From the earliest days of film and television, from the birth of the major Hollywood studios and the beginnings of classic television, Canadians have been pivotal players both in front of and behind the camera. SCREEN LEGENDS, a book inspired by the great Brian Linehan, a Canadian Screen Legend in his own right, chronicles these astonishing achievements.Among the sometimes surprising entries in SCREEN LEGENDS are the fascinating stories of: the young woman from Hamilton, Ontario who became known as Hollywood’s first movie star (Florence Lawrence); the salesman from an engineering company in Montreal who moved to Hollywood and won 14 Oscars (Douglas Shearer); the self-proclaimed “ugly duckling” from Cobourg, Ontario who won a Best Actress Oscar (Marie Dressler); the great beauty from Cardston, Ablerta who captivated King Kong (Fay Wray) and the key Hollywood players who founded United Artists (Mary Pickford), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Louis B. Mayer) and Warner Brothers Studios (Jack Warner).Throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, Canadians have helped build the Hollywood we know today. Luminous Canadians stars created some of the most enduring characters in both film and television – Tonto, Perry Mason, Lily Munters, Austin Powers, and Captain James T. Kirk, to name just a few. SCREEN LEGENDS revels in and celebrates these remarkable pioneers.

Bruce Yaccato is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker. He has been a Parliamentary Correspondent and Quebec City Bureau Chief for CTV News and award-winning documentary reporter for CBC's The Journal. Yaccato is a longtime contributor to the acclaimed Historica Minutes series. He spends time watching and writing about movies old and new in Toronto's Little Italy.

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