Something about RadioLulu you'll want to read

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RadioLulu is a Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film-themed station streaming music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today. Located on the web at www.live365.com/stations/radiolulu — RadioLulu features music from the films of the silent and early sound era, as well as recordings by early stars, show tunes, a little sweet jazz, cabaret artists, contemporary tracks and more. In addition, there are theme songs, novelty numbers, torch singers and crooners — as well as a numerous tracks with “Lulu” or “LouLou” in the title. And of course, there’s Maurice Chevalier’s much-loved “Louise”. All together, RadioLulu features more than 430 tracks totaling almost 23 hours!

Music has played a significant role in the life and films of Louise Brooks. (Remember, “Silent films were never silent.”) And that’s why RadioLulu was started, as a means of sharing some of the many rare related recordings collected by the Louise Brooks Society.

Launched in 2002, this unique station features music from five of Brooks’ films — the haunting themes from Beggars of Life (1928) and Prix de Beauté (1930), as well as musical passages from The Canary Murder Case (1929), Empty Saddles (1936), and Overland Stage Raiders (1938). On RadioLulu, you’ll also hear the familiar “Sidewalks of New York” (played on the set of The Street of Forgotten Men), as well as John Philip Sousa’s “Atlantic City Beauty Pageant” (written for the Miss America contest seen in The American Venus). There are also vintage recordings by Brooks’ screen co-stars, Adolphe Menjou, Noah Beery, Blanche Ring (aunt of husband Eddie Sutherland), Esther Ralston, Dorothy Mackaill, James Hall, Lawrence Gray,  Frank Fay, Joan Blondell, and Buck Jones. Similarly, Brooks’ European co-stars are represented by recordings from Siegfried Arno (Pandora’s Box), Kurt Gerron (Diary of a Lost Girl), and Andre Roanne (Prix de Beauté). Each recording is a rarity.

There are vintage tracks associated with Brooks’ brief time with the Ziegfeld Follies, including a handful of recordings by performers who shared the stage with the actress, such as Ethel Shutta, Leon Erroll, and the great W.C. Fields.

RadioLulu also features songs by Brooks’ friends and acquaintances, as well as individuals she worked with over the years. Actress Tallulah Bankhead, torch singer Libby Holman, chanteuse Lucienne Boyer, bandleader Emil Coleman, and nightclub owner Bruz Fletcher are all included. Other tracks associated with the actress heard on RadioLulu include George Gershwin’s “Somebody Loves Me” (her favorite Gershwin song), Xavier Cugat’s “Siboney” (recommended by Brooks in her book, Fundamentals of Ballroom Dancing), and two numbers by Sid Kay’s Fellows (the jazz band seen playing at the wedding reception in Pandora’s Box). Also, there’s Ross Berkal’s latter day tribute, “MLB (for Louise Brooks)”. Berkal, who is mentioned in the Barry Paris biography and is a longtime member of the Louise Brooks Society, was friendly with Brooks later in her life.

Some of the many tributes to the actress by contemporary recording artists are also played on RadioLulu. They include Natalie Merchant, Rufus Wainwright, Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark (OMD), John Zorn, Sarah Azzara, and Soul Coughing. Even famed cartoonist Robert Crumb is heard on “Chanson pour Louise Brooks”.

Recordings by early Hollywood figures such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Lupe Velez, Bebe Daniels, Clara Bow, Norma Talmadge, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and Joan Crawford are also streamed. So are recordings by later stars Buddy Rogers, Claudette Colbert, David Manners, Jean Harlow, Paulette Goddard, Barbara Stanwyck, and Dorothy Lamour. A few of the European actors and actresses heard on the station are Brigitte Helm, Camilla Horn, Anny Ondra, Conrad Veidt, Pola Negri, and Marlene Dietrich (notably her early German-language recordings).

Gloria Swanson is one of the many silent and early film stars featured on RadioLulu.

