Ross Alexander: The Life and Death of a Contract Player, Paperback - John Franceschina
Like many of the actors in Hollywood at that time, Ross was recruited from Broadway where he played high-spirited juveniles in Let Us Be Gay, starring Charlotte Granville, Francine Larrimore and Warren William; That's Gratitude, with Frank Craven, Thelma Marsh, and George Barbier; and After Tomorrow, with Donald Meek and Barbara Robbins--all produced by song-writer, producer-director, John Golden, who "discovered" Ross performing with Antoinette Perry (the "Tony" of Broadway theatre awards), in the long-run flop, The Ladder. Strikingly handsome, with a sensuality that appealed to women (and men) of all ages, and possessed of a Puck-like good humor that endeared him to columnists, co-stars, and virtually everyone else in the Hollywood film community, Ross quickly became the golden boy of scene-stealers at Warners, after appearing in Flirtation Walk, with Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, and Pat O'Brien, and Gentlemen Are Born, with Franchot Tone, Jean Muir, and Ann Dvorak. Of all the screen juveniles groomed for stardom by Warner Brothers in the 1930s, few were touted as highly by Hal Wallis and Jack Warner as Ross Alexander.