Lee Server – författare

Ava Gardner was the sex symbol who dazzled the other sex symbols. Elizabeth Taylor and Lana Turner thought her the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. She drove Frank Sinatra to the brink of suicide. Ernest Hemingway carried around one of her kidney stones as a sacred memento. Howard Hughes begged her to marry him: she punched out his front teeth. Her charismatic presence, jaw-dropping beauty and scandalous adventures fuelled the legend that she became. Yet she was a farmgirl who became a reluctant goddess, and who retreated from the world's gaze for the last years of her life. Filled with fresh insights gleaned from interviews with Ava's colleagues, friends and lovers, this is the definitive biography of Hollywood's most glamorous, restless and uninhibited star.

A bona fide tough guy with soulful eyes and a laconic style, Robert Mitchum was one of Hollywood's best-loved actors, star of such moody film noir favourites as Out of the Past, Night of the Hunter and Cape Fear, as well as enduring classics like Angel Face and Crossfire. But, as Lee Server now reveals, Mitchum was one of the few Hollywood icons whose real-life exploits were yet more compelling than his on-screen persona. A hobo in the Depression, he fell into movie acting after stints as a boxer, a beach bum and a songwriter. Despite early Hollywood successes, he was famously busted on a narcotics rap. But even prison couldn't tame Mitchum's taste for living on the wild side, and he remained an unrepentant misbehaver until the end of his days.In this biography of Robert Mitchum, Lee Server offers the definitive life story of a man who redefined cinematic cool.

'A smile can get you far, but a smile with a gun can get you further.' - Al CaponeFeatured in ViceA man of singular influence in the American underworld, Johnny Rosselli's career flourished for half a century, from the bloody years of bootlegging in the Twenties - the last protégé of Al Capone - to the modern era of organised crime as a dominant corporate power.The Mob's 'Man in Hollywood', Johnny introduced big-time crime to the movie industry, corrupting unions and robbing moguls in the boldest extortion plot in history. Meanwhile, he consolidated his empire by smoothly befriending studio bosses and seducing their biggest stars, including Marilyn Monroe.In the 50s, Rosselli saw a new opportunity overseeing the birth and heyday of Las Vegas, and became the gambling mecca's behind-the-scenes boss, enjoying the Rat Pack night life with pals Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.Then, in the 60s, incredibly, he became the central figure in a bizarre plot involving the Kennedy Whitehouse, the CIA and an attempt to assassinate Castro.Based on years of research, this utterly compelling, richly detailed page-turner takes you inside American organised crime at the highest level. A story of extreme violence and superstar glamour - with Handsome Johnny in both roles.