The man with the golden Hollywood memories

Long before movies could talk, the people on the big screen were setting trends and styles for the rest of us. Even today, there’s a sense of curiosity about what the stars are doing behind the gates of those great old mansions.

In terms of grace and style, you couldn’t ask for a better tour director than actor Robert Wagner. You Must Remember This is his valentine to the Hollywood he

You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age Robert Wagner with Scott Eyman Viking

knew as a kid.

Wagner’s father, a successful businessman, moved the family from Detroit to the Bel Air neighbourhood of Los Angeles in 1937 when Wagner was seven.

By 1949, when 20th Century Fox began grooming him for stardom, Wagner was well on his way to knowing quite a few of Hollywood’s most interesting citizens. Those intimate connections give You Must Remember This a personal touch as Wagner, writing with film historian Scott Eyman, recounts a city of dreams and desires with a unique nightlife and playtime.

Where the stars lived probably said as much about them as real people as anything. For example, James Cagney’s house in Beverly Hills was small and rustic by star standards, mainly a place to stay when he was away from his East Coast farms. James Stewart lived in a homey but unpretentious Tudor-style home in Beverly Hills — and bought and tore down the house next door to make room for flowers and vegetables.

Wagner writes with the easy charm he brought to television scores of movies. His amusing and interesting reflections carry a touch of wistfulness. As he notes, the huge mansions became too expensive to maintain.

“It was a lesson to me that nothing lasts forever,” Wagner says. “Except the movies.”