My Mother, the Hollywood Scab

Katherine Specktor never wanted to be a screenwriter, so she didn't see the furious backlash coming when she crossed the WGA picket lines. In an excerpt from his new memoir about growing up in the industry, her son explains how the experience sent her further into a spiral of alcoholism and despair.The following is excerpted from Matthew Specktor’s new memoir, The Golden Hour: A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood, about growing up in Los Angeles, with his father — CAA super-agent Fred Specktor — and writer mother, Katherine, surrounded by industry players, movie stars and left-wing activists....