HOLLYWOOD RAT RACE, by Ed Wood, Jr.

In the debut publication of Hollywood Rat Race, Ed Wood stars as himself, playing to every wanna-be actor or actress in small and not-so-small towns across the country. Only Wood could pull off the completely sincere and completely over-the-top description and defense of his life in the movie biz. Issued as an affectionate warning, Hollywood Rat Race beckons to those starry eyes drawn to the spotlight and wryly advises them to take a number in the long line of beauty-pageant winners and high-school dramatists. Wood demonstrates his unadulterated love of the movies and movie stars, but cautions young people against coming to Hollywood unprepared.

With his movie career stalled, Wood worked on Hollywood Rat Race throughout the sixties. As Wood and his wife Kathleen led their peripatetic existence — one step ahead of their creditors, although occasionally one step behind — the manuscript for Rat Race languished without a publisher. But with the cooperation of Kathleen OÕHara Wood, Four Walls now brings you the last word in movieland camp — the very last words on the subject from the master himself, Ed Wood, Jr.

Wood tries to offer practical tidbits, almost exclusively concerned with angora sweaters, as well as some hints about the respective qualities for superstardom and character acting. His Hollywood wriggles with snakes and sharpies out to scalp the unsuspecting, so he lobbies for agents and press handlers and the maintenance of a Hollywood caliber appearance at all times. If you are lucky enough to achieve some level of success, he laments the cost of life in a fish bowl. Wood also rhapsodizes about down-and-out Hollywood legends and provides encouragement to budding novelists and screenwriters.

He bemoans the tarnish on the glow of Hollywood's glamour, as he--of all people--shakes his head at the gender-bending fashions of the sixties. Yet his rendering of the activities of Sunset Boulevard sparkles and glistens much like the pink gloss on the lips of young men and the metallic hot pants of young women. Can you — boy or girl — expect to be chased round many a casting couch? Absolutely. To succumb or not to succumb, that is the question. While Wood outlines the pros and cons to both strategies, he does suggest wearing sneakers. Welcome to Ed Wood's world, where the strange mingles with the neophyte and all are equally embraced.

Ed Wood, Jr. was an infamous director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and novelist. His films include Plan 9 from Outer Space; Glen or Glenda; Orgy of the Dead; and Necromania. Some of the twenty-two novels published during his lifetime include Devil Girls; Sex, Shrouds, and Caskets; Security Risk; as well as two Four Walls reissues in spring of 1999: Death of a Transvestite and Killer in Drag. Wood died in Hollywood in 1978 at the age of 54.

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