Infamous Players, A Tale of Movies, the Mob (and Sex) by Peter Bart ’49 or ’50?. After Friends, Peter attended Swarthmore and got a job at the Times. So far so Quakerly. But then he got an offer to be an executive at Paramount Pictures. This book recounts his eight years at Paramount, after which he became the editor in chief of Variety. Those were heady times. He and Bob Evans partnered on many projects such as Love Story, the Godfather, and Rosemary’s Baby.He managed to keep his head while those around him lost their souls in a sea of drugs, fame, easy sex, and alcohol. Mob money, strangely, finances pictures that expose the mob. Peter is a keen observer and deftly lifts the curtain to reveal the business, rivalries, high pressure, and dangerous living behind the scenes. He seems to be the Nick watching the Gatsby-like industry implode. This is a pre-#metoo world. ( In fact, he acknowledges Harvey Weinstein’s encouragement). Like André Schiffrin, he chronicles the movement away from the small to the vast. Charles Bluhdorn, who acquired control of Paramount, also bought up Simon and Schuster.
