Book Description

This anthology of twelve short stories deals with the intimate relationships that develop between Hollywood's 'A' list celebrities and the army of little people (the 'outer fringe') who serve them in their everyday lives. William Karl Thomas' career brought him in contact with 'A' list celebrities during Hollywood's 'Golden Era' in the 1950's and 1960's, which explains the historical accuracy of this collection and the wealth of detail about the celebrities mentioned and their back stories. For those who love Hollywood, and particularly its down and dirty side, this collection of torrid twisted "Hollywood Tales From The Outer Fringe" is sure to please. It is not surprising that Thomas' books tend to walk on the wild side, inasmuch as he was Lenny Bruce's only writing collaborator, co-authoring the comedy material on Bruce's first three comedy albums and three screenplays, plus photographing his album covers, filming the pilot for the first feature, and booking him into critical career changing venues. Critics have described Thomas' memoir, "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet," in terms such as, "He superbly evokes the atmosphere of the cheap Hollywood nightclubs and coffeehouses," and "His work sometimes reads like a Bogart script." Thomas' multi faceted career as a screenwriter, book author, photographer, cinematographer, filmmaker, and public relations executive spanned the latter half of the twentieth century, working for and with 'A' list celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Shecky Greene, and others. Some of his later fiction parallels those careers, such as his novel "Cleo" about a black female journalist who is an intimate friend of black celebrities, and the effect on her personal and professional life when she crosses paths with a cynical but equally talented white male Hollywood publicist. Thomas grew up in the New Orleans and Gulf Coast areas, eventually marrying and divorcing his highschool teacher, as told in his memoir "The Genteel Poor." He worked as a cocktail pianist in New Orleans' French Quarter, which provided the background for his novel "The Piano Man," dealing with a collection of entertainers and hedonistic fun lovers in New Orleans circa 1950. He served a year of combat in Korea, which provided the background for his Korean War novel, "The Josan And The Jee," about three women who survive the Korean War. His latest work, "A Place For Us," is a biography of Wendy Wolf, a childhood polio survivor who became a charismatic advocate for people with disabilities. Most of Thomas' work is available on Amazon in both print and E-book editions. "Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" is also available in a Japanese edition from DHC of Tokyo. Thomas will soon be releasing a science fiction trilogy and an anthology of short stories laid in New Orleans. He resides in Tucson, Arizona, where he occasionally teaches writing and film production in between working on a variety of literary and film projects. More information about the author and descriptions of and excerpts from his work can be found at www.mediamaestro.net/books.htm.