Episode 101: The President of Hollywood

Unremembered Hollywood

In our premiere episode, noted Hollywood historian Abby Larson tells the story of Irving Stansel, the first President of Hollywood. As the picture business transformed from sideshow attraction to dominant cultural force, the moguls of Tinseltown often found themselves in aggressive disagreements that often ended in bloodshed. Rather than kill each other over the latest scripts to hit the town, those early power players named a man named Irving Stansel to settle all disputes and to keep the peace. It was a noble experiment, but everyone involved got a lot more than they bargained for.

Starring Annie Savage as Abby Larson, with Hal Lublin as Irving Stansel and Announcer #1, Jeremy Carter as Jack Warner and Policy Holder #2, John Ennis as Carl Laemmle and Leland Cornwall IV, Kara Luiz as Mary Pickford, Martin Olson as Douglas Fairbanks and Mortimer Effington III, Megan Gogerty as Frances Marion and Ethel Pomeroy, Mike Rock as William Fox and Policy Holder #3, Christopher Z. Gordon as Adolf Zukor, Judson Jones as Fred Thomson and Goon, Fred Cross as New York Times Reporter, Announcer #2, and Interviewer, Justin Wright Neufeld as DW Griffith and Policy Holder #1, J.T. Arbogast as Announcer #3

Special Guests: Christopher Gordon, Fred Cross, Hal Lublin, Jeremy Carter, John Ennis, J.T. Arbogast, Judson Jones, Justin Neufeld, Kara Luiz, Martin Olson, Megan Gogerty, and Mike Rock.

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