Sharon Rich (born June 11, 1953) is an American author and film historian, best known for the biography ''
Sweethearts'' about 1930s singing stars
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...
and
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...
.
Career
She was close friends for many years with Jeanette MacDonald's older sister, actress
Blossom Rock
Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald (August 21, 1895 – January 14, 1978), also known as Blossom Rock, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, film and television. During her career she was also billed as Marie Blake or Blossom MacDonald. He ...
(aka Marie Blake). Along with interviewing hundreds of people, Rich had access to many collections of private letters, Eddy’s personal scrapbooks, diary entries, FBI files and MacDonald’s unpublished autobiography (which Rich later annotated in 2004). As follow up documentation to ''Sweethearts'', Rich has written several books and edited and written over seventy magazine articles.
She is also the president of the largest Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy fan club in the United States, the MacDonald/Eddy Friendship Club, which she helped create in the late 70s. Rich was made a
Dame of Malta
Dames of Malta are female members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The male counterparts of these Dames are the Knights of Malta.
Prominent living Dames of Malta include:
* Anne M. Burke
*Bernadette Castro
*Janne Haaland Matláry
*Fred ...
in 1995 for her contribution to history and literature.
Also in 1995, she went to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, to petition to have MacDonald and Eddy's likeness placed on
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
s. She was accompanied by around 20 fans and had collected 20,000 signatures for the campaign.
Works
Rich's first book, ''Jeaneatte MacDonald: A Pictorial History'' (1974) was published when she was twenty years old.
Rich wanted to write the book because she felt that there were "very few idols" left in the world.
''Sweethearts'' was published in hardcover in 1994 and was a selection of the Entertainment Book Club.
The book release party was held at the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
in Washington, D.C. where Rich was a guest speaker. Rich spent twenty years researching the book.
The book was revised and updated in 2014.
Books
*''
Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Affair Onscreen and Off Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy'', updated 20th anniversary edition (2014)
*''The Rosary'' by Florence L. Barclay, new introduction by Sharon Rich, comments by MacDonald and Eddy (2005)
*''Jeanette MacDonald Autobiography: The Lost Manuscript'' (2004)
*''Jeanette MacDonald: The Irving Stone Letters'' (2002)
*''Nelson Eddy: The Opera Years'' (2001)
*''Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy: Interactive CD-ROM Biography'' (2000)
*''
Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Affair Onscreen and Off Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy'' (1994)
*''Farewell to Dreams'' (co-author) (1978)
*''Jeanette MacDonald: A Pictorial Treasury'' (1973)
Magazines
*''Mac/Eddy Today'', editor and writer, 76 issues published as of 2017.
References
External links
Sharon Rich Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Sharon
American biographers
Dames of Malta
Living people
1953 births
Writers from Los Angeles