince of Wales had gone into vaudeville, Queen Victoria
had married her cook, the Pope had issued an encyclical favoring
free love .... France had declared war on Germany, and the president
of the United States had secured a divorce to marry the Dowager
Empress of China." |
|
| Using the power of his
press with the subtlety of a club, Hearst ran unsuccessfully for mayor
of New York City and governor of New York State. Hearst also used
his influence to interest Louis B. Mayer in developing a screen career
for his mistress, Marian Davis. She became a popular actress, but
despite the estimated seven million dollars that was lavished on her
promotion, Hearst was never satisfied with what he had achieved.
But San Simeon was his one indisputable success. W.A.
Swanberg, a Hearst biographer, describes Hearst Castle as one man's
revolt against history. It was as if, says Swanberg, Hearst knew
that his newspapers were vulgar, his political career a failure,
and his motion pictures unsuccessful. San Simeon was to be a monument
to his greatness. |
 |
 |
|
|
And it is. It towered over California and even celebrities came to see and wonder. Hearst's attention to his guests was legendary. One Easter morning, his house party awoke to find his gardeners had worked all night to plant thousands of blooming Easter lilies below their windows. He made three telephone operators available round the clock for guests' calls. Chefs produced the most lavish meals at a moment's notice. A visit to Hearst Castle was an occasion stranger than movie fiction, even for people like Samuel Goldwyn, Florenz Ziegfeld, Louis B. Mayer, Will, Rogers, Gloria Swanson, Charles Lindbergh, and Aldous Huxley.
|
|
| PAGE 1 2 3 | MORE >> |