Among others, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are heard singing the classic “If I Had A Talking Picture Of You,” one of a number of movie-related songs heard on RadioLulu. There’s also “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” “At the Moving Picture Ball,” “Hollywood Stomp” and “Hooray for Hollywood,” as well as rare vintage songs about Chaplin, Garbo, Keaton, and Zasu Pitts. And don’t miss H. Robinson Cleaver’s “Grace Moore Medley”, Fred Bird & Luigi Bernauer’s “Hallo Hallo Hier Radio”, and Jack Hylton and His Orchestra’s “My brother makes the noises for the talkies”.

What else is heard on RadioLulu? Tune in to hear Constance Bennett sing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, or Alice White & Blanche Sweet sing “There’s A Tear For Every Smile in Hollywood” (from the soundtrack to Showgirl in Hollywood). The Waldorf-Astoria Dance Orchestra perform “The Vamp”, Nate Shilkret plays “Flapperette”, and Marion Harris sings “I’m a Jazz Vampire”. Regulations regarding radio station identification are given by none other than Cary Grant, co-star of the 1937 Brooks’ film, When You’re in Love.

And that’s not all…. You’ll hear James P. Johnson’s “You’ve Got to be Modernistic”, the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks’ recording of “Louise, You Tease”, as well as a handful of different recordings of both “Don’t Bring Lulu” and “Lulu’s Back in Town”. All will delight. RadioLulu plays Ragtime, dance bands, Big Bands, hotel orchestras, standards, swing, and some real hot jazz, including such popular hits as the “Charleston”, “Black Bottom”, and “Varsity Rag”. There are also sentimental favorites like “Stardust” and “As Time Goes By”.

Among the unusual European tracks streamed on RadioLulu are little heard gems from the 1930s Polish chanteuse Hanka Ordonówna as well as the Gershwin of Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav Jezek, a stirring number by the great British cinema organist Sidney Torch, and a 1929 recording of the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht singing “Mack the Knife”. Also heard are one-time models Suzy Solidor and Kiki of Montparnasse. Both posed for the surrealist photographer Man Ray, an  admirer of Louise Brooks.

RadioLulu features many of the leading stars of the 1920s and 1930s — Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo, Ben Selvin, Fred Waring, Ted Weems, Paul Whiteman, Annette Hanshaw, Helen Kane, Mildred Bailey, Lee Wiley, Ruth Etting, Kay Thompson, and Frankie Trumbauer, as well as Josephine Baker, Django Rheinhart, and Mistinguett. There are also rarely heard artists like the Eskimo Pie Orchestra and the Brox Sisters, as well as Scrappy Lambert, Fred Elizalde, and Dorothy Dickson. You never know what will turn up on this eclectic, always entertaining station.

There is nothing else quite like RadioLulu. Over the years, it has gained many fans and listeners. Famed film critic Leonard Maltin rated it a “Wow.” Louise Brooks devotee and celebrated Dr. Who actor Paul McGann called it “incredible.” The Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman (author of Maus) said he has tuned-in on a number of occasions. As has the award-winning science fiction writer Richard Kadrey. And would you believe the retro Spanish pop/swing/rock group Radio Lulu named themselves after the station?

Listen today by clicking on the widget above. Be sure to follow RadioLulu on Twitter and Facebook. And check out the RadioLulu wish list on Amazon.com

There is a lot of great music on RadioLulu. Along with George Jessel’s narrative history of “The Roaring Twenties 1920-1929″ and such famous names as Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby and Benny Goodman, here are ten tracks you won’t want to miss: “Makin’ Whoopee” by B.A. Rolfe & His Lucky Strike Orchestra, “Runnin’ Wild” by Isabella Patricola, “The Sheik of Araby” by Fats Waller, and “Puttin on the Ritz” by Harry Richman, as well as “You Oughta be In Pictures” by Little Jack Little & His Orchestra, “Singin’ In The Rain” by Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike), “Slumming On Park Avenue” by Alice Faye, “Ramona” by Dolores Del Rio, and on a more contemporary note, “Lulu” by Twiggy (the 1960’s supermodel), and “I’m In Love With A German Film Star” by The Passions.

