Romance is a brand new 120-page glossy photo hardcover coffee
table book dedicated to the author’s mother, with a forward written by Vera
Goulet.
First of all, the luminous Jean Simmons is on the cover. I
have always loved her, and she became even more of a personal favorite when I
had the opportunity to photograph her back in 2002.
Every photograph is a full page of 1960’s glamour, and the
facing page has a quote from the star, which I love. Inspired by his mother’s
love of movie stars and her personal collection of Romance magazine back
covers, he set out to restore and enliven the classic photos into modern day
art with the added signatures and quotes.
I’m delighted to feature Mario de Laat on the blog!
Alan Mercer: First, I want to say that I love this book so much. It has a Warhol Interview magazine pop art feel to it. Is he or the pop art movement an influence on you?
Mario De Laat: I love Andy Warhol and I am flattered to be compared to him. However, I can’t say that I was thinking of him when I put this book together. I simply designed a layout that I thought would best complement these timeless photos of these amazing stars. I am thrilled that you love the book!
AM: How did you pick the cover photo out of so many great choices?
MDL: Interesting story. At first I wanted to display all of the stars’ photographs on the front cover. But when I mocked it up, it didn’t seem right- looked like school pictures. So one night it hit me when I was in bed having trouble sleeping. Jean Simmons! The photograph of her was romantic, glamorous and was a perfect representation of the sort of images the book contained.
AM: How did you get to know Vera Goulet?
MDL: From a very young age, I was a big fan of Robert Goulet. About 20 years ago, I wrote a letter to Mr. Goulet requesting an autographed picture of him, which he sent. I was added to their mailing list and would receive every holiday season a beautiful card with a picture of the happy couple. When Robert passed away, Vera and I remained friends thanks to the magic of the internet. Of course, I decided to include a picture of Robert that was included in my mother’s collection since she loved him too. So, I took a chance and reached out to Vera and asked her to write the foreward of this book, and she didn’t hesitate! She said, “of course I will write this for you! You’re my friend!” This was the icing on the cake for me.
AM: Did you ever imagine you would create this book of beauty with those old magazine back covers?
MDL: I loved the magazine, Romance when I was younger, but I didn’t think of making a photo art book with these images until my mother died. I inherited her scrapbook of these pictures that my mother collected pictures and images of American and European movie stars. This scrapbook was a prized possession of hers. I thought to myself, there is no better way to honor her memory than making an actual coffee table book of these images.
AM: Was it hard picking a quote for each of them?
MDL: Honestly, I researched these movie stars on the internet and came up with so many quotes. The hardest part was deciding on which one best suited each star. For example, both Anthony Perkins and Rock Hudson both spoke about the AIDS in their later years, so I wanted to include these quotes for them. Sal Mineno and Pier Angeli both expressed their affection for James Dean. Other stars often provided funny antidotes and silly quotes. I wanted to give the book some layers with the quotes.
AM: I think the autograph adds so much. What inspired that choice to add them?
MDL: I felt that by adding the autographs, it would be more appealing to collectors and fans. I would definitely prefer to buy a star’s photo post card with an autograph even if it was pre-printed. This was quite normal in the 60s.
AM: Can you tell me about your other two books?
MDL: Sure- I have
produced two other books: The Ritchie Family: A Retrospective in Pictures
1978-1983 and Glenn Hughes: Village People is My Life. As the International Fan
Club President for both Village People and The Ritchie Family from 1979 until
1996, I collected so much memorabilia, photos (many of which I took myself),
and other keepsakes from both groups. I was supported by both groups’
management, Can’t Stop Productions USA and Scorpio/France. I actually inherited
most of Glenn Hughes’ memorabilia and costumes including all of his stage
clothing, gold records, interviews and concerts on cassette and VHS tapes, his
personal photographs, and copies of demo songs that were never released among
many other things. In both cases, it seemed natural to produce a book about
both groups that features these incredible items and celebrates the Kings and
Queens of the Disco era.
Mario de Laat started his career at the 4 Star Hotel de
Swaen and Hotel Bosch en Ven in what was known as “The Pearl of Brabant”, the
beautiful village of Oisterwijk.
At the age of 23, he relocated to Amsterdam and worked for
Cinetone Filmstudios where many TV shows and movies were produced. It was the
biggest film studio in The Netherlands where Mario held the scepter over the
studio’s catering, welcoming many international stars and movie directors such
as Elton John, David Bowie, The Three Degrees, Amanda Lear, Sylvia Kristel,
Jerone Krabbe, Rutgar Hauer and Paul Verhoeven, among others.
In 1980 he partnered with KB van Kranen on their own photo
card business, Man’s World Pictures, which became very successful and
distributed cards to Europe, US and Canada. In 1983 he switched careers and
went to Amsterdam Fashion School where he earned his degrees and began working
as a fashion designer on his own successful label, Oiram Fashion.
Mario had a long-standing relationship with the popular group,
The Village People as the founder and president of the Village People
International Fanclub from 1978 to 1996. He created and produced a bi-monthly
magazine, ‘People Power’ for 18 years that was very much loved all around the
world, including the group members and their producers Henri Belolo and Jacques
Morali.
Through Village People, Mario was introduced to the fabulous
Ritchie Family in 1980. He received official approval from the producers for
Village People to include The Ritchie Family in the magazine and to promote
both groups.
In the mid 1990’s, Mario worked for the management company
for the Village People and became the personal assistant to the original
Leatherman of the group, Glenn M. Hughs. Mario remains connected to the Kings
of Disco Former Members of the Village People.
Mario has plans to produce another photo art book about Glenn
M. Hughs and his career with the Village People. He is also currently writing a
book about his own life that has already been optioned by some American theatrical
producers to be presented as a play in the future titled ‘Young Man’.
Mario maintains a strong friendship with the members of The
Ritchie Family which has now entered its fourth decade. With his lifetime of experiences
in show business and the creative arts, he hopes to give you an inside look at
these wonderful ladies, their careers and their accomplishments, and hopes most
of all that you enjoy ‘The Ritchie Family: A Retrospective in pictures
1978-1983’.
