Greatest Star

Film historian Jeffrey Vance is the author of several acclaimed books on film, including Douglas Fairbanks (2008), Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema (2003), Harold Lloyd: Master Comedian (2002), and Buster Keaton Remembered (2001). He is also the author of A Star Is Born: Judy Garland and the Film That Got Away (2018) co-written with Lorna Luft. An archivist, producer, and lecturer, Vance has served as consultant to every major motion picture studio, has appeared at numerous festivals, contributed audio commentary to several DVDs, and produced and directed the short subject Rediscovering John Gilbert (2010).Signed to Paramount Pictures in 1948, Nancy Olson Livingston received an Academy Award nomination only two years later for her role as Betty Schaefer in Billy Wilder’s film classic, Sunset Boulevard. Her career spanned nearly four decades, including pictures with William Holden, Bing Crosby, and John Wayne. She also starred in a string of iconic Disney films including Pollyanna and The Absent-minded Professor and starred in three plays on Broadway. In 2022, she published her memoir, A Front Row Seat.

“When I was cast as Betty Schaefer, I immediately understood that this was a story like no other. Over the years, I have often reflected on just what it was that made Sunset Boulevard stand out the way it did: a work of great art reveals the truth. The truth is not always popular, but in the end, it stands the test of time.” –Academy Award-Nominee Nancy Olson Livingston (from her preface)