CELEBRITIES IN THE 1930 CENSUS II
CELEBRITIES IN THE 1930 CENSUS Q&A: Part I
What does the 1930 census tell us about those people?
Specifically, it’s a snapshot of each celebrity’s life on one specific day — April 1, 1930.
As I put this book together, I had to decide which information I would include from the census. I realized that listing the answers to all 32 questions would not be possible, so I chose twelve of the most appealing and relevant. Of course, I knew that the subjects’ location would attract the most curiosity.
The value of the person’s home or the rent he paid was another point of interest. This was the only census in which every person was asked if he or she owned [...]
by Andre Soares | February 27, 2008
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Tags: Al Capone, Allan Ellenberger, Books, Celebrities in the 1930 Census, Clyde Barrow, Interviews, Jane Wyman, Mae West
CELEBRITIES IN THE 1930 CENSUS: Q&A with Author Allan R. Ellenberger
As it says on the cover, Allan R. Ellenberger’s Celebrities in the 1930 Census (McFarland, 2008, US$49.95) is a compilation of household data — as collected by 1930 census takers — of more than 2,000 "U.S. actors, musicians, scientists, athletes, writers, politicians and other public figures." (The woman in the photo is aviatrix Amelia Earhart.)
The book, of course, doesn’t offer any saucy insights into the lives of those people. Instead, it’s a straightforward amalgam of un-dramatic — but important — information for researchers. (Though non-researchers may find the myriad listings addictive as well.)
For instance, when I wrote the Ramon Novarro (above right) biography Beyond Paradise, I didn’t have access to the 1930 census, which became part of the public record [...]
by Andre Soares | February 27, 2008
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Tags: Allan Ellenberger, Books, Celebrities in the 1930 Census, Florence Vidor, Interviews, Katharine Hepburn, Marie Dressler, McFarland, Ramon Novarro, Upton Sinclair
