Books - John Frederick, Author

An Intimate Journey
Back to Hollywood's Golden Age

StarCatcher – A True Life Hollywood Fantasy takes the reader back in time, when Hollywood ‘really was,’ with quotes and stories from celebrated author John Frederick, who was there when they said it! Frederick has produced some 50 Hollywood productions, as both a writer and producer. He casually reminisces in an easy-to-read conversational style.

Great Read, Fantastic Book, A Hidden Gem

When looking for my next book to read, the title StarCatcher, A True Life Hollywood Fantasy grabbed my attention. If you're an old movie buff and remember stars like John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, George Burns, and many others, you will love this book. The author, John Frederick shares anecdotal memories of his experiences with movie and TV stars, public and military figures, as well as prominent sports figures. This book made me laugh, cry, and remember a time when movie stars were stars. I highly recommend this book and hope you enjoy it as much ad I did.

A Humorous Masterpiece

I loved this book as it's different. I did not have to plow through from beginning to end or to find that nothing has happened in the first twenty-five pages to hold my interest. The book is full of quotes that turn into stories. Each one fascinating, funny and informative. Each story is 2–3 pages long such that the book can be read in small, delicious bites. The book is perfect for those that love to read but may live a busy life. Star Catcher is like no other book I have ever read.

StarCatcher: A True Life Hollywood Fantasy

This book is about quotes and the headliners who made them. Author John Frederick met, interacted, or worked with some of the most famous, fascinating figures of the day, and was privileged to elicit (or overhear) comments that may give readers a totally different view of such people as John Wayne. While we were preparing for what would be his last film, the author asked Duke what had been the single most difficult thing to accept or overcome in his fifty year career. “Keeping your innocence and enthusiasm in the face of terrible rejection,” he answered. This probably does not match up with most people’s view of John Wayne. Almost every story in this book is fresh and new, never seen before.

This edition features …

Original Unseen Photographs
Coffe Table style book
Glossy Cardboard Cover

Personalized signed copies available here on StarCatcher.com.

To See Some Pages Inside this book…

Click Here to see the Featured Celebrities in this Book

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . 1
John Wayne . . . 3
Jack Nicholson . . . 8
Television Executive—The Black Tower . . . 15
Bob Hope . . . 20
William Conrad . . . 25
Glenn Ford . . . 28
Chill Willis and Donald O’Connor . . . 32
Evelyn Keyes . . . . 36
Ernest Borgnine . . . 38
Troy Donahue, Margaret O’Brien, and Robert Young . . . 42
James Dean and Julie Harris . . . 47
Jason Robards . . . 53
Carol Channing and Phyllis Diller . . . 57
Samuel Z. Arkoff . . . 62
President Richard Nixon . . . 68
Paul Keyes . . . 73
Randy “Duke” Cunningham, William “Willie” Driscoll, and Admiral “Jimmy” Thatch . . . 77
Forrest Tucker . . . 82
Gene Autry . . . 84
John Wayne . . . 89
Vance Skarstedt . . . 94
Pearl Harbor Survivor . . . 98
Mickey Rooney and Jackie Cooper . . . 102
Sir John Mills . . . 108
Studio Kids . . . . . . . 112
John Wayne . . . . . . . 119
Anthony Hopkins and Rod Serling . . . . . . . . . . . 122
William Shatner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
StarCatcher xiv John Frederick xv James Drury . . . . . . . 131
Humphrey Bogart . . . . . . . . . 139
Jonathan Winters . . . 141
Hal Ashby . . . 144
Maureen . . . 150
Danny Trejo . . . 153
The Incredible Dr. Pursch . . . 159
Prisoner . . . 168
President John F. Kennedy . . . 170
Borden Chase . . . 172
Jimmy Stewart, Charles Durning, Ernest Borgnine, and Jackie Cooper . . . 175
Short Takes and Incidental Contact . . . 182
Nick Nolte and Liza Minnelli . . . 183
Keystone Kop . . . 187
Rock Hudson . . . 189
Burt Lancaster and Charles Bronson . . . 191
Dean Martin and Lena Horne . . . 194
Robert Young’s Luncheon Companion . . . 196
Henry King . . . 198
William Conrad . . . 200
Sean Connery . . . 202
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans . . . 204
Jack Lemmon, Dick Van Dyke, and Carol Burnett . . . 208
Audrey Totter, Dorothy McGuire, and Jane Wyatt . . . 211
John Frederick . . . 215
Hemingway, Rex Allen, and the Smothers Brothers . . . 218
Disney Studios Gate Guard . . . 222
Dana Andrews, Rod Cameron, Jan Clayton, and Gary Crosby . . . 224
Fast Cutting . . . 228
Tom Hanks . . . 229
Jackie Cooper . . . 230
Shecky Greene . . . 232
Peng Meng-ji . . . 234
Short Takes and Incidental Contact Sports . . . 236
Gallery Marshal . . . 237
Paul Azinger . . . 239
Pádraig Harrington . . . 240
Jim Furyk . . . 242
Ian Poulter . . . 243
Tiger Woods . . . 244
Warren Spahn . . . 246
Darrell Evans . . . 248
Pee Wee Reese . . . 250
Joe Namath . . . 252
Bob Welch . . . 255
Thomas Henderson . . . 260
Mo Freedman . . . 265
Muhammad Ali and Miguel Cabrera 1980s/2011 . . . 267
Dean Chance and Bo Belinsky . . . 269
Five Good Ones to Quit On and More . . . 273
Charlton Heston . . . 275
Johnny Grant and George Burns . . . 280
Francis Ford Coppola . . . 284
John Frankenheimer . . . 288
Barbara Eden . . . 291
Sneak Preview . . . 295
The American Society for the Prevention of Progress Santa Rosa, California – the 1950s . . . 297
About the Author . . . 300