What Reviewers are saying about Star Struck:
“Betty Dravis has lived quite an amazing life. Here she shares some of her most exciting interviews with famous legends, including Clint Eastwood, Jane Russell, Ted Kennedy and Tanya Tucker. As always, Ms Dravis's interviews have a warmth, charm and delightful quirkiness that draw you in, fill you with enjoyment, and leave you wanting more. Ms. Dravis always adds that special personal touch that leaves the reader with a true sense of who these icons really are as people, not just as idols.” - Karen McCord Zabalaoui, Texas, Amazon Top Reviewer
“Journalist, author and herself a celebrity, Betty Dravis entertains with a series of anecdotes about her close encounters with Clint Eastwood (who went ahead and made her day), Edward Kennedy, Jane Russell, late SF Mayor Joseph Alioto, Ann Sothern and Tanya Tucker.” Readers will find inspiration in the stories…” Amanda Richards, Georgetown Guyana, Amazon Top Reviewer
“…Dravis offers us a very human picture of the reporter conducting interviews. At times it is entertaining, as for example when she reflects on her "bad hair day" when meeting Clint Eastwood. At other times, it is poignant, as when she reflects on her meeting with Senator Ted Kennedy years before his prolonged struggle with cancer. But in all her anecdotes, Dravis offers readers a picture of how the interviewer, far from being a neutral questioner, is affected by the meeting with her subjects.” - Fritz Ward, Southern California, school teacher and avid day-hiker
“Among my favorite articles is Betty's memory of her interview with the lovely Jane Russell who didn't want Betty to be 'scooped' by the other larger newspapers and gave her a special interview. Both are very 'classy' ladies. I also loved the photo of Betty with Clint Eastwood.” - Chrissy K. McVay, Tennessee, author of award-winning Souls of the North Wind
“If this book portrays one main theme it is to take opportunities when they come because you never know where they may lead. That's what Betty did when given the chance to interview Clint Eastwood, even though she had no photographer and was having a very bad hair day. She seized the day and not only got her interview but a great story to share with the readers of this book.” - Carter Martina, founder of popular website CC Chronicles
STAR STRUCK: Interviews with Dirty Harry and Other Hollywood Icons
by Betty Dravis
Canterbury House Publishing
at Smashwords
www.canterburyhousepublishing.com
Copyright 2011 by Betty Dravis
All rights reserved.
Cover Design by Tracy Arendt
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Interview with ‘40s Star Jane Russell
Interview with Singer/Actress Tanya Tucker
Interview with Mayor Joseph Alioto
Interview with Actress Ann Sothern
Complete Works by Betty Dravis
During my journalism career I was fortunate to meet and interview many famous, influential people. I interviewed them for various newspapers for whom I wrote. What I’m sharing here are not the interviews, but the behind-the-scenes happenings of those meetings: how I came to land each interview, what led up to the interviews, my feelings and impressions during and after the meetings, etc.
Not surprising, most people are impressed with my meeting Clint Eastwood and he’s the celebrity that arouses most interest. For that reason I decided to go with his name in the title of this e-Book. Or at least a popular variation of his name: Dirty Harry.
A few readers might ask, “Why Dirty Harry?” But I doubt if that number will be significant…since almost everyone knows that Detective Harry Callahan (aka Dirty Harry) is the name of one of Eastwood’s most famous characters in a string of five Dirty Harry movies premiering from 1971 through 1988.
Actually, I met Clint Eastwood after his Rowdy Yates TV years and before his Dirty Harry movie years… He had just finished, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the last of the Spaghetti Western trilogy, so, literally, I met “The Man-With-No-Name” (often referred to as Joe).
These anecdotes—about Clint Eastwood, Senator Ted Kennedy, actress Jane Russell, singer/actress Tanya Tucker, San Francisco Mayor Joe Alioto and actress Ann Sothern-- have been previously published in Dream Reachers, a book I co-wrote with poet/author/celebrity interviewer Chase Von. I chose these stories to share again because these famous people are among the most fascinating, interesting I ever interviewed. And because they have inspired millions of people to reach their dreams…
Each of these individuals worked hard, overcoming many obstacles to reach legendary status. In sharing about them, I hope you become inspired to reach your dreams--no matter what!
