Body and Soul

"I believe the more successful an actor becomes, the more chances he should take. An actor never stops learning." John Garfield

Before there was Brando and James Dean, there was John Garfield. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, young Jacob Julius Garfinkle's talent and charisma carried him from membership in some of the Bronx's toughest street gangs to the boards of the prestigious American Laboratory Theater.

As mercurial as he was talented, Garfield chafed at what he deemed "unfair" casting choices in New York and headed west to Hollywood, scoring an Academy Award nomination for his very first film role.

Strong-willed, and with a gambler's bravado, Garfield was one of the first Hollywood stars to buck the studio system and start his own independent production company before being caught up in the career-jeopardizing web of McCarthyism.

Author Larry Swindell tells the tortured tale of this cult movie icon, whose incredible talent and turbulent lifestyle made his tragically short life so compelling decades after his death.

Readers interested in related titles from Larry Swindell will also want to see: Charles Boyer (ISBN: 162654610X), Screwball (ISBN: 1626546258), Spencer Tracy; a biography (ISBN: 1626548072), The Last Hero (ISBN: 1626545642).

Before there was Brando and James Dean, there was John Garfield. From his rough and tumble beginnings on the streets of the Bronx, Garfield's talent and charisma drew him into the burgeoning New York theater scene. The tough street kid would go on to Hollywood superstardom, only to be brought down by the political turbulence of the McCarthy era.
Larry Nolan Swindell is formatively a Californian and UCLA graduate but is a native Texan who, in 2014, was inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame. His five published biographies, all focused on leading stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, are deeply rooted in the history of American movies, his consuming passion. Now retired, logged 45 years as a newspaper journalist and editor. He was literary editor and critic-at-large for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 1980 to 2000. Concurrent with his journalistic odyssey, he was an instructor in literature and composition at five universities, including a 20-year stretch at Texas Christian University. In 1974 he founded the Bookshelf column, which was syndicated nationally by The New York Times and the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain for a decade. He also reviewed Broadway productions for dailies throughout New York's Westchester County. Larry is father to three daughters and two sons, and he has eleven grandchildren. He was married to Broadway actress Eleanor Eby until her death in 1983. He is now living California with his second wife (and childhood sweetheart), Patricia Volder.