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by Deborah C. Pollack (Author)
This history details the tumultuous lives of Miami Beach's mid-twentieth century jet set, and features archival photos.
From roughly 1930 to 1960, Miami Beach attracted an exclusive colony of socialites, who mixed with Hollywood celebrities and dignitaries, such as Winston Churchill, as effortlessly as tonic mixes with gin.
Elizabeth Taylor announced her ill-fated engagement to the son of a former ambassador in Miami Beach. Other movie stars, such as Veronica Lake, were filmed in the enclave. Beautiful model Bab Beckwith, the first Orange Bowl Parade queen, dated John F. Kennedy while he was in Miami in 1944. Speedboat king Gar Wood bought his mistress a $100,000 bayfront home and then sued to force her to vacate the property. A tumultuous affair between John Jacob Astor VI and Lucille Stiglich led to the young model serving time in the Miami Beach jail.
Deborah C. Pollack delves into an era filled with excitement, style, humor and panache.
Author Biography
Deborah C. Pollack's books include Visual Art and the Urban Evolution of the New South (with "Miami, Miami Beach, and Coral Gables" as one of the chapters); Palm Beach Visual Arts; Felix De Crano: Forgotten Artist of the Flagler Colony; Bad Scarlett: The Extraordinary Life of the Notorious Southern Beauty Marie Boozer; and Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach, which won an award from Florida Memorial University for making "a significant contribution to advancing the awareness of women's history." Pollack's essays are included in the New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and Central to Their Lives: Women Artists in the Johnson Collection. Articles have appeared in such periodicals as the American Art Review, Tequesta (scholarly journal of HistoryMiami), Antiques and Art Around Florida and The Tustenegee (the Historical Society of Palm Beach County journal).
