Betty Lasky
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Betty Lasky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 11, 1922 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | January 7, 2017 (aged 94) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Author, film historian |
| Father | Jesse L. Lasky |
| Family | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. (brother) |
Betty Lasky | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Movie industry, movie editor, film history, Hollywood history |
| Notable works | RKO: The Biggest Little Major of Them All |
Betty Lasky (October 11, 1922 – January 7, 2017)[1] was an American film historian and author.
She was the daughter of pioneering producer Jesse L. Lasky, a key founder of Paramount Pictures and Bessie Mona Ginsberg Lasky, a painter known for her depictions of the California missions.[1] Her late brother, Jesse L. Lasky, Jr., was the screenwriter of over 50 films, including a long partnership with the DeMilles. She grew up in and around Hollywood, piquing her interest in film history. Her writing career began as a screen story analyst for RKO Pictures, the Selznick Company and the Hamilburg Agency, as well as a position editing and writing for The Players Showcase Magazine.[2]
In the 1970s, she worked with attorney Terrys T. Olender to preserve film artifacts saved by the City of Los Angeles in the Lincoln Heights Jail. As a result, she was asked by her former employer, RKO, to compile and publish a history of the film company (producer of Citizen Kane and King Kong). RKO: The Biggest Little Major of Them All was released in 1984 by Prentice-Hall. She also contributed the "Roots of Hollywood" chapter in Hollywood Archive: The Hidden History of Hollywood in the Golden Age (New York: Angel City Press and Universal Publishing, a division of Rizzoli) in 2000.[3]
Miss Lasky died of pneumonia on the afternoon of January 7, 2017, at her home in Los Angeles, aged 94.[4][5]
