Episode 77 – Revisiting MGM’s “Summer Stock” With Authors David Fantle & Tom Johnson - Part 1

On this episode of Hollywood Obsessed, host Tony Miros speaks with authors David Fantle and Tom Johnson -- whose best-selling book C’Mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer tells the backstory of how the 1950 MGM musical "Summer Stock" starring Gene Kelly and Judy Garland was brought to the screen!

During their fascinating conversation, David and Tom tell Tony all about where their love for movie musicals came from, how they were able to interview over 250 legendary stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood including Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly when they were teenagers, why they decided to write a book about the MGM musical Summer Stock, what the relationship was like between legendary movie stars Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, what was going on at MGM and the movie industry during the time Summer Stock was being filmed, how emotionally troubled Judy was at the time, how she discovered Gene when he was starring in "Pal Joey" on Broadway, how much he loved her and tried to help her get through the shooting of the film and what Judy’s daughter Lorna Luft contributed to their research for the book.  

DAVID FANTLE & TOM JOHNSON

David Fantle has interviewed more than 250 show business personalities over the past 40 years, including such legendary names as Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, James Cagney, Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, George Burns, Milton Berle, Charlton Heston, Rod Steiger and Gregory Peck. In 2004, a compilation of his interviews were published in the book, Reel to Real: 25 years of Celebrity Profiles from Vaudeville to Movies to TV. The book was recognized by Turner Classic Movies as its May 2004 “Book of the Month.” His latest book, written with his longtime collaborator Tom Johnson, titled C'mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock will be published in October 2023 by the University Press of Mississippi. Their second book of celebrity interviews, Hollywood Heyday: 75 Interviews with Golden Age Legends was published by McFarland and Company in 2018. Fantle is an adjunct professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee where he teaches courses in film, television and popular culture. He is also the former Deputy Secretary of Tourism for Wisconsin and a popular speaker on the cruise ship circuit.

Tom Johnson began his collaboration with David Fantle in 1978 as a student journalist at the University of Minnesota by co-writing an award-winning arts and entertainment column for the Minnesota Daily called “Entertainment Ltd.” Johnson was a senior editor at Netflix and has written movie reviews and features for E! Online, Moviefone and People magazine, among other publications. Johnson’s entertainment writing has been recognized with a Minnesota Newspaper Association achievement award and a National Hearst Foundation award for news writing.

To Find Out More About The Book - https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/C/C-mon-Get-Happy

To Purchase A Copy Go to Amazon -

https://www.amazon.com/Cmon-Get-Happy-Making-Summer/dp/1496838394

Tom Johnson’s Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/tom.johnson.543908

David Fantle’s Facebook Page -  https://www.facebook.com/dfantle

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