Marion Davies, a biography

Just finished reading Marion Davies, a biography by Fred Laurence Guiles. I liked the book well enough, though it took me a while to finish it. Not sure why that was. I have been busy with work lately. Nevertheless, this 1972 biography was informative and well-researched. I have seen Davies' Show People and really liked the film, and her. (If you haven't seen the film, you should. Marion Davies is a delight.)  This book makes a case for Davies as an accomplished actress and interesting Jazz Age personality, above and beyond her relationship with William Randolph Hearst.



Has anyone read this book, or Davies' own posthumous The Times We Had ? I think I may read that next.

LBS at Flickr

Here is the url for the LBS at Flickr = http://www.flickr.com/photos/louisebrookssociety/

David Levine Postcard Book

A caricature of Louise Brooks adorns the cover of a recently released David Levine postcard book. The "personalities" series contains twenty 4" x 6" postcards featuring different David Levine caricatures taken from 40 years of The New York Review of Books. Levine's mid-80's caricature of is featured. More info and a link to purchase can be found here.

                   

New York Review Books is the same publisher that released The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares, which also featured Louise Brooks on the cover. More info and a link to purchase for that title can be found here. That's two items from the same publisher! (p.s. The publisher is having a sale!)

LBS 10th anniversary postage stamp

The Louise Brooks Society 10th anniversary postage stamp - for sale through Cafepress.com - will only be available through the end of the year. (This year marks the tenth anniversary of the LBS - and to celebrate, the LBS created a stamp by gum!) Approved for domestic use by the United States Postal Service, stamps are sold in sheets of 20 and are available in seven denominations, including the postcard rate. This is the perfect collectible for those stamp collectors among Louise Brooks many fans . . . .

Theda Bara documentary

There is an article in today's Fresno Bee about a new documentary on Theda Bara. Hugh Munro Neely, who directed the documentary, also directed the recent stylish documentaries on Clara Bow and Louise Brooks. I am looking forward to seeing it.

Once again, I went to the library

Once again, I went to the library in search of yet more Louise Brooks material. Four inter-library loans were waiting for me. Most of my requests these days are aimed at Denishawn performances. To that end, I went through some microfilm of the now defunct Minneapolis Journal and the now defunct Albany Evening Journal. I also went through the Rockford Register-Gazette (from Rockford, Illinois). In each newspaper I found articles, advertisements and a couple of reviews. Louise Brooks was mentioned in one of the reviews. One other unusual article spoke about a visit by the Denishawn dancers to a Minneapolis hospital to visit sick children. The search goes on . . . . I have added citations to the Denishawn bibliographiesof the relevant material.



One of the advertisements I came across for Denishawn's 1923 Minneapolis performance is pictured above. Interestingly, adjoining it was an advertisement for a performance by the noted stage (and silent film) actor Fritz Leiber, who was once well known for his interpretations of Shakespeare. His son, Fritz Leiber Jr., who would become one of the great science fiction and fantasy authors of the post-War period, referenced Louise Brooks in his classic horror novel Our Lady of Darkness (1978).

Along with a bunch of Denishawn material, I also scored some articles, reviews and advertisements for The Street of Forgotten Men, A Social Celebrity, and The Show Off. This material came from the Minneapolis Journal, Albany Evening News (the successor to the Albany Evening Journal) and Des Moines Register (from Des Moines, Iowa). I think I have gotten everything I can from the Des Moines Register.