Happy birthday to Kevin Brownlow !

Happy birthday to author, film historian, documentary film maker, and Academy Award honoree Kevin Brownlow. He was born on this day in 1938. More about Kevin Brownlow and his many accomplishments can be found on his Wikipedia entry.

He has had a profound influence on my interest in Louise Brooks and early film, and thus my life. I will always appreciate our conversations and emails, his generous sharing of information (and images), the time he invited me to visit his London flat to talk about Louise Brooks, and the foreword he wrote to my most recent book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond. Thank you.

I would also like to thank Kevin for all the books he has signed for me (I am a bit of an obsessive collector), and for restoring Abel Gance's Napoleon (1927). Seeing that film at the Paramount theater in Oakland back in 2012 stands as the greatest cinematic experience of my life. Here is something I wrote for the Huffington Post.

If you have any interest in silent film be sure and track down as many of Kevin Brownlow's books and documentary films.  His classic book, The Parade's Gone By (1968) is a must read. And, his 13-part Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film (1980) series - shown on PBS - is epic. Also, his 6-part Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood is also outstanding. Louise Brooks features in all three of these works.

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