Walter Clarence Thornton (April 3, 1903 – May 14, 1990) was orphaned and enlisted in the Army to fight in WWI at just 14yo.Thornton was given an honorary discharge for "ineligibility",and worked as a bricklayer.In 1925, illustrator Georgia Warren spotted Walter Thornton on a park bench in NYC.She suggested he model.He signed on with The John Robert Powers Agency.He was known in the tight-knit artists' Greenwich Village community in the late 1920s as "The Profile." He posed for leading artists, illustrators, and photographers, including Norman Rockwell,Neysa McMein,John La Gatta etc.In 1928,Thornton created a "head factory" where he hand-crafted and sold plaster copies of his own head until 1931.Thornton expanded his business to become the nation's first full service modeling agency in 1929.His agency was located in the new Chrysler Building,and he became known for The Bankrupt Investor image that showed a man selling his Chrysler car due to the Wall Street Stock Market Crash.The Walter Thornton Model Agency was a prominent presence in the world of beauty at the beginning of photographic modelling.Dale Carnegie wrote that Walter's success was because he originated a new idea; something no one had thought of before. And stuck to it till he put it over.The Walter Thornton Agency represented many models such as Susan Hayward, Grace Kelly, Lauren Bacall, Arlene Dahl,Lizabeth Scott,The Faithfull sisters,Toni Eden,Jean Muir,Joseph Cotten etc.During WWII,Thornton's agency created pin-up models to boost military morale.Thornton opened charm schools in Canada.Thornton ran a stock photo publication of children,and represented his own child models under Just Kids Models.In the early 1950s,Walter's name and reputation was damaged when he was accused of taking advantage of kids and their parents in a purported child model racket.Walter was tried by tabloids and he sued for libel.Walter left America and moved to Ajijic,Mexico.Walter married model Judy Dolan from 1934-1955,and they had 1 daughter.He remarried to Candelaria Navarro and they had 6 children,and he built a lavish,castle-like home.Walter was an innovative and decent businessman and family man.

I really enjoyed reading this, it had that Hollywood behind the scenes that I was looking for and was glad I was able to read this. I enjoyed getting to know Walter Thornton through this book and how we got to know him through this book. I appreciated that Nancy Thornton Navarro and Adriana Thornton-Cornejo shared this story and brought their father to life again.

I had never heard of Walter Thornton and was curious about this book. I decided to check it out and can’t believe how quickly I was sucked in to the story. After reading about how his family came across an image of their father in a movie I had to know more about Walter Thornton and his life. It’s amazing how well his story was researched and I found myself glued to this story until the end. I knew nothing about the origin of modeling agencies and pinups so it was interesting to gain a deeper understanding of that world. I was also just as horrified as his family when things go left and Walter Thornton has no choice but to defend his life’s work. This book was an eye opening reminder that not everything presented to us is as it seems. I would encourage everyone check out this book if you want a closer look at the struggles of everyone that came before us. Or read it if you’re interested in the modeling world and life during the time of Great Depression.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.