LLoyd Hamilton: Poor Boy Comedian of Silent Cinema
In the San Francisco Examiner, Thomas Gladysz talks about the recently released biography of silent-film comedian Lloyd Hamilton:
"Chances are, if you’re a fan of early film or early comedic actors, you’re only dimly aware of Lloyd Hamilton. Though he was never as popular as his silent film contemporaries Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Charley Chase, he was admired and even praised by those same greats. Some have called Hamilton a ‘comedian’s comedian.’ And pretty much everyone who has seen his films agrees he was an original talent.
"The reputation of Lloyd Hamilton – a once popular baby-faced comic with a trademark checkered cap – has not fared well since his death at the age [...]
by Andre Soares | October 9, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Anthony Balducci, Books, Classic Movies, Lloyd Hamilton, McFarland, Silent Films, Thomas Gladysz
CELEBRITIES IN THE 1930 CENSUS: Q&A with Author Allan R. Ellenberger
As it says on the cover, Allan R. Ellenberger’s Celebrities in the 1930 Census (McFarland, 2008, US$49.95) is a compilation of household data — as collected by 1930 census takers — of more than 2,000 "U.S. actors, musicians, scientists, athletes, writers, politicians and other public figures." (The woman in the photo is aviatrix Amelia Earhart.)
The book, of course, doesn’t offer any saucy insights into the lives of those people. Instead, it’s a straightforward amalgam of un-dramatic — but important — information for researchers. (Though non-researchers may find the myriad listings addictive as well.)
For instance, when I wrote the Ramon Novarro (above right) biography Beyond Paradise, I didn’t have access to the 1930 census, which became part of the public record [...]
by Andre Soares | February 27, 2008
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Allan Ellenberger, Books, Celebrities in the 1930 Census, Florence Vidor, Interviews, Katharine Hepburn, Marie Dressler, McFarland, Ramon Novarro, Upton Sinclair