Happy reading…
--Betty Dravis
This book is dedicated to everyone who has ever had a dream come true and to those of you who are only now reaching for your dreams.
Specifically it’s dedicated to my author friends who have struggled for years to make their dreams come true:
-To Frank Nappi whose book The Legend of Mickey Tussler fulfilled his dream by becoming a popular TV movie A Mile in His Shoes, with the sequel Sophomore Campaign: A Mickey Tussler Novel due for release in April 2012. That book has already been optioned for a movie, also. Thanks to Joe Nasser of Nasser Entertainment Group for spotting the potential in this amazing talent.
-To Cheryl Kaye Tardif for her success in being a best-selling Canadian author with her book Whale Song and for fulfilling a second dream by founding her own publishing firm Imajin Books.
-To C. Robert Lee, an author who happens to have been my Ohio classmate “way back when.” Bob worked for over twenty years to get his wonderful trilogy Circles of Destiny published. Thanks to Imajin Books for spotting his potential and publishing The Other Face of God, book one of COD. In the forties/fifties era, Bob was an esteemed photo-journalist who photographed such famous people as Aaron Spelling, Zsa-Zsa Gabor, Bob Hope and many others during the height of his earlier career.
-To Daniel L. Carter, an author whose sci-fi book is one of the most wanted books of 2011…even though it’s titled The Unwanted. It’s the first of Carter’s G-6 Chronicles, with the other two books following close behind. Daniel is so grateful for his success that he founded Author Central, a website of authors helping authors.
Even as Eastwood, Kennedy, Russell, Alioto, Sothern and Tucker are the only Dream Reachers featured in this book and in our first Dream Reachers book, Nappi, Tardif and Lee are among 33 featured in Dream Reachers II. I was fortunate to interview them, and if Chase Von and I decide to create Dream Reachers III, Daniel L. Carter will be featured in it.
Yes, all these people—people just like you, dear reader—have overcome many obstacles to reach their dreams. I’m hoping their stories inspire you to keep trying and that you develop the endurance and attitude to make you the next generation of Dream Reachers.
Happy dreams…
--Betty Dravis
by John Locke
The First Self-Published Author to Sell a Million E-Books
My good friend Betty Dravis is an award-winning journalist, newspaper publisher and successful author. She is also a highly-skilled and relentless marketer! Like all classy women, Betty has perfected her own special method of getting what she wants: she kills you with kindness!
I made the mistake of saying no to her several months ago when she asked if I could do an interview for her website. It wasn’t personal. Like everyone else in the world, I love Betty and have long admired her work. But at that particular time I was over-committed, hopelessly swamped, and behind on several projects. Betty told me not to worry, said she completely understood, and immediately launched a vigorous campaign to promote my books and proclaim to the world what a wonderful person I was! I received more positive publicity for NOT granting the interview than I had from most of the interviews I actually gave! I laughed many times during those weeks, realizing I was dealing with a unique and amazing lady!
When Betty contacted me this time, asking if I’d consider writing the introduction to her latest offering, Star Struck: Interviews with Dirty Harry & Other Hollywood Icons, there was only one answer I could give, and you’re reading it now!
Star Struck is an innovative collection of behind-the-scenes notes Betty wrote about the interviews she conducted with famous people over the years, including Clint Eastwood, Ted Kennedy and Jane Russell. The notes are short, interesting and amusing, and she brings us along for the ride, allowing us to participate in a world few ever get to see.
This collection is special for another reason. It offers you a glimpse into the mind and character of the author herself. Make no mistake, Betty’s a charmer! High-spirited and full of energy, she’s a treasure, far as I’m concerned, and her wit, charm and self-deprecating humor is evident in these unique and personal stories.
--John Locke
What Amazon Says About John Locke--
Amazon, June 2011, “…Locke has sold 1,010,370 Kindle books. The 60-year-old Locke, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, has written nine novels, mostly thrillers, including Saving Rachel which hit the New York Times e-book bestseller list.”
Locke prices all of his novels at $0.99 and does not plan to raise prices. His latest book is How I Sold 1 Million E-Books in 5 Months, a marketing guide for self-published authors, which sells for $4.99 on Kindle.”