Twilight Man

 Photographs of Harrison Post from the archival collection of Liz Brown

TWILIGHT MAN - Love and Ruin in the Shadows of Hollywood and the Clark Empire is a biography of a forgotten Hollywood socialite named Harrison Post. It’s also a history of early Los Angeles, hidden gay lives, and a rapacious Gilded Age dynasty.

Author Liz Brown came to this story by the chance discovery in her grandmother’s home of a 1921 photograph of the mysterious Harrison Post. Ms. Brown soon learned that Post had been the secret lover of her great-granduncle, William Andrews Clark Jr., who came from the notorious Montana mining family, founded the LA Philharmonic, and helped launch the Hollywood Bowl. What she unraveled next was a dark history involving blackmail, LA book dealers, Nazi prison camps, Mexico City nightclubs, and a stolen inheritance—a real-life noir in the shadow of a fading American empire. Twilight Man explores themes of self-invention, class, betrayal, and the legacies of corruption.

On Saturday, May 22nd, the Velaslavasay Panorama welcomes author Liz Brown to our gardens to celebrate the publication of Twilight Man with intermittent outdoor readings and access to exhibit areas.

A lobby display will show items from Liz Brown's archival collection related to the subjects in the book, including photographs, journals, and Harrison Post’s personal mementos, including cross-stitch embroideries he made in Norway.

This is an open-house style event in the gardens and grounds of the Velaslavasay Panorama and copies of Twilight Man will be available for purchase courtesy of Skylight Books.

This event is free. Advance R.S.V.P. registration is required to attend, available through this online form.

• "Group A" Registrants may visit anytime between 12noon and 2pm.  
• "Group B" Registrants may visit anytime between 2pm and 4pm.

"Twilight Man" book cover

About TWILIGHT MAN - Love and Ruin in the Shadows of Hollywood and the Clark Empire

TWILIGHT MAN - Love and Ruin in the Shadows of Hollywood and the Clark Empire by Liz Brown is an astounding feat of research that uncovers the fascinating life of Harrison Post. A former sales clerk with an obscure upbringing, Post’s illicit relationship with Clark ensconced him in a world of privilege and luxury that spread from Gilded Age wealth to the early Hollywood film community—but only for so long. After Clark’s death in 1934, Post inherited a huge fortune, but was left destitute by a tremendous betrayal. Upended by the loss of his lover and livelihood, Post’s life took a sharp turn that led him to Scandinavia, Nazi prison camps, and Mexico City—all in search of an inheritance that would ultimately destroy him.

About the Author

Liz Brown has written for Bookforum, Elle Decor, London Review of Books, Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, and other publications. She lives in Los Angeles.

About the Clark Library

The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, one of West Adams’s historic treasures, was designed in 1924 by architect Robert Farquhar for philanthropist W.A. Clark Jr. to house his collection of rare books and manuscripts. The five-acre property is administered by UCLA’s Center for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies. The Clark Library is expected to remain closed through Summer 2021, though this date may be subject to change.

This event was made possible in part through support from the California Arts Council and the Velaslavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society.

 From the archival collection of Liz Brown

Velaslavasay Panorama Gardens by Forest Casey