RadioLulu needs your help. Consider becoming an underwriter: the Louise Brooks Society pays $120.00 annually to stream this unique online station. That amount includes licensing fees associated with broadcasting music over the web through LIve365. Show your support by paying for part or a full year’s broadcast. Individuals who make a donation will be acknowledged on this page and on the RadioLulu homepage.  (Full or partial underwriting for the current year is available.) To help underwrite RadioLulu send an email or join the LBS as a contributing member. // Or, consider purchasing a CD for RadioLulu from its Amazon.com wish list. It will be used in adding additional tracks to the station. Thank you for your interest in Louise Brooks, RadioLulu and the Louise Brooks Society.

Was Louise Brooks first film appearance in 1923, not 1925?

I am trying to follow up on a lead.... there is a small chance that Louise Brooks may have had an uncredited bit part in Cause for Divorce. The film, an independent production produced and directed by Hugh Dierker, was released in late 1923 by Hugh Dierker Productions and distributed by the Selznick Distribution Corporation. The film was shown around the country in the first half of 1924. If true, Brooks appearance in this film would pre-date her uncredited role in the 1925 film, The Street of Forgotten Men.

Cause for Divorce was shot in 1923, while Brooks was still a member of the Denishawn Dance Company. I have run across a clipping from the time Brooks was on tour with Denishawn mentioning that the company took part in the making of a local film. The title was not given. What I need to find out is where Cause for Divorce was made. If it was shot in Hollywood, then Brooks does not appear in it. If Cause for Divorce was made in the South, then there is a chance she did. Does anyone know anything about Cause for Divorce or Hugh Dierker Productions? Does this film still exist? Here is the IMDb entry for the film.

And here is the AFI catalogue entry, which may provide a clue. I have tried tracing the career of the film lead, Fritzi Brunette, but she is pretty obscure. The only cast member I was familiar with was Junior Coughlan. Did he ever work in the South? Director Hugh Dierker is also obscure. He only produced three films. The first was When Dawn Came (1920), which featured Colleen Moore.

Here is a tantalizing clue, a clipping from 1924, which mentions that Ted Shawn and the female Denishawn dancers participated in some way in Cause for Divorce. If the film was shot in Hollywood, then the participants were likely members of the Los Angeles branch of Denishawn (which did not include Brooks). If the film was shot in the South, then the participants may have been members of Denishawn's touring company, which then included the future actress.

I realize this is all a bit speculative, but any help is greatly appreciated.

New article on Louise Brooks in Jocks&Nerds magazine

There is a new, 6 page illustrated article in Jocks&Nerds magazine (issue 14, Spring 2015). The piece was penned by Chris Sullivan and starts on page 84. Jocks&Nerds is published in London, but can be read online.

Ziegfeld and His Follies: A Biography of Broadway's Greatest Producer

Just out from the University Press of Kentucky is Ziegfeld and His Follies: A Biography of Broadway's Greatest Producer by Cynthia and Sara Brideson. Its a graceful read, full of information and well researched. (I am more than 100 pages into the book.) My only complaint is that there is not more Louise Brooks in it. Admittedly, Brooks was with the Follies for only a short time (less than a year, really), but she was a favorite of the subject of this new book, impresario Florenz Ziegfeld. In fact, Ziegfeld long kept a picture of Brooks in his office. Brooks is only referenced in passing on page 293, and her picture is included in one of the two photo sections. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to finishing the book, and would recommend it to anyone one interested in the silent film era.

A description of the book from the publisher: "The name Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (1867–1932) is synonymous with the decadent revues that the legendary impresario produced at the turn of the twentieth century. These extravagant performances were filled with catchy tunes, high-kicking chorus girls, striking costumes, and talented stars such as Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Marilyn Miller, W. C. Fields, and Will Rogers. After the success of his Follies, Ziegfeld revolutionized theater performance with the musical Show Boat (1927) and continued making Broadway hits―including Sally (1920), Rio Rita (1927), and The Three Musketeers (1928)―several of which were adapted for the silver screen.

In this definitive biography, authors Cynthia Brideson and Sara Brideson offer a comprehensive look at both the life and legacy of the famous producer. Drawing on a wide range of sources―including Ziegfield's previously unpublished letters to his second wife, Billie Burke (who later played Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz), and to his daughter Patricia―the Bridesons shed new light on this enigmatic man. They provide a lively and well-rounded account of Ziegfeld as a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a lover, and an alternately ruthless and benevolent employer. Lavishly illustrated with over seventy-five images, this meticulously researched book presents an intimate and in-depth portrait of a figure who profoundly changed American entertainment."

