BROWN, Peter Harry 1939-

PERSONAL: Born November 16, 1939, in Abilene, TX; son of Frances and Jervis Brown; married, 1976; wife's name, Pamela A. Education: Attended the University of Arizona, Southern Methodist University, and the University of California—Los Angeles.

ADDRESSES: Home—2009 Freda Lane, Cardiff by the Sea, CA 92007.

CAREER: Writer. Dallas Morning News, San Diego Union, and Gannett Newspapers, investigative crime reporter, 1964-76; Los Angeles Times and Washington Post, entertainment reporter, 1977-88. Military service: Served in intelligence division of California Air National Guard.

AWARDS, HONORS: Heywood Broun Award for Investigative Reporting, 1971; California Associated Press Award for Enterprise Reporting, 1972; New Mexico-Colorado Award for Feature Writing, 1976; Florida Newspaper Publisher's Award for Spot News Reporting, 1978; Gannett Award for Feature Writing, 1978.

WRITINGS:

(With Zelda Cini and Bob Crane) Hollywood: Land and Legend, Arlington House (Westport, CT), 1980.

The Real Oscar: Behind the Academy Awards, Arlington House (Westport, CT), 1981.

(With Pamela Ann Brown) The MGM Girls: Behind the Velvet Curtain, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1983.

Such Devoted Sisters: Those Fabulous Gabors, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1985.

Kim Novak: Reluctant Goddess, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1986.

(With Jim Pinkston) Oscar Dearest: Six Decades of Scandal, Politics and Greed behind Hollywood's Academy Awards, 1927-1986, Harper (New York, NY), 1987.

(With Patte B. Barham) Marilyn: The Last Take, Dutton (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Pat H. Broeske) Howard Hughes: The Untold Story, Dutton (New York), 1996.

(With Pat H. Broeske) Down at the End of Lonely Street: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley, Dutton (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Daniel G. Abel) Outgunned: Up against the NRA: The First Complete Insider Account of the Battle over Gun Control, Free Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor to periodicals, including Parade, US Magazine, TV Guide, Los Angeles Magazine, Redbook, Life, International Herald-Tribune, London Times, and People.

SIDELIGHTS: Author Peter Harry Brown is wellknown for his biographies of actors, studies of the Academy Awards, and investigation of gun control and the NRA. Penned with Jim Pinkston, Oscar Dearest: Six Decades of Scandal, Politics and Greed behind Hollywood's Academy Awards, 1927-1986 is an unauthorized, mostly critical history of the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, which are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for notable film work. Reviewing Oscar Dearest in the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Hal Kanter noted, "Brown and Pinkston display no effort to question facts or anecdotes as they blithely smirk and sneer at every branch of the Academy." Kanter continued, "In fairness, Brown and Pinkston cannot be accused of boring a reader; their book is generously illustrated, and their detailed captions are often amusing." According to Village Voice contributor Brett Harvey, Oscar Dearest "is most fun about details like clothes … and feuds."

Brown partnered with Patte B. Barham to pen Marilyn: The Last Take, Howard Hughes: The Untold Story, and Down at the End of Lonely Street: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley. In Marilyn, the authors take as their subject the American actor Marilyn Monroe, who appeared in a number of popular films before her early 1962 death, which is usually attributed to suicide. Los Angeles Times Book Review contributor John Rechy noted, "Where The Last Take is strongest is in its reporting of studio politics. With journalistic clarity, Peter Harry Brown and Patte B. Barham convincingly link the decision to fire Marilyn from her last film [the unfinished Something's Got to Give] with the financial disaster 20th Century-Fox faced." Stephanie Gutmann, writing in National Review, judged the book "a sophisticated, unsentimental account of motivations and behavior," and Variety contributor Alec Foege called The Last Take "easily one of the most exhaustive studies ever devoted to the tragic star."

