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“Bernstein's hard-boiled yet juicy chronicle of publisher Robert Harrison’s 1950s celebrity gossip magazine Confidential is an apt, unflinching take on the wildly popular tabloid that stood by its slogan, ‘Tells the Facts and Names the Names.’ In its heyday, the rag was revealing romantic trysts, outing gay stars and insinuating a lot more for an audience of over 5 million readers. That wouldn't last, as "The Trial of 100 Stars, then 200 stars" in 1957 brought multiple felonies against the tabloid - including conspiracy to commit libel and disseminate obscene material - that would lead to circulation-killing content and format changes. Focusing on the embattled founder and two key Confidential players - Harrison's niece and research director Marjorie Meade, ‘the most feared woman in Hollywood,’ and editor Howard Rushmore, a ‘goofball-popping, alcoholic, violent, Communist witch-hunter’ - and including a huge cast of celebrities, Bernstein does a commendable job bringing Harrison and his times to life with a page-turning pace and prose worthy of the tabloid (somewhat appropriately, his frequent italicized asides could have used more consistent attribution). Including more than 75 pages of photos and reproductions of the magazine's stories and covers, this smart exposé should please anyone interested in 1950s Hollywood or the evolution of celebrity journalism.” —Publishers Weekly
“SEX, SCANDAL and sensationalism. Libel suits and humiliations. Idols with feet of clay. Think it’s anything new? Not at all. Slip into the compulsively lurid and exhaustively researched pages of ‘Mr. Confidential’ which tells the tale of publisher Robert Harrison and his magazine, Confidential. That forerunner of celebrity dirt quite literally changed the face of entertainment journalism. It reads like a house afire in a sultry swamp. Nobody did ‘down and dirty’ like Mr. Harrison and today’s beleaguered stars, politicians and others owe him a sock in the jaw. An illuminating, fun read!” —Liz Smith
“Robert Harrison was a sub rosa giant of American journalism in the 1950s. The flagship of his fleet of mostly pinup magazines was the celebrity scandal sheet Confidential, a hint-all more than a tell-all, full of delicious dishing and scandal-mongering seasoned with puns and alliteration. During its short, mercurial run, Confidential outed gay and bisexual movie folk and celebrity drug users on a scale that approached that of Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon books. Stars often noisily threatened to sue but nearly always quietly dropped litigation before any oath-bound testimony and other inconveniences to their studios' publicity machines; for example, Lizabeth Scott took umbrage at being called a "baritone babe" but quickly withdrew her knee-jerk lawsuit. When Harrison agent and anti-Communist crusader Howard Rushmore killed himself and his estranged wife in a taxicab, the world caved in on Harrison and his jaunty journal. Though he makes definite statements rather than leering suggestions, Bernstein spills the beans on that story and more in language reminiscent of Confidential's house style. Get a load of it.” —Mike Tribby, Booklist
“TABLOID GOSSIP RULES! Here's the perfect Christmas gift for anyone who loves gossip or Hollywood history: ‘Mr. Confidential.’ It's a book about the man behind the famous 50s scandal magazine, written by my friend Samuel Bernstein. Robert Harrison, the publisher behind Confidential, adored homosexual exposés and gleefully wrote about those ‘lavender lads’ - Liberace being ‘mad about the boy’ and Tab Hunter's ‘gay pajama party.’ He even outed Van Johnson by declaring his conversion to heterosexuality. The ‘baritone babes’ Lizabeth Scott and Marlene Dietrich got their share of stories too. I asked Sam to tell me about a scoop that Confidential COULDN'T print and he recalled one about Elvis. Back in 1957. A PR guy claimed that Elvis had an ongoing affair with another famous teen idol. (Tab? Troy? Fabian? Bobby?) Supposedly they got together for ‘man-play’ - wrestling and beyond. Confidential couldn't substantiate the story and didn't print it. WE don't think it was true either, and neither does Bernstein - but it’s great fun! (Actually, in Tab Hunter's bio he mentioned that he was miffed when Elvis stole his ‘beard’ Natalie Wood away from him.)” —Janet Charlton’s Hollywood
“The familiar phrase “sex sells” provided Confidential Magazine publisher Robert Harrison with plenty of fodder for the celebrity scandal mill. In its heyday during the 1950s, Confidential Magazine changed the very nature of entertainment journalism and easily outsold such publishing stalwarts as Time and The Saturday Evening Post, becoming a spin-zone nightmare. Headlines screamed: ‘Joan Crawford’s back street romance with a bartender,’ ‘Why Liberace’s theme song should be, ‘Mad about the boy!’ ‘Psst! Vic Mature: Remember that cute trick you dated? She was a he!’ Confidential Magazine cast a long shadow over Tinsel Town, targeting numerous celebrities. Author Samuel Bernstein uncovers the rise and fall of Harrison and what was known as the “Trial of 200 Stars,” which forever changed the way the press covered the world of Hollywood: flinging open closet doors, peeking behind drawn bedroom curtains and uncovering the flip side of fame.” —Tim Parks, GLT Review
