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The very definition

One could say that Louise Brooks is the very definition of the term "arms akimbo." According to Wikipedia, "Akimbo is a human body position in which the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bowed outward, or bent/bowed in a more general sense." Wouldn't you agree?

A social butterfly, not really

Louise Brooks was never a social butterfly. She was loner - especially at the end of her life.

Barry Paris concludes his sublime biography with these words."The real epitaph of Louise Brooks was a brutal one, inspired by her merciless self-criticism and intended neither for sympathy not for public consumption. She confided in a letter, a dozen years before she died, to her brother Theodore: "I have been taking stock of my 50 years since I left Wichita in 1922 at the age of 15 to become a dancer with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. How I have existed fills me with horror. For I failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, swimming, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying.' I tried with all my heart."

Was her beauty her tragedy?

Denishawn Dancer Jane Sherman

Jane Sherman has died. The dancer and author passed away on March 16th.

Sherman (1908 - 2010) was one of the last - perhaps the last - living members of the early / first generation / original Denishawn Dance Company. She was also a kind of unofficial historian of Denishawn and its founders Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Sherman authored a handful of books on the subject, and also appeared in various documentaries.

One of the documentaries she appeared in was Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu. In it, Sherman spoke about Louise Brooks' two season tenure with Denishawn prior to her entry into silent film.

Sherman's time with Denishawn did not overlap with that of Louise Brooks. They missed each other missed each other by about a year. (Had Brooks not have been kicked out of Denishawn, they likely would have toured the Far East together.) Nevertheless, Sherman was aware of her famous predecesor and wrote about Brooks and her small but noted history with Denishawn in various works.

Sherman was the author of various articles and books including Soaring: The Diary of Letters of a Denishawn Dancer in the Far East, 1925-1926 (Wesleyan, 1976), The Drama of Denishawn Dance (Wesleyan, 1979), Denishawn: The Enduring Influence (Twayne, 1983), and Barton Mumaw, Dancer: From Denishawn to Jacob's Pillow and Beyond (Wesleyan, 2000). I have each. Each are excellent.

A little more on Sherman and her life can be found on the arts meme website and on the ballet talk website. Sherman's death was announced by Norton Owen, Director of Preservation, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

[The image below shows members of the Denishawn Dance Company during the 1922-1923 season. Martha Graham is center, Louise Brooks is second from the right.]

Diary of a Lost Girl Soundtrack

Here is something you don't see everyday. For sale on eBay is a CD issued in Greece featuring a contemporary soundtrack recording to the 1929 Louise Brooks' film, Diary of a Lost Girl.

The seller's text reads, "Diary of a Lost Girl, by Minos Matsas, released on Minos in Greece in 1997. OUTSTANDING recording of a live performance of music by Greek composer Minos Matsas, written as the soundtrack to accompany an outdoor screening of the Pabst silent film classic Diary of a Lost Girl, featuring Louise Brooks. Stunningly beautiful music, and a very rare cd." A while back, I did a little further research on the composer and found that he now lives in Los Angeles. This disc was his first recorded release.

I've known about this recording for a while not, but haven't heard it as of yet. Has any reader of this blog heard it? And if so, what are your impressions?

Curiously, this is the second contemporary soundtrack recording for Diary of a Lost Girl to pop up on eBay in recent weeks. I blogged about the other on March 4th.

Pepi Lederer

Today is what would have been Pepi Lederer's 100^th birthday. Pepi (March 18, 1910 – June 11, 1935) was an actress and writer. She was also the niece of Marion Davies. What little we know about Pepi comes from Louise Brooks' Lulu in Hollywood. In it, she devotes an entire chapter to Pepi, Marion Davies, and Davies' lover, William Randolph Hearst. Louise Brooks knew them all, and spent a little time with each at the Hearst Castle.

If you haven't read Brooks' essay, "Marion Davies' Niece," you should. It is a fine and sympathetic portrait of a tragic figure. 

Film historian Allan R, Ellenberger, the author of recommended books on Ramon Novarro and Rudolph Valentino, has written an excellent, illustrated article on Pepi on his blog. Check it out at http://www.allanellenberger.com      Pepi Lederer is not forgotten.