In their next two books, Brown and Barham chronicle the life of brilliant inventor and businessman Howard Hughes and rock 'n' roll superstar Elvis Presley. Hughes became the only individual to ever personally own a movie studio and led Trans World Airlines to become the leading international air carrier. The authors recount Hughes' tumultuous personal life, including his womanizing and drug addiction in his later years. Down at the End of Lonely Street covers Presley's life from his poor school years in Memphis to his rise to musical stardom. Brown and Barham touch on the many milestones in Presley's life, including his relationships with his addictive mother, controlling manager, and wife Priscilla.

In Outgunned: Up against the NRA: The First Complete Insider Account of the Battle over Gun Control, Brown and attorney Daniel G. Abel recount the first lawsuit against gun manufacturers after the death of gospel singer Raymond Myles in New Orleans. The lawsuit was filed by Mayor Marc Morial and Wendell Gauthier, the flashy Louisiana attorney best-known for suing the tobacco companies. The authors then discuss the thirty-three-plus lawsuits filed against gun manufacturers by the Castono Gun Litigation Group, a collection of attorneys set on bringing down the NRA.

In Outgunned, Brown and Abel examine the power of the NRA in thwarting firearms legislation before its introduction—even legislation proposed a mere eight weeks after the Columbine shootings. Noted a Kirkus Reviews contributor, "When the NRA gets rolling, explain Abel and investigative journalist Brown, they wield outsized political clout for their three million members: dealing with largesse, playing hard on the sacredness of individual rights, convincing the courts that gun control is a legislative issue." The same contributor wrote, "The authors detail the schism that almost allowed some control to emerge: The NRA is a consumerist organization that thrives on crisis and perceived threats to rights, while the gun makers are businesspeople who want to be left alone."

Most reviewers praised the authors for their in-depth coverage of firearm legislation and their revelations regarding the NRA. Booklist's Margaret Flanagan observed that "the authors expose a wealth of information detailing NRA strong-arm tactics and the suppression of damaging information by the ever-secretive gun industry," and a Publishers Weekly reviewer felt "the book presents a lively take on how business does, or doesn't, get done in the legislature of the country." However, the same reviewer cautioned that Outgunned "is hardly a model of journalistic objectivity." Like most reviewers, Flanagan concluded that the book "will add fuel to the already hot nationwide debate about guns."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Writer's Directory, 2000, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 2000.

periodicals

Booklist, April 15, 1996, review of Howard Hughes: The Untold Story, p. 1395; December 1, 2000, review of Howard Hughes, p. 742; December 15, 2002, Margaret Flanagan, review of Outgunned: Up against the NRA: The First Complete Account of the Battle over Gun Control, p. 711.

Books Magazine, April, 1996, review of Howard Hughes, p. 22.

Book World, March 31, 1996, review of Howard Hughes, p. 13; April 7, 1996, review of Howard Hughes, p. 13.

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2002, review of Outgunned, p. 1512.

Kliatt, March, 2001, review of Howard Hughes, p. 60.

Library Journal, February 15, 2003, Philip Y. Blue, review of Outgunned, p. 154.

Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1996, Dennis McLellan, "Inside Howard Hughes," p. E7.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, February 24, 1985, p. 9; March 29, 1987, pp. 3, 9; October 18, 1992, p. 8.

Nation, March 31, 2003, Carl T. Bogus, review of Outgunned, p. 36.

National Review, October 5, 1992, Stephanie Gutmann, review of The Last Take, p. 68.

New York Times Book Review, March 29, 1987, p. 23; June 16, 1996, Donald E. Westlake, review of Howard Hughes, p. 12.

Observer, May 5, 1996, review of Howard Hughes, p. 14.

Publishers Weekly, April 21, 1997, review of Howard Hughes, p. 69; November 18, 2002, review of Outgunned, p. 711.

Trial, July, 2003, Heidi Li Feldman, review of Outgunned, p. 81.

Variety, September 7, 1992, Alec Foege, review of The Last Take, p. 67.

Village Voice, March 31, 1987, Brett Harvey, review of Oscar Dearest, p. 51.

Washington Post Book World, March 29, 1987, p. 12; August 16, 1992, p. 13.