Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Louise Brooks - the year in review 2020

It has been quite a year. 

Louise Brooks passed away 35 years ago, but still there is considerable interest in this singular dancer, silent film actress, & writer. This year, 2020, saw new articles, books, DVDs and despite the pandemic,  a few screenings and a major film retrospective. And too, Brooks' name and image continues to pop up here and there in the realms of fashion and popular culture, proving she remains a memorable 20th century icon.

At year's end, I thought it would be a good time to look back at 2020 through the prism of the LBS blog and some of the articles about the actress that have appeared on-line. Most of the headlines below come from this blog, with exceptions noted. The most recent news-worthy headlines are given first. Happy new year from the Louise Brooks Society, let's hope it's a good one, without any fear....

Update on Around the World with Louise Brooks, forthcoming in 2021 provided we all survive the pandemic

Beggars of Life, starring Louise Brooks, screens in theatre December 27 

Little seen Louise Brooks film The Show Off to screen in Australia 

New Louise Brooks novel released in Switzerland

"Lulu Forever: the 2020 Louise Brooks FilmPodium Retrospective (Zurich)" by Thomas Gladysz (Film International)

Louise Brooks - Lulu and Beyond online event with Pamela Hutchinson on October 28 

Once Lost Louise Brooks Film Now Online - Watch it NOW  

New Louise Brooks DVD - Prix de beaute released in Italy

"The Last Days of Louise Brooks" by Jan-Christopher Horak (Archival Spaces: Memory, Images, History, scroll down

Jack Garner, longtime film critic and friend to Louise Brooks, dies

"Double Lives: On Louise Brooks’s 'Thirteen Women in Films'” by Maya Cantu (Los Angeles Review of Books)

Pandora's Box for sale, belonged to producer of Louise Brooks film 

Louise Brooks - Two Parallel Lives by Laura Scaramozzino  

Richard Sala (1959-2020), friend of the Louise Brooks Society  

As seen on TV - Louise Brooks the Persistent Star gets screen time during LA news story  

Louise Brooks retrospective in Switzerland postponed 

Louise Brooks locations tour postponed until 2021  

Louise Brooks Society announcement regarding RadioLulu 

Louise Brooks film Prix de beauté made available for online streaming during coronavirus crisis 

Louise Brooks film Beggars of Life to show in UK on March 15

Louise Brooks Onscreen in Hollywood!

Pandora's Box starring Louise Brooks at Cinema City in Norwich, England  

Louise Brooks inspired film The Chaperone shows in Australia  

Diary of a Lost Girl, starring Louise Brooks, screens in Tulsa, Oklahoma 

New G.W. Pabst DVD Blu-ray set features Louise Brooks

Frank Martin signed etching of Louise Brooks for sale

Louise Brooks screening and booksigning at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles

New Book on German Cinema features Louise Brooks 


In the summer of 1995, I posted my first webpages about Louise Brooks and proclaimed the formation of a society dedicated to the silent film star. That was 25 years ago, at the beginning of the internet. The Louise Brooks Society is a pioneering website. It was the first site devoted to Brooks, one of the very first about silent film, and one of the earliest related to the movies. I am proud that I have kept it going to this day, making the LBS one of the older websites around.

At the beginning of this year, I was looking forward to this summer and celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Louise Brooks Society. But now, with all that has happened in 2020 — things I could not have imagined in January or February, I am resigned to merely marking the occasion. The pandemic, and Trump's failure to help the nation get through it, has certainly sucked the air out of the room. Who feels like celebrating when one is only trying to get by.... Happy 25th anniversary to the Louise Brooks Society.

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