And three well deserved bits of praise....

"Ziegfeld was one of the most important theatrical producers of the early twentieth century, and the Follies (and its Girls) are still remembered today. He had a long-lasting effect not only on Broadway, but on social mores, and this book does a great job over covering that, in a fascinating way. The Bridesons know their stuff." ― Eve Golden, author of Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway

"For years I had hoped a book on Ziegfeld would come out, and now the wait is over! Expertly written, well researched, this is truly the definitive book on perhaps the greatest showman of the early Twentieth Century. This highly-recommended biography earns a perfectly wonderful place alongside my editions of Mrs. Ziegfeld: The Public and Private Lives of Billie Burke and With a Feather on my Nose. ― James Zeruk, author of Peg Entwistle and the Hollywood Sign Suicide: A Biography

"The authors have created a detailed, sweeping narrative of Broadway showman and entrepreneur Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., both as to his professional rise and fall and the full details of his complex, busy personal life. While there have been books devoted to him before, this new account is quite compelling both in scope and detail, and will certainly be the new definitive biography of the opulent life and times of the great Ziegfeld." ― James Robert Parish, author of The Hollywood Book of Extravagance: The Totally Infamous, Mostly Disastrous, and Always Compelling Excesses of America's Film and TV Idols

Universal Pictures to restore 15 silent films over next 4 years

Building on its 2012 Centennial celebration, Universal Pictures announced its continued commitment to honor the Studio’s rich film history and cultural legacy by restoring some of the world’s classic silent films.  During the next four years, the Studio will restore approximately 15 silent film titles from Universal’s early years.  [No Louise Brooks films are expected to be among the forthcoming restorations. The actress' only Universal Film is Empty Saddles (1936).] The complete list of films is still in development in collaboration with outside film historians, institutions, and preservationists.  Partners and collaborators in the initiative include the Library of Congress, The Film Foundation, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, George Eastman House, UCLA Film & Television Archives, Association of Moving Image Archivists, and Hollywood Heritage.

The announcement was made at the opening night of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and was witnessed by yours truly. It was greeted with great excitement.

“The company understands its responsibility and need to preserve our silent film legacy,” said Ron Meyer, vice chairman, NBCUniversal. “This early art of film making is the foundation on which Universal Pictures was built more than 100 years ago, and it’s important we honor our rich history.”  

The silent film era is best known for instantly recognizable story lines, settings, costumes, and characters.  Most early silent films were accompanied by a full-fledged orchestra, organist or pianist to provide musical background and to underscore the narrative on the screen.  Some even included live actors or narrators.  The major genre emphasis was on swashbucklers, historical extravaganzas, and melodramas, although all kinds of films were being produced throughout the decade.

According to a report released by the Library of Congress, 70 percent of the nation’s silent feature films have been completely lost.  Universal’s restoration team will work with archives and collectors worldwide to secure copies of prints and additional elements needed to complete this restoration effort and augment the silent film titles currently in its library. 

Universal Pictures silent film restoration initiative builds on the company’s ongoing restoration commitment.  Since the program was first announced in 2012, nearly 30 titles have been restored and 25 more titles are expected to be restored by 2017.  Fully restored titles to date include All Quiet on the Western Front, Dracula (1931), Dracula Spanish (1931), Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein [which almost starred Louise Brooks in the title role], Double Indemnity, The Sting, and other films.

adapted from the press release

Lulu: trailer - De Nationale Opera | Dutch National Opera

Wow. Wow. Wow. Watch these video trailers for William Kentridge's staging of Lulu at the Dutch National Opera. Next up, the Met in New York City. More info at http://bit.ly/youLulu

Irish Film Institute has Louise Brooks Double Bill

The Irish Film Institute in Dublin has scheduled a Louise Brooks double bill in June. The special program will feature Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl. Both films were directed by G.W. Pabst and released in 1929. More information about the event can be found HERE.