Saturday, December 31, 2022

"Get Mahoney" Book Trailer

PRESS RELEASE “Get Mahoney!: A Hollywood insider’s Memoir” is Available Online by Jim Mahoney, One of Hollywood’s Most Trusted Insiders During its Golden Age, and PR Advisor to Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Steve McQueen and Many More Entertainment industry secrets disclosed including details of the Frank Sinatra Jr. kidnapping and surviving Las Vegas in the ‘60s with The Rat Pack, confidential dealings with Steve McQueen, Debbie Reynolds & Eddie Fisher, The Rolling Stones, Colonel Parker, etc… Available now at www.GetMahoney.com and www.BookBaby.com – pre-order hard cover copies will start delivery around February 22, 2023, to coincide with the PR veteran’s 95th birthday – will post soon at Amazon Kindle Store along with other eBook retailers
January 2, 2023 (La Quinta, CA) – Hollywood super-insider, Jim Mahoney, whose career spanned more than 50 years at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry’s Golden Age, has released his long-awaited memoir entitled, “Get Mahoney!: A Hollywood Insider’s Memoir”. Filled with dozens of never-before heard anecdotes with some of the most famous figures in Hollywood, it’s about his dedication to his craft for the Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony-award (EGOT) winning clients he represented, with assorted tales revealing secrets behind some of Hollywood’s biggest names. From his earliest days working at MGM studios directly for Clark Gable (at Gable’s request) and as personal tour guide for special guests of studio chief, Louis B. Mayer, to his career through the turbulent 60s and 70s and eventually to the 90s and early 2000s, “Get Mahoney!” chronicles a career that few in the entertainment industry can compare and only a handful have ever experienced. “Get Mahoney!” was the phrase desperately cried and all too frequently screamed by stars and their “handlers” throughout Hollywood, when they knew the sh*t was about to hit the fan. It was usually to avoid press coverage rather than achieve it. Often referring to himself as a better “sup-press-agent” (to keep his client’s names out of the press) than press-agent, Mahoney was known for his ability to make arrangements with the authorities to keep the dirt swept neatly under the carpet – where it belonged.
“From Gable to Garland, from The Stones to Sinatra, my job was to keep the sweet smell of success from turning into the foul stench of scandal,” Mahoney commented for the book jacket. “All my life I’ve dealt with the blemished face of celebrity. My job has been to sanitize the stars and keep them sparkling.” He did so, often under the most arduous of circumstances. Some call it “fixing” and it’s been written about before when chronicling Mahoney’s mentors like legendary MGM PR icon, Howard Strickling and his sidekick “the fixer”, Eddie Mannix. From early days working under their tutelage and with columnists like Walter Winchell, Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons to later-day entertainment news icons like Larry King, ET’s Mary Hart and TMZ, Mahoney learned from the masters of the medium the difference between an amusing story that the fans could marvel over, versus one where a “misunderstanding” could threaten careers – and he frequently did it from the golf course. As Bob Chew, another PR-expert and frequent golf partner, adeptly wrote in a recent article when describing Mahoney’s passion for golf and ability to merge it with his PR career, “You’ll often hear Clint Eastwood, Nick Faldo or Jim Nantz give a nod to Jim (during a network broadcast recently of the AT&T tournament in Pebble Beach). Along the sub-cultural crossroads of golf, Hollywood, and the press, or at least the press of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Jim Mahoney is the real deal.” Mahoney’s entertainment industry golf pals included a who’s who of Hollywood, and many were clients, like Glen Campbell, Sean Connery, George C. Scott, Jim Garner, Sinatra, Hope, Jack Wagner, Mac Davis, Newhart and Joe Namath. Befriending celebrity golfer Bing Crosby in the 50s, he also shared plenty of rounds with pros including: Arnold Palmer, Jack Niklaus, Sam Snead, Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino and Tony Jacklin and his single-digit handicap was respected from St. Andrews to Bel-Air CC and Pebble Beach. Nicknamed “Crime”, it was because “Crime doesn’t pay”, and likewise, Mahoney never loses.
Friends and colleagues have extolled Mahoney for his accomplishments, including: Robert Wagner; “Jim is a class act… one of my closest friends.” Nancy Sinatra; “Jim was a solid friend all the way. I can’t remember my life when Jim wasn’t in it.” Todd Fisher; “My father Eddie Fisher, and my mother, Debbie Reynolds, were both represented by Jim Mahoney during some of the most important times in their lives.” Bob Newhart; “Jim Mahoney was my friend and publicist. He represented the top entertainers in town and his behind-the-scenes stories are a fun read and are about the biggest stars in Hollywood’s Golden Age.” Mahoney had life-long friendships with Barron Hilton (Hilton Hotels – both were kicked out of LA’s Loyola High School together), and billionaire Las Vegas hotel and studio owner, Kirk Kerkorian, (they shared brown paper sack lunches on MGM’s back lot). He reminisces about visiting Ronald Regan’s White House with Oscar winner Jack Lemmon and visiting Havana’s opera house where he unexpectedly shared cigars with Cuban President Fidel Castro. Throughout all, Mahoney was like a Hollywood Zelig, and his understanding of the relationship between high-profile figures and the press never wavered. He was regarded as one of the most trusted and respected figures in Hollywood from studio heads to top agents and managers for more than half a century.
Mahoney is turning 95 in February 2023 and lives quietly in La Quinta, CA, on one of his favorite golf courses – and the one where he won the 1977 Bob Hope Celebrity Pro-Am. He can frequently be found on his back patio overlooking the 18th fairway enjoying a cigar and regaling guests with stories you’d think were Hollywood fantasy but were in fact his every-day life for decades, and just another reason the phrase “Get Mahoney” was so pervasive during Hollywood’s Golden Age. To get your copy of “Get Mahoney” visit www.GetMahoney.com.” CONTACT: Sean Mahoney hello@GetMahoney.com C. 310-867-0670

Thursday, December 8, 2022