Louise Brooks & Bruce Conner

Bruce Conner (1933 – 2008) was an American artist renowned for his work in assemblage, film, drawing, sculpture, painting, collage, and photography, among other disciplines. He was also a big fan of Louise Brooks. On more than one occasion, Conner told me of his lifelong interest in the actress. [Read more about Conner on his Wikipedia page.]

Conner was born on this day in 1933 in McPherson, Kansas, and was raised in Wichita, Kansas. Back in 1997, I mounted a small exhibit about Louise Brooks at a neighborhood cafe. Conner visited the exhibit, and wrote a note in guestbook.

Somewhere, there is a video of me introducing Bruce Conner at the Castro Theater in San Francisco before an audience of more than 1400 people. [The occasion was a screening of Pandora's Box at the 2006 San Francisco Silent Film Festival.] After my introduction, Conner talked of his interested in Brooks and related how he used to watch her come and go from her Wichita dance studio.

From Wikipedia: "Conner began making short movies in the late 1950s. Conner’s first and possibly most famous film was entitled A MOVIE (1958). A MOVIE (Conner explicitly titles his movies in all capital letters) was a poverty film in that instead of shooting his own footage Conner used compilations of old newsreels and other old films. He skillfully re-edited that footage, set the visuals to a recording of Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome, and created an entertaining and thought-provoking 12 minute film, that while non-narrative has things to say about the experience of watching a movie and the human condition. A MOVIE (in 1994) was selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Conner subsequently made nearly two dozen mostly non-narrative experimental films."

Non of those films seem to be available on YouTube. So, instead, we offer these with best wishes to Bruce Conner on his birthday. (To watch the NSFW Bruce Conner film, Breakaway (1966), visit this page on vimeo. And yes, that is Toni Basil of Mickey fame as the dancer.)

Louise Brooks: As seen on Amazon

Seen on Amazon, two Louise Brooks related titles at ridiculous prices! Needless-to-say, each can be had for a lot less.

The first is a softcover copy of Louise Brooks, by Barry Paris. This 1990 edition is out-of-print, and second-hand copies can be found for only a few dollars. Nevertheless, this seller is asking $4,999.00 for a mint copy. Go figure. 

The second is a copy of the Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl, which retails for $24.95. Here, this seller is asking $224.55. Wow!

Early 1930s Louise Brooks portrait

An early 1930's portrait of Louise Brooks, by Irving Lippman (of Columbia Studios).

Happy birthday Louise Brooks

Dancer, writer, and silent film star Louise Brooks was born on this day in 1906 in Cherryvale, Kansas. And, on that very day, the Cherryvale Daily News ran a small item on the front page of the newspaper. Happy Birthday, Louise !

To celebrate, why not watch a movie like Pandora's Box, or read a book, like the Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl.

Compare and contrast: two pictures of Louise Brooks

Louise Brooks, circa 1925

Louise Brooks, circa 1927

Louise Brooks Society visits the William S. Paley Collection

The Louise Brooks Society visits the William S. Paley Collection at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. (Brooks and Paley had an affair in the 1920s, and later in life, Paley - the founder of CBS - secretly supported the destitute Brooks as she wrote "Lulu in Hollywood.")

Movies return to the Potrero Theater

According to its Cinema Treasures page, "The New Potrero opened as the Alta Theatre in 1913. The installation of sound equipment in 1930 also brought a new name: the New Potrero Theatre.... They ran no ad in the daily newspaper; a monthly calendar kept neighborhood patrons abreast of what was playing." Because they did not advertise, nor seemingly did they get their showings listed in the local San Francisco newspapers, I doubt that any Louise Brooks film ever screened there.

Louise Brooks on the cover of Doom Patrol

From Show Girl in the 1920s to Valentina in more recent decades, Louise Brooks likeness has long served as an inspiration to cartoonists and comic book artists. This tradition of inspiration continues. A couple of images of Louise Brooks appear on the cover of an issue (number 13) of Doom Patrol (Vertigo), from October, 2010. The story is by Keith Giffen, and the art is by Matthew Clark, Ron Randall, and John Livesay. More information about this particular issue of Doom Patrol can be found at www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=2540

Video: The Raconteurs, Steady As She Goes - Louise Brooks

A Louise Brooks tribute video, featuring "Steady As She Goes" by The Raconteurs (Jack White